James
Chapter Five

JAMES 5:8

"Be ye also patient. Establish your hearts: for the coming of the LORD draweth nigh."

"Coming of the Lord" Commentaries

Albert Barnes
"Verse 8. Be ye also patient. As the farmer is. In due time, as he expects the return of the rain, so you may anticipate deliverance from your trials. Stablish your hearts. Let your purposes and your faith be firm and unwavering. Do not become weary and fretful; but bear with constancy all that is laid upon you, until the time of your deliverance shall come.

For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Compare Revelation 22:10,12,20; See Barnes "1 Corinthians 15:51". It is clear, I think, from this place, that the apostle expected that that which he understood by "the coming of the Lord" was soon to occur; for it was to be that by which they would obtain deliverance from the trials which they then endured. See James 5:7. Whether it means that he was soon to come to judgment, or to bring to an end the Jewish policy and to set up his kingdom on the earth, or that they would soon be removed by death, cannot be determined from the mere use of the language. The most natural interpretation of the passage, and one which will accord well with the time when the epistle was written, is, that the predicted time of the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24) was at hand; that there were already indications that that would soon occur; and that there was a prevalent expectation among Christians that that event would be a release from many trials of persecution, and would be followed by the setting up of the Redeemer's kingdom. Perhaps many expected that the judgment would occur at that time, and that the Saviour would set up a personal reign on the earth. But the expectation of others might have been merely--what is indeed all that is necessarily implied in the predictions on the subject--that there would be after that a rapid and extensive spread of the principles of the Christian religion in the world. The destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple would contribute to that by bringing to an end the whole system of Jewish types and sacrifices; by convincing Christians that there was not to be one central rallying-point, thus destroying their lingering prejudices in favour of the Jewish mode of worship; and by scattering them abroad through the world to propagate the new religion. The epistle was written, it is supposed, some ten or twelve years before the destruction of Jerusalem, (Intro., & 3,) and it is not improbable that there were already some indications of that approaching event.

{+} "stablish" or, "Establish"
{a} "the coming of the Lord" Revelation 22:20" (in loc.)

G.C. Berkower
"Consistent Eschatology sees the expectation of the coming of the Kingdom within the first generation of believers as the heart and soul of the early church. Clearly we cannot simply ignore this view of eschatology.. we are obligated to deal with the accented nearness of the Kingdom found in the New Testament. We read there that the end of all things is at hand; that the believer is to be sane and sober (1 Pet. 4:7); that the Lord is at hand (Phil. 4:5); that the judge is standing at the door (James 5:8,9); that the time is near (Rev. 1:3). These passages have constantly presented problems for New Testament preaching. What does the New Testament mean by the last days, the last hour? What does it mean when it says that "the night is far gone, the day is at hand" (Rom. 13:12)? In what sense has the end of the ages come upon the community of believers (1 Cor. 10:11)? How are Paul's words to be explained when he says that God will soon (en tachei) crush Satan (Rom 16:20)?" (The Return of Christ p. 82)

“We read there that the end of all things is at hand; that the believer is to be sane and sober (I Peter 4:7); that the Lord is at hand (Philippians 4:5); that the judge is standing at the door (James 5:8, 9); that the time is near (Revelation 1:3). These passages have constantly presented problems for New Testament preaching.” (G.C. Berkower, p. 82).

J.B. Coffman
"Until the coming of the Lord ... In Jesus' great prophetic utterances regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, as recorded in Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, our Lord blended the prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem with those of the coming of the end of the world; and, in all probability, not even the apostles and other New Testament writers understood until long afterward that the two events would be separated by a vast distance in time. Only time would reveal that the destruction of Jerusalem, which was indeed the end of the Jewish dispensation, of the Jewish state, and of Judaistic persecution of Christianity, would be only a type of the destruction of the whole world at the Second Advent. They fully understood that Jerusalem was to be destroyed before that "generation" had passed (see in my Commentary on Mark for double meaning of "generation," p. 292). "Coming of the Lord," therefore, in this place has primary reference to the destruction of Jerusalem; but in its wider reference to the Second Advent, the admonition of "patience" applies to all generations of Christians.

