The Epistle of James

Chapter 1



"Patience; Prayer; Living Life: God's Word and it's Effect."

This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, available at http://www.theseason.org

There has been more controversy among the scholars about James, the message and the book, and who he is, than any other author of the New Testament. The author was not James the disciple and the brother of John, but he was the half brother of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 13:55. At that time Jesus had been gone for a long time, and when he returned to the home of His family, He attended their synagogue. The things that Jesus taught, those things that He said astonished the congregation, and they wondered where Jesus had obtained such great knowledge and wisdom.

Matthew 13:55 "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and His brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"

Matthew 13:56 "And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?"

The point I am pointing to here is that Jesus' mother was a virgin when she conceived the Christ child Jesus, and Jesus is the only begotten son of our Heavenly Father. However Mary was also married after that time to her husband Joseph, and in the marriage union between Joseph and Mary, Jesus had four brothers, and at least two sisters. James, the author of this book of James, was that brother James as recorded in Matthew 13:55. Judas, or "Jude", one of the other brothers of Jesus was the author of another book in the New Testament called the "book of Jude".

We are told to "rightly divide the Word of God", and this includes not only who the book is written by, but also who it is written to. It includes the time that it was written and for what time period it is addressed. The book of James was written between 65-69 A.D., in Jerusalem. This was just prior to the fall of Jerusalem to the Roman general Titus, and the scattering of the Jews from Jerusalem. So it is important to notice that it is addressed not just to the tribes of the House of Judah, and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but to all of the tribes, including the ten tribes that made up the "House of Israel". Those ten tribes of the the House of Israel were scattered prior to 722 B.C by the Assyrians, and were not part of the captivity of the House of Judah [called Jews], in Babylon.

The book of James is written to the twelve tribes. These twelve tribes came from the twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, through Isaac, and Jacob's name was changed by God to "Israel". While in captivity in Egypt the family of Jacob, or Israel grew into a nation, and all the families of Israel became known as the children of Israel. And in due time, as God had prophesied to Abraham, his family came out of Egypt as a nation. While in the wilderness, Moses had all the families separated into their individual tribes, and established their own individual banners to identify themselves personally. Though each of the tribes was allocated their own lands in the promised land, the tribe of Levi was established as the priestly tribe and was scattered amongst all the other tribes. Yet because of Joseph's birthright, a double portion was given to him, and given to both of Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

These tribes conquered their promised land, and lived under the rule of the Judges from about 1440 B.C. until the monarch was set up by Samuel the prophet, when Samuel anointed Saul as the king. After Saul's rule came king David and then his son Solomon. When Solomon died, the kingdom of the twelve tribes called Israel was split into two separate nations, called "Houses". These houses were the "House of Israel", which was made up of the ten tribes to the north, and the "House of Judah", which at a later time in Babylon became known as "Jews". Each of these two nations had their own line of kings, rule of law, and God dealt with each of them separately.

The "House of Israel" are those ten tribes which were taken captive by the Assyrians to a location in northern Iraq for relocation, and shortly after their relocation from their Palestine area home lands, they continued their migrations through the Caucasus mountains, and on into Western Europe, and the Americas. The one thing that these ten tribes never lost in their identity, was this single event of their earliest migrations. That trip through the Caucasus mountains, for this marked them as "Caucasians", even to our present generation. Though most Caucasians simply don't know who they are, or how they came to be identified, they do know that they are Caucasian, but they think that they think Caucasian is in reference to the color white.

God used the prophet Hosea to tell the people of the children of Israel that not only would the two nations be separated, and form two nations, but He would divorce one of the nations or houses, and stay married to the other. The example [ensample] was given through the marriage of the prophet Hosea to a daughter of whoredoms named Gomer, and they had three children. The first child was named "Jezreel", and the name of this son was used to tell the kingdom of the "House of Israel" [not the Jews], of the prophecy of God's divorcement to them. This name of Jezreel had two meanings in the Hebrew tongue. The name is prophetic of the "coming judgment and future mercy".

The knowledge of the "House of Judah" is quite common knowledge to most Christians, however the House of Israel is cloudy and unknown to them. The prophet Hosea gives us the knowledge of where these tribes are in the end times, and what they will be known by in Hosea 1:10.

