Getting Ready for Last Days

We are in Last Days. It is imperative that we being doing what the Lord desires. I believe the following chapter of the Book of James lends light on what we need to cautious of and what choices we need to be doing.

James Chapter Five,

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. ² Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. ⁴ Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.^{[a] 6} You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

I find it intriguing that the brother of Jesus says, "You have hoarded wealth in last days." He goes on to explain how it will not save rich and how they have accumulated revenues by not paying the workers their wages. I greatly concerned by a candidate running for the presidency of The United States who is a rich ruler that claims he can make "America great again." His entire focus is big businesses and bringing them back to enrich this country. But what many voters fail to see is that this will help only the 1% at the top, and the Middle Class will remain overtaxed. I fear the lines of "You have lived on earth in luxury and self indulgence, you have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter," applies to all Americans. For we like Byzantium and Western Rome have become rotunda and fat with decadence, we want our pleasures and entertainments. We have our coliseums called the Super bowel and Cineplexes, and we are literally obese in time of slaughter, for ISIS and other Jihadists are those of the day of slaughter! I believe we also in the age when we have done thus,  "You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you." This I believe is abortion, that man is murdering the innocent who cannot even oppose anyone because they are unborn.

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
¹² Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

We are given an exhortation to "be patient until the Lord's coming." The apostle James in this passage is paying homage to words of Jesus who said when rebuking the Five Virgings who did not keep watch, "Keep watch, for you do not know the day or hour of My Coming," () and "He shall come like thief in the night, people will marry and act like normal." (). We are urged to be patient as Farmer who waits for yield of the harvest all year, and prays for rains, which for us is to pray that Christ comes and reigns swiftly (Revelation 22:20). The rains actually will be plagues and hard times, the birth pains and more that most take place before Christ reigns, we should long for these rains, but instead many ask the Lord to relinquish and route these rains. We are commended to "stand firm, because Lord's coming is near." This means we must be vigilant, maintain our faith as St. Peter said, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9). The apostle James warns us to not "grumble against one another," and instead have patience and perseverance like the prophets. Finally we told to not make oaths, and swear to anything, this is because to take Mark of Beast will require oaths, "also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name," (Revelation 13:16-17), and James is paying homage to Jesus' own words, "And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (Matthew 5:36-37). Interesting Immanuel tell us do not swear by your forehead, since that is where the mark of beast will be if not on the arm!

The Prayer of Faith

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, ²⁰ remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

This final paragraph from devout parishioner of Christ gives us instruction on what to be busily doing in addition to keeping watch for Christ's coming, being patient with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and persevering in our faith. James tells us to pray, to praise, and lay hands on the sick. We are to confess sin, and forgive one another. We are taught the power of prayer through Elijah's own experience. Finally we are given a very powerful instruction on redeeming a fallen away brother or sister, "My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death, and cover over a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20). This is an exhortation for us in Emmanuel (Jesus Christ) to expose sin and confront error! The Apostle Paul says the same to Ephesians, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephesians 5:11). If confront, rebuke, and reprove people in error and sin, we spare them from death! This is certainly where the Church if failing, as many embrace an age of tolerance, rather than helping people turn from error! For the word repent actually means to "turn away from sin, to go 180 degrees from the behavior and deeds of sin, and do it no more." The church instead treats repentance like an apology, rather than an action that proves you will not do it again, and lifestyle that carries on beyond words proves a person has turned from sin. We are must confront one another in Christ, for it is written, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," (2 Timothy 3:16) and here is a lengthy rebuke about tolerating sin,

"5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? ³ For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. ⁴ So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,^[a][b] so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister^[c] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:1-18)

Certainly we need to study all the Scriptures in the New Testament for prepare for the End. The Gospel of Matthew, The Gospel of Luke, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation are full of details about the Last Days, but other books contain important information too like James. We need to start preparing for one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ as King of Kings (Revelation 20:4-6) and stop putting our faith in politicans who are corrupted by avarice, greed, and godlessness. We will have no Utopia and Paradise until The Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Priest of Priests who is Jesus Christ reigns as our Ruler! Until that day, we are going to have devious, dark, and even demonized men and women who will use their authority to extort and alienate God's people.