Verse 8 It is difficult not to lose patience with those commentators who receive every such reference as this as an occasion for declaiming upon the "mistake" of all the New Testament writers in expecting the "coming of the Lord" (in his final advent, of course) as an event certain to occur in their lifetime. See extended discussion of "The Speedy Return" of Christ, under 1 Thessalonians 1:10, in CT. The particular "coming of the Lord" mentioned by James here was indeed "at hand." As James would declare a little later, "The judge standeth before the doors" (James 5:9).

Matthew Henry
"The coming of the Lord to punish the wicked Jews was then very nigh, when James wrote this epistle; and, whenever the patience and other graces of his people are tried in an extraordinary manner, the certainty of Christ's coming as Judge, and the nearness of it, should establish their hearts. The Judge is now a great deal nearer, in his coming to judge the world, than when this epistle was written, nearer by above seventeen hundred years; and therefore this should have the greater effect upon us. "

"...behold, the Judge standeth before the door, v. 9. Do not be impatient, do not quarrel with one another; the great Judge, who will set all to fights, who will punish the wicked and reward the good, is at hand; he should be conceived by you to stand as near as one who is just knocking at the door. The coming of the Lord to punish the wicked Jews was then very nigh, when James wrote this epistle." (Matthew Henry, Vol. 6, p. 996).

Thomas Manton
"What is meant here? Any particular coming of Christ, or His solemn coming to general judgment? I answer, Both may be intended; the primitive Christians thought both would fall out together. 1. It may be meant of Christ's particular coming to judge these wicked men. This epistle was written about thirty years after Christ's death, and there was but little time between that and Jerusalem's last, so that unto the coming of the Lord is until the overwhelming of Jerusalem, which is also elsewhere expressed by coming, if we may believe Chrysostom and OEcumenius of John 21:22: "If I will that he tarry till I come," that is, say they, come to Jerusalem's destruction."

(On James 5:8)
"Either, first, to them by a particular judgment; for there were but a few years, and then all was lost; and probably that may be it which the apostles mean when they speak so often of the nearness of Christ's coming. But you will say, How could this be propounded as an argument of patience to the godly Hebrews that Christ would come and destroy the temple and city? I answer, (1) The time of Christ's solemn judiciary process against the Jews was the time when He did acquit Himself with honour upon His adversaries, and the scandal and reproach of His death rolled away. (2) The approach of His general judgment ended the persecution; and when the godly were provided for at Pella, the unbelievers perished by the Roman sword."

(On James 5:9)
"He had said before, 'The coming of the Lord draweth nigh;' now he addeth that 'he is at the door,' a phrase that doth not only imply the sureness, but the suddenness, of judgment. See Matthew 24:33: 'Know that it is near, even at the door;' so that this phrase intendeth also the speediness of the Jewish ruin."

Pulpit Commentary
"The Lord is at hand; therefore be not careful to exact your full rights; love is more precious than gold in the treasury of heaven.  Compare Jas.5:8, `Be ye also patient, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.'  Others interpret the words, not of the future advent, but of the Lord's present nearness.  Com. Ps.145:18, `The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him.'  But this seems scarcely so  appropriate here."  (Edited by J.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, p.156.)

C. Jonathan Seraiah
"It is true that the "eschatology" of the New Testament is predominantly preterist. For those unfamiliar with the preterist perspective, it is the ancient view that many of the eschatological passages of the New Testament were fulfilled (completely) in the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. This view may sound novel, but in reality there have been orthodox adherents to it throughout church history (e.g., Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, John Lightfoot, John Owen, Milton Terry, Jay Adams). This interpretation does not deny the Final Coming of Christ; it merely finds that not all "coming" passages refer to that event. The preterist interpretation is actually the most faithful to the biblical text because it recognizes that Old Testament prophetic terminology was used by the New Testament authors. This recognition is helpful in distinguishing the prophecies of Christ's coming that were near, in the first century (Matt. 10:23; 16:28; 24:30; 26:64; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 1:7; James 5:7-9; 1 Pet. 4:7; Rev. 1:3, 7; etc.) and thus fulfilled in a.d. 70, from those that were far (John 5:28-29; Acts 1:11; 17:31; 1 Cor. 15:23-24; 1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Jn. 3:2; etc.) and thus not yet fulfilled even in our day. It also helps to distinguish between a spiritual "coming" (invisible for temporal judgment, as in a.d. 70) and a physical coming (visible for eternal judgment)." (End of All Things)