Hosea 1:10 "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, `Ye are not my people,' there it shall be said unto them, `Ye are the sons of the living God.' "

We know that the "House of Judah" is not as the sands of the sea, for most of their people are either sheltered by the United States, or in their tiny nation called "Israel" today. But these ten tribes have grown to a number that we simply can't count. It is in the places that they are located, not in that tiny nation of Israel, but wherever they are, Hosea is telling us exactly what they will be identified as. "Ye are the sons of the living God." The "living God" is Jesus Christ who arose from the dead on the third day and and ascended into Heaven. Those that identify with Christ are called "Christians". Hosea is telling us that the "House of Israel" will call their nations "Christians Nations", and we can also identify them to be "Caucasians".

The House of Judah, or commonly called the Jews, are made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and part of the tribe of Levi. Heavily mixed in with these Israelites are the foreigners or Orientals called the "Nethinims" by Ezra and Nehemiah, which are the "Kenites" that had taken over the duties of both the scribes and the priests, and changed much of the laws which God gave to Moses. I Chronicles 2:55 tells us that three families of Kenites took over the duties of the scribes, and thus they fused themselves into the records of the House of Judah, from the time of their captivity in Babylon. In fact, when the Jews came out of Babylon, Ezra stopped to take account of those people and the things that were going back to Jerusalem to re-establish the Temple and the city. Ezra records in his records:

Ezra 8:15 "And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi."

Here Ezra and the Jews were returned to build the temple and continue in the worship of God, and these Kenites or sons of Cain had taken over the priesthood. Is it any wonder that their offspring that filled those positions during the time of Jesus wanted to kill Jesus from the start of His ministry? For the next five hundred years under these Kenites, the traditions of these Kenites had replaced the laws of God. Even to the point where there was no agreement between the teachings of Christ, and that of the Kenite Jewish religious leaders. This is the reason that these Kenite Jewish leaders plotted continually to murder Jesus. As we know, they were successful in their deeds, for this entire course of events was prophesied from the beginning of the Word of God, through to the death of Christ on the cross. His death being that price which was paid whereby we could be drawn back to the Father, through our faith in Jesus Christ, and our repentance to the Father in Jesus name.

So the reason for the controversy is because of who this book is addressed to. Most Christians are completely ignorant of the ten tribes of the House of Israel, and they have difficulty handling the Scriptures. Their pastors have told them to disregard much of the Old Testament, thus they have lumped all of the tribes into the small house of Judah. However, the Scriptures even point out that each of the houses, and the Gentiles have different duties to perform, as is pointed out in Revelation chapter seven. Those duties will be performed even to the last hour of this earth age. For the Word of God to be complete it must address all people, therefore don't ever let somebody tell you that there is something wrong with the book of James. For if they do, it is that they are not able to rightly divide the Word of God.

To give James his credentials we must go to Galatians 2:9; "And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision."

James is the writer of this book, "Cephas" is the name for Peter, and John were the leaders or elders of the church at Jerusalem. It is Paul doing the talking in Galatians and Paul is identifying the fact that Paul would be going to the heathen, or Gentiles nations, and James, Peter and John would be going to the tribes of Israel, those of the "circumcision", of the seed of Abraham. This book then is very meaningful for every Christian to read and absorb into their minds.

James 1:1 "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

This should remove any problem that exists as to who this book is written to, and who James is representing. James is acting as the spokesman for God the Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This book is written to the twelve tribes, for all of them, the Jews and the Christian nations alike. It is accurate and in accordance to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

James 1:2 "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;"

James is telling us to count it joy, when things just don't go right, and we fall into temptation. Why?

James 1:3 "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

We know that you have faith, or you would not be following Christ, and you would not be repenting of your sins when you fell short. Faith is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah and to know that when those temptations and different problems do come along, Jesus is going to be with you. Your faith in Christ will see to it that you will meet the temptation and overcome that temptation when it does come. Once you do all that you can do, then you can rest assured that Christ will do the rest. "Patience" then is the waiting on God to finish the job, when you have done all that you can do. It is the ability of waiting upon the Lord, and casting all your cares upon Him.

