James 5:1

"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you." we talked about that in the last lesson - that he's talking about the Tribulation. We'll see that in just a little bit.


James 5:2

"Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten." Now you may wonder what's meant by that? Well, I read in a book a while back that, in the ancient East, that was one way they collected wealth was beautiful fancy clothes and they'd put them in trunks. That was just like we'd put money in the bank. And it was a collecting of wealth. But, unless they were careful, just like now, moths could get in and destroy them.


James 5:3

"Your gold and silver (see, the accumulated wealth) is cankered; (in other words, it was materialism and it had nothing to do with their spiritual lives) and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. (in other words, their judgment is coming. Now see, he's not talking just to believers; he's talking to Jews who are really on both sides of the coin) Ye have heaped treasure together for (what?) the last days." Here we go again. The last days. Now verse 4.


James 5:4a

"Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by (what?) fraud,..." Enron back then already. It's nothing new. Oh, on a bigger scale now; greater technology. But the mentality hasn't changed one bit.


James 5:4b

"...crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped (in other words, are the victims of your fraud. All you retirees that suddenly have had everything wiped away - hey, it's nothing new.) are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." Now that's another term for Christ that comes out of the Old Testament.


James 5:5a

"Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton;..." In other words, they just, as we would say, lived high on the hog. Nothing but the best.


James 5:5b-6

"...ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." Now, that goes both ways. God has not stopped, or, you could take the other way, the just people that they'd been misusing have not fought back. But this element of wealthy, Synagogue attending Jews (no doubt that James could write to and yet their lifestyle) was anything but righteous people.