John Brown (1866)
"It is quite plain that in our Lord's prediction the expressions "the end," and probably "the end of the world," are used in reference to the entire dissolution of the Jewish economy. The events of that period were very minutely foretold, and our Lord distinctly stated that the existing generation should not pass away till all things respecting "this end" should be fulfilled, This was to be a season of suffering for all; of trial, severe trial, to the followers of Christ; of dreadful judgment on His Jewish opposers, and of glorious triumph to His religion. To this period there are repeated references in the apostolical epistles. "Knowing the time," says the Apostle Paul, "that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand." "Be patient," says the Apostle James; "stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." "The Judge standeth before the door." Our Lord's predictions must have been very familiar to the minds of Christians at the time this was written. They must have been looking forward with mingled awe and joy, fear and hope, to their accomplishment: "looking for the things which were coming on the earth;" and it was peculiarly natural for Peter to refer to these events, and to refer to them in words similar to those used by our Lord, as he was one of the disciples who, sitting with his Lord in full view of the city and temple, hears these predictions uttered." (Expository Discourses on 1 Peter, vol. ii. pp.292-294 ; vol iii, pp. 84-86)

Adam Clarke
The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
ηγγικε. Is at hand. He is already on his way to destroy this wicked people, to raze their city and temple, and to destroy their polity for ever; and this judgment will soon take place." (in loc.)

Gary DeMar
"It is quite obvious that the disciples connected Jesus' "coming" with the "end of the age." The "coming" of Matthew 24:3 refers to the coming of Jesus in judgment upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70. James, as well as other New Testament writers, is clear about the nearness of Jesus' coming: "the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:8), at hand for those who first read the epistle." (The Passing Away of Heaven and Earth)

"Consider James 5:8­9, a passage that MacArthur uses to support his contention that Jesus could come "at any moment," even though 2000 years have passed.⁶ "You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (v. 8). "At hand," or "near," cannot be made to mean "any moment." "At hand" is defined for us by the Bible in the next verse: "Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door" (v. 9). "At hand" = "right at the door." How far from the door is Jesus in Revelation 3:20? Being "right at the door" means being close enough to knock. MacArthur is either oblivious to the debate surrounding this issue or he tactically decided to steer his readers around the topic so as not to raise a very big red flag."  (Defending the Indefensible)

Hugo McCord
"People were wrong who thought that Jesus' second visible coming would be in the first century. I, too, get that impression from Jesus' words that "immediately after the tribulation (Jerusalem' destruction in 70 A.D.) . . . they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:29-30).

Jesus' use of the word "immediately" [eutheos, Matthew 24:29] poses a problem for my finite mind, but the Scriptures remind me that I should "forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," and that "The Lord is not slack concerning is promises, as men count slackness" (2 Peter 3:8-9). In more than one way, I learn that the Lord sees "not as man sees" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Dennis Swanson
"3. The Church is Left Without Hope and Reason for Patience In James 5:8 the assembly is instructed by James to be patient in the light of oppression because “the coming of the Lord is at hand.” “The readers know that the lord is coming back in the capacity of Judge. They ought to exercise patience toward their adversaries and demonstrate patience in respect to the coming of the Lord. He will avenge his people when he returns (II Thess 1:5-6).” Obviously if the Lord has already come neither the Church nor individual believers have anything from which to derive comfort it in the light of oppression and persecution.

Without the promise of the second coming the church today is alone and without hope in the world. There is no coming Christ, there is no promise of the intervention of God for His people in this age. The HP position teaches that this present world will never end there is no promise that the condition of this world will ever be anything beyond what it is; a place where the truth is suppressed by ungodly men, where Christians are persecuted and in places martyred and where false religions, cults and others error-laden philosophies spring up almost daily capturing men’s souls. In the midst of this the only hope for the believer, according to the HP is death, escape from this present, and never-ending, world. All of this, it seems, would ultimately see a return by the church to the “gloomy amillennialism “ of Francis Turretin." (Examination of IPA)

Jam 5:8 Tened también vosotros paciencia; confirmad vuestros corazones: porque la venida del Señor se acerca.