James 1:4 "But let patience [hopeful endurance, constancy] have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

perfect
5046 teleios-
1) brought to its end, finished
2) wanting nothing necessary to completeness
3) perfect
4) what is perfect
a) consummate human integrity and virtue
b) used of men, full grown, adult, of full age, mature

work
2041 ergon-
1) business, employment, what anyone is occupied with,
that which one undertakes to do, an enterprise, an undertaking
2) any product whatever, anything accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind
3) an act, deed, thing done; the idea of working is emphasized in opposition to what is less than work

When you come to the place in your life that you want only what God wants for your life, then your patience will have "perfect work". Your faith is in God and His Will for you, and you have come to the point of trusting God completely for the things that are best for you. The word "perfect" as it is used here, is "mature", and "patience" brings you to maturity. At that point you know for sure that God hears you when you pray, and when it is in His Will, it will come to pass.

James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, That giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

wisdom
4678 sophia-
wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters:
a) the wisdom which belongs to men
1) specifically, the varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, and summed up in maxims and proverbs
2) the science and learning
3) the act of interpreting dreams and always giving the sagest advice
4) the intelligence evinced in discovering the meaning of some mysterious number or vision
5) skill in the management of affairs
6) devout and proper prudence in intercourse with men not disciples of Christ, skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth
7) the knowledge and practice of the requisites for godly and upright living
b) supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God
1) to Christ
2) the wisdom of God as evinced in forming and executing counsels in the formation and government of the world and the Scriptures

If you don't have wisdom and you want it, then ask God for the wisdom to understand His Word, and those things that are going on around you. God does not make fun of anyone for their lack of wisdom, for He desires that you ask Him for wisdom so that He can open your mind to the understanding of wisdom. All wisdom comes from God, and understanding the Word of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Though the people of the world think that wisdom is to be street wise, that is not so. For when you have the wisdom of God's Word you have the ability of understanding why the people of the world do what they do. For the world is captive to Satan and his ways. "Wisdom" in God's Word gives you the ability to deal with them to your advantage. When you understand the future, especially in our generation, through the prophesies of God's Word, then you have an advantage over the world. When you know that the one world system that now is taking a strong hold on the world is going to fail politically, then there can be no fear of tomorrow, for we know that the tribulation of the end times is spiritual and not physical. The warfare of Satan in his role of the Antichrist, and his system is fought with words and ideas and not with bullets and guns. In the days of the end times, it is the Holy Spirit that speaks through us and does the talking for us.

Mark 13:11 "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whosoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit."

Everything is written exactly as it was prophesied, and as the new world order comes into being and takes its power, God's wisdom tells us what shall take place, and is taking place. Knowing these events of the time is wisdom in the simplicity in which God Himself teaches. God is telling you that when you desire the truth of His Word, He shall give to you "liberally", and that means that God will not hold back that knowledge and information. God's Word is God's counsel to you.

James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."

So the question as to your wisdom deals with your faith; How is your faith doing friend? When you come before the Lord and seek wisdom and help in your life, God is telling you that you had better not have one little doubt of His answering you. If you have doubt in your mind when you come before Him in prayer, then forget it for you are wasting your time. God will not let you waste His time, for He will just close His ear to your request.

Have you ever been out to the ocean, and seen the high waves with their white caps that look so fierce; yet if you wait a moment that wave roars a bit and disappears back into the sea? The wind tosses it about for a while and then it is as if it had never come in the first place. That wave is what a doubters prayer is like. God simply will not accept a prayer that is given with the least bit of doubt. The doubt that we are talking of here is not to doubt as to whether it is within the will of God, but to doubt whether God will hear your prayer, and has the ability to act upon it when He is ready. Once you have prayed then is the time for patience, and waiting upon the Lord. The sign of maturity in a Christian, is in their ability to wait upon the Lord for His good time and pleasure of fulfilling your prayers.

James 1:7 "For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."

God has a conditions for the answering of prayers, and one of the conditions is that you become a doer of the Word. That means that you have to study the Word to have the knowledge to become a doer. You have to rightly divide the truth, and mature in the Word to where you can even pray intelligently. Then God will be able to use you to do a mature man or woman's job for Him. God does not expect some spiritually milk-bottled Christians to do the work that requires the maturity of spiritually developed mind to complete. God will use you in the level that you are capable to handle, and He will give you the strength and help to finish the job that you have started.

James 1:8 "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

double minded
1374 dipsuchos-
double-minded
a) wavering, uncertain, doubting
b) divided in interest

"Double minded" means to call yourself a Christian, yet continue to think in the ways of the world, and act exactly as the worldly people would act under the same conditions. The world has lost all contact with their inner being, and the only thing that matters to those of the world is how it shall effect them physically. We have two natures, the physical [outer man] and the spiritual [inner man] . There is a war between these two natures, and the mind or nature that wins out controls what that person thinks and does. When you are "double minded", you have not allowed the Holy Spirit to lead and control your thinking, but you are giving part of the control of your thinking over to that flesh nature. God is telling you that you are unstable in all your ways when you do this, for there will be confusion in all parts of your life. Both the ways of the world and that of God will be mixed up in your mind. You have to be one or the other, but not a fence sitter.

James 1:9 "Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:"

exalted - 5311 hupsos (hoop'-sos);
from a derivative of 5228; elevation, i.e. (abstractly) altitude, (specifically) the sky, or (figuratively) dignity: KJV-- be exalted, height, (on) high.

James is telling us that we should be happy that a brother or sister in Christ of a lower degree in society is exalted in the eyes of everyone, when he or she names the name of Christ. It is good to know that he has a strong faith in God, and that God will exalt him.

James 1:10 "But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away."

is made low
5014 tapeinosis (tap-i'-no-sis);
from 5013; depression (in rank or feeling):
KJV-- humiliation, be made low, low estate, vile.

James 1:11 "For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways."

God is using the grass and that little flower that comes up from the grass to show how the rich of mankind is before Him. Picture that little blade of grass, with the flower coming up from it, and when the sun hits that little flower, it turns into nothing. It loses it's color and falls to the ground dead. God is telling you that just as that little flower went up in a puff, and died out, that is how the rich man shall perish with all his ways.

This verse is not translated well from the Greek, and is not the symbol that it is using. The word "rich" as used here, means "rich by ill-gotten gains". Those that are blessed by God from doing things according to His Word are not what this word "rich" is aimed at. If you have been tithing and living as God has directed us to, through His Word, there is never a time that you need to apologize for any of the money that you have, or how you spend it. That is God's blessings for doing it His way.

What this word "rich" is centered upon here are those that have gained their wealth through means which God Word teaches against. God gives to man what he can handle and that is why many people have nothing, they have no sense of money or wealth management. The "rich" as spoken of here are those that have ripped off God's people without conscience by their methods that go against God's Word in their shady deals. Their soul can be lost if they continue in those ways. James is saying that this earth age is passing away very shortly, and those that obtained their wealth with such means will be gone and out of here. They will be like that small flower of the grass that fades away and died when the sun hit it.

James 1:12 "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him."

Blessed is the man that has "will power" [endureth temptation]. The "will power" as spoken of here is to trust our Lord Jesus Christ. The problem with most Christians today is that they like to get on their guilt trips, and they don't really think that our Heavenly Father can forgive them for the sins that they have committed. They simply over-look the richest gift that our Father has given us, forgiveness. To have faith in Christ is to know that Christ is perfect, even though we fall short. God is saying, blessed is the man that is never tempted to lose that belief, and doubt that God will help you overcome when Satan and his evil spirits try to lure you into something that goes against His Word. You may fall short from time to time, but your faith will stand firm to the point that when you have fallen, you will repent.

The most serious temptation that you could have is to be tempted as Christ was in the wilderness with Scripture, and have that temptation cause you to turn away from the truth. This is what Satan does, and why we must stay in the Word and seek wisdom from God. Though your willpower may be rather weak, to stay in the Scriptures and having your faith unshaken will see you through. We do have forgiveness where we may give in to that weakness to our willpower through repentance.

James 1:13 "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man:"

God has already made it clear that He will not burden you with any more than you are able to handle, but with those temptations He will make a way of escape for you. Let's see what Paul had to say on this matter of temptation.

I Corinthians 10:12 "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."

I Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

God does not create evil to tempt anyone. There is one place in the King James Bible that states that God can create evil, in Isaiah 45:7; "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." This is a mistranslation, for what is written in Massorah text is that "I can make things good for you, or I can put rocks in your path." It is not creating evil, but giving chastisement where it is needed. God does not send burdens on anyone, but man brings his own burdens upon himself.

God does not send temptation, but man allows and entertains the temptation when it comes. It is Satan that sends the temptation, and when you are in the Lord and focused on His Word. God will limit Satan's ability to tempt you, and give you the power to overcome those temptations. If Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness for forty days, you can count on temptations coming your way. One of the ways that Satan will come at you is by misquoting the Scriptures. He may even use a Scripture lawyer, meaning a preacher or teacher of God's Word that just does not understand what he or she is teaching.

James 1:14 "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."

Friend, you can count on being tempted, when you allow yourself to go chasing after the things that are of the flesh. Even Christ Himself was subject to the temptations of the flesh, however He did not yield to those temptations when they came. The temptation that comes is not a sin, but giving in to those temptations is a sin. When you allow yourself to be drawn away from the Word of God, then is when the temptations come and we fall.

James 1:15 "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

When the lusts of the temptations are first entering your mind, if you think about them and entertain those thoughts, in time those thoughts will bring action, and you will sin. God is telling you that the wages for those actions of sin is death; spiritual death. The main reason for many new Christians turning away from Christ is that once they became saved, they were told that they would not sin anymore. God made them perfect, they are told. They have given themselves over to God's service, and were baptized and washed clean in their heart. That new convert is told that God removed those bad thoughts from his mind, and that even to look at a member of the opposite sex is lust. However that is not true.

Man and woman are part of God's creation, and the feelings and urges that are within both are very natural and common to the flesh bodies that we live in. Those instincts and urges are given for a very definite purpose, "to replenish the earth". The drawing of a man to woman, and woman to man is very natural. There is absolutely nothing wrong with one gender appreciating the beauty of the other, and that is not a sin. So "lust" is when you take action to do what goes against what God has instructed us in His Word. It is started by the actions committed within your mind, and then playing that role out in the flesh with your action. In other words, when the thoughts come, don't let them linger in your mind and allow those thoughts enough time to form any action. For that is a sin when you entertain those thoughts.

James 1:16 "Do not err, my beloved brethren."

err
4105 planao (plan-ah'-o);
from 4106; to (properly, cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue): KJV-- go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way.

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness [fickleness], neither shadow of turning."

Every good that comes your way is from our Heavenly Father. God is of the light, and Satan is of the darkness. What this is saying is that God never changes, He will continue to shower those that follow Him and do things His way with good gifts. God is qualifying the statement that He made before concerning the rich, you don't have to apologize for the good things that God has given you, for they were given so that you could enjoy them all. Don't feel guilty when God gives you wealth, but be mature and act like a well respected child of God. God is the same all the time, and you can count on Him.

James 1:18 "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

firstfruits
536 aparche-
1) to offer firstlings or firstfruits
2) to take away the firstfruits of the productions of the earth which was offered to God. The first portion of the dough, from which sacred loaves were to be prepared. Hence, a term used of persons consecrated to God for all time.
3) persons superior in excellence to others of the same class

To "begat" means "to give birth". You became of God by His "Word of truth". The Word of God is the "word of truth", and when you by faith accept Christ through repentance, you become part of the "first fruits". When you become one of the first fruits of God, then the only thing that matters in your mind is the wisdom God gives to you. All true wisdom comes from God and through His Word. It will shape you into the person that our Father desires you to be, when you humbly seek that way. The most important thing is that you mature in His Word, and go about following the instructions that the Word God has given you to do everyday.

James 1:19 "Wherefore, my beloved, brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:"

The term "swift to hear", means "to hear with understanding". Many times people are so quick to speak, that they don't give their minds a chance to think, and the wisdom that they may have had flies away just as that flower that we read of above.

James 1:20 "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."

The anger that man works himself into is not the "righteous indignation" of God. People in their flesh bodies love to pamper their egos at the expense of the righteousness of God. When someone jumps on you for something that you have said concerning the Word, they are quick to defend their every word. On the other hand, you don't need to apologize for righteous indignation.

James 1:21 "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity [abundance] of naughtiness, and receive with meekness [gentleness, mildness, humility] the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."

Make the Word engrafted into your mind with understanding. It is only through the words of wisdom that comes from God's Word that shall save your soul.

James 1:22 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

God is saying that if you are a hearer only, and not a doer of His Word, then you have just deceived yourself. Wisdom is absolutely no good unless it is practiced. What you learn through your studies of His Word, has to be put to use to make it profitable for you. Your faith is built up by your studying of God's Word, and then applying that knowledge to your everyday life. Once that knowledge and wisdom enters your mind, you will find that you just can't keep it bundled up within you, but you just have to share it with someone else. So you see once you have the truth within you, there is nothing you can do about being a doer, for it just has to come flowing out of you through your words and deeds. It is through your works, which are those words and deeds that God blesses you with. Those works are the only things that you take with you into eternity.

Revelation 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready."

This is a continuation of the great voice flowing from the throne of God. It is at this time that this wedding (marriage of the Lamb) is to take place. Remember in Matthew 25:1-13 the parable of the ten virgins. Jesus told us that five virgins (his bride) "took no oil" which is to say that they did not study God's Word, and these five virgins simply were not ready when the bridegroom came. However, five virgins went and got their oil (studied and were prepared) for the bridegroom's coming, to go into the marriage. By not being prepared (studying to know that the false Christ came first), the five foolish virgins went into the wrong wedding and were taken which is to say deceived by Satan the Antichrist

So in verse seven we are told that it is now time "for the marriage of the Lamb". Are you ready for the marriage? If you are looking for a "rapture"? If you are looking to fly out of this earth age short of dying in the flesh, with your soul ascending back to the Father that gave it, then you are in the group of the the five foolish virgins. When Satan comes at the sixth trumpet in his role as the "instead of Christ", or Antichrist he will be a good copy of the true Christ's return, for he will be deceiving all the people of the earth with his tricks, miracles and lying wonders. Jesus gave us seven signs in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 of things that must take place before His second advent or coming. John also wrote them down in this book of Revelation and called them the seven seals and the seven trumpets. The seven seals detail the things that will come to pass, while the trumpets sound the order of their coming.

The "oil" is the truth from God's word, and the "lamps" are the minds of the virgins. It is what is in your mind that seals you (protects you) from being deceived at the coming of Satan. Those without the understanding of God's Word concerning the second advent of Jesus Christ will be deceived into accepting the first Christ or messiah to come, which will be Satan. No one is flying (raptured) anywhere in their flesh body, however at the coming of Jesus Christ all people on the face of this earth will be changed instantly into their new incorruptible bodies, which they will live in for the thousand year Millennium age.

Revelation 19:8 "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."

The "fine linen, clean and white" in the text reads "bright and pure". The fine linen are the righteousness of your words and acts while you are living in your flesh body on earth. The only works that count are the works done for our Lord Jesus Christ, without gain to us in this earth age. It is now that we should prepare our garments that we expect to be wearing for eternity. Will they be fine, clean and pure; or are you going to be naked as a jay bird?

Revelation 19:9 "And he said unto me, "Write, `Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.' " And he saith unto me, "These are the true sayings of God."

The one doing the talking to John is the angel messenger from the throne of God, who is Jesus Christ as we were told in the first chapter. As the events took place, Jesus told John to write it down.

"Blessed" in the Greek text is # 3107 in the Strong's numbered Greek dictionary. "Makario, one who is extremely well off." Every one can relate to this in the flesh body, however, this is talking about the eternity where there is no end. Flesh bodies will end up in the grave, or be changed into the new incorruptible bodies at the coming of Christ, but the eternity has no end. This is a promise from the throne of God that the works that you do for Him today while here on earth in your flesh body will go to make up what you wear which establishes your position for all eternity.

Your inheritance is given to you when the Lord returns at the seventh trumpet, not the sixth. This is why we are told to have patience and wait for the true husband. Many that call themselves Christians today are going to be taken in the false wedding with the wrong husband, for they simply did not have enough oil, or truth to know that the first messiah to come was a fake.

When the Scripture talks about "the true sayings of God", it refers to promises given all the souls that overcame and did not follow Antichrist (Satan) while in the flesh. These are the promises Jesus told us that we can count on, that would come to pass, and in Revelation 19:9 they are coming true. Friend, it is after the doing that God does the blessing, both in this life, and in the next age to come.

James 1:23 "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

This word "glass" in the Greek means "mirror". When you look into a mirror, you don't see the real thing, but you see an image of the real thing. So when you hear the Word, it goes into your mind and is formed there. However, that Word is not transferred into your works. The man that hears the Word and does nothing about what the instructions that the Word gives him, is like a man looking into a mirror.

James 1:24 "For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."

The moment that man looks into the mirror he knows exactly how he looks, he knows every hair that is out of place and every flaw in his complexion. He is prepared to take action on those things that need to be done right then and now. However, when he walks away from that mirror without taking care of those things, those thoughts leave his mind and they simply are forgotten. When there is no action taken to those needs, he becomes blind to the condition in him that needs attention.

If you hear God's Word, that is the time to put those things into action in your life, for you will see to it that those instructions do work. When you do everything within the Word of God that you possibly can, then everything will work to your benefit. However, when you are not a doer of the Word, then you are relying upon your own self, and self simply cannot handle all the problems in life. Next time you look into a mirror, that person that you see in the mirror is the only person that will help you, if you are not a doer of the Word.

James 1:25 "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, He being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

So instead of looking into the mirror at yourself, you look into "the perfect law of liberty". The "perfect law of liberty", is the New Testament; it is the truth from God's Word. Those words that are written in that "perfect law of liberty", gives you liberty from the law. It frees you from the guilt that the law puts upon you, and your conscience when you fall short of God's laws and commandments from the old law [Old Testament]. While we are in the flesh we will fall short, for all flesh falls short of God's law.

When we are in Christ and look into the Word of God and study it and place it into our mind, then we "continueth therein". You don't just know that Word, but you continue doing what it tells you to do, for it becomes a process. When you continue doing anything, it means that you don't stop doing what you are doing. When you place the Word of God in your mind and continue doing that Word, it means that the Word is becoming an action in your life.

This is a promise from God. If you read and study the Word of God, you allow that knowledge to work in your life through your works. God is promising that He will bless you, in deed. Remember what the word "blessed" means from above? In the Greek it is # 3107, "makairo, one who is extremely well off." These blessings apply not only to wealth and tending to physical needs, but in the gaining of wisdom and knowledge that will give you the understanding to make your life so much better. It is all those little things in life, the peace that comes when guilt is removed from your mind.

Instead of looking into a mirror at yourself, and depending upon yourself for salvation, get into the Word of God and it will literally stay in your mind and be there and available when you need it. When you do fall short of His Word, then it gives you the wisdom to repent for those sins in Jesus name, and the sting of the guilt of those sins are removed from you. That is the liberty and freedom that we have in Christ. The "law of liberty" is what makes you free.

When you have studied the Word to where you understand it, then when problems arise or people ask you a question of one of their problems, the actual page from the Word of God will come to memory, even though you have not memorized it. The point it's trying to make here is that it is important to understand what you are studying, even more then the memorizing of it. The image of God's Word does not go away, as the image of your face will that you have seen in the mirror.

In the generation that we live in today, if you know the prophesies that the Word of God foretells of your generation then there is no need to worry about the news that comes over the air or in the press. God has told us what is going to happen, and just like in Jeremiah's day, Jeremiah told the people years in advance that they were going into captivity in Babylon. It was a fact spoken to him by God. Most all of the people refused to believe Jeremiah or God, And those same warnings are given to us today, there is a new world order coming, a one world system, and all the details of that system are spelled out completely in His Word. Yet, most Christians of today chose to blind themselves by false prophets, and rely on their traditions. They think that that face in the mirror is smarter then the knowledge of God's Word.

James 1:26 "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."

You see this type of person all the time, they like to play the role of being pious, and going through the rituals of their church systems. They put on the air of being something better then all the rest. Say this man is a preacher or priest, and he goes about his religious or ceremonial tasks in a pious way, and yet if he does things that goes against the Word of God, his ministry or ceremonial ritual is in vain. The only one that he is deceiving by his actions is himself, for it doesn't take long for those around him to see the fake that he is, and the nature of his rituals. The person that claims to be a Christian, yet continues to talk about others, and do the things that he or she knows is against the Word of God, also is deceiving only himself. You are branded by your own words and your actions, for they are a mirror of what is in your mind and heart and God can read every thought of your mind.

James 1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

"Pure religion" is the religion that God accepts as coming from you in doing His Word. These are the things that God accepts as being good works and following His work. The "fatherless" are the "bereaved orphans", and the widows are the having a rough time of the loss of their husbands.

"To keep himself unspotted from the world", means that you are not all wrapped up in the philosophy and traditions of the world that will bring about your deception. This is the doctrine that Jesus Christ taught, and it is true religion. Stay away from vanity, and focus on being a doer of the Word, and not a hearer only. Participate in what conforms to the Word of God, and practice what you know to be the truth from His Word.

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