<p>2:2 <i>For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing</i>- Gk. 'Gold fingered'- not just one ring. The use of the word 'synagogue' here shows that some of the early Jewish ecclesias were the result of whole synagogues being converted to Christ. The ecclesias are also called synagogues in Acts 6:9; thus Heb.10:25 reads literally &quot;Not forsaking the synagoguing of yourselves together&quot;. The fact James uses the word 'synagogue' rather than 'ecclesia' indicates the degree to which early Jewish Christians still kept a fair amount of the Jewish approach to religion. The Lord said that the time would come when they would be cast out of the synagogues; He made no demand that they leave the system at that stage, for He had no concept of guilt by association. Thus the letter of Acts 15 concerning this implies that it was felt quite in order for Jewish believers to continue being circumcised, whilst the Gentile believers still had to abstain from blood (Acts 15:29). Elsewhere Paul vigorously argues that obedience to both these Mosaic commands was quite irrelevant to salvation or spiritual growth. Similarly Paul seems to have placed great importance on keeping a Jewish feast (Acts 18:21), whilst telling the Colossians (2:14-17) that this was not necessary due to Christ's death. The rich stranger who unexpectedly turned up at their ecclesia perhaps refers to the same class of Jewish itinerant preachers as are mentioned in 2 Jn.7-11. James is writing to Jewish believers. The &quot;poor man&quot; walking into the ecclesia was a brother- &quot;the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom&quot; (v.5). If this poor brother was also a Jew, why does James talk about &quot;Your assembly&hellip; you have respect to (the rich)... and say to the poor....&quot;&quot;? We have two possibilities at least:</p><p>1) The letter was written just to a group of rich Jews; or<br />2) The letter was written generally to all Jewish believer and the &quot;poor man&quot; represented the poor Gentile brethren whom the Jewish believers despised.</p><p>There is fair support for both:</p><p>1) Poor believers are equally in need of exhortation as are the rich. They are even more prone to the temptations of materialism; but there is nothing aimed at this group in James. Chapter 2 rebukes rich brethren for belittling these poor brethren. Chapter 3 is about brethren seeking to be &quot;many masters&quot; (3:1) and proudly talking to that end. These are the temptations especially faced by rich, capable brethren. Chapter 4 describes the itinerant Jewish traders always hungry to make more money (4:13). Chapter 5 is specifically about &quot;you rich men... your riches are corrupted&quot; (5:1,2).</p><p>2) &quot;The poor of this world&quot; could be Gentiles- &quot;He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor&quot; (2 Cor. 8:9) is quoted by Paul to show that the poor Gentiles had received spiritual riches, and should therefore contribute their earthly riches to the poor Jewish believers at Jerusalem (Rom. 15:26). &quot;Rich in faith&quot; would then refer to the Gentiles being given the spiritual riches of Christ (2 Cor. 9:9). &quot;Heirs of the kingdom&quot; recalls Eph.3:6 &quot;That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs&quot; through also having the promises of inheriting the Kingdom made to them (Gal. 3:27-29).</p><p>There are no doubt elements of truth in both views. Thus the letter does seem to be aimed at the rich Jewish Christians who had fled Israel from the persecution of Saul; but there may also be a secondary implication that the poor brethren they were despising were Gentiles. This would be in keeping with the fact that every reference in James to the Jew/Gentile, Moses/ Christ question within the ecclesia is indirect and subtle.</p><p>One of the reasons for James writing was to encourage the Jews to spiritually improve so that the second coming would be hastened and the Kingdom established for real, rather than the 'coming' being just a 'coming down' manifestation of the Lord, as it actually was. It was the affluent sector of Jewry who had a partial faith in Christ whom James singles out as being the important ones whose repentance would hasten the second coming. Applying these things to the last days, it cannot be without significance that the 'Jews for Jesus' movement is gaining phenomenal ground- amongst whom? The affluent, loud mouthed (cp. James 3), money-loving, trade-crazy Jews of North America (cp. James 4:13; 5:2). Bearing in mind the orthodox false doctrines these people are full of, they fit well their prototypes in James- Jews who were not truly humble to the power of the word, committed to a 'hail fellow well met' Christianity (cp. 2:2,3). Notice that generally it has not been the poor Jews of London's East End or downtown Tel Aviv who are professing Christ. We know that the Jews are still to face their greatest holocaust. How relevant then is James 5:1-3: &quot;You rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you... you have heaped treasures together for the last days&quot;. Every persecution of the Jews has been partly inspired by Gentile jealousy at their wealth- not least in these last days. Turning the spotlight to spiritual Israel- maybe the implication of James is that if only we can summon the courage to repent of our gross materialism into which the ecclesia of the last days has slumped, then there will be a hastening of the second coming. It is Biblically argued elsewhere that a specific rejection of materialism by the ecclesia of the last days may save us from part of the tribulation to come, and thus hasten the coming of Christ for us. If we do not curb it, we may need to go through the tribulation to achieve the same spiritual effect upon us as would a specific repentance from it here and now.</p><p>&quot;A gold ring, in goodly apparel&quot; probably connects with 1 Peter 3:1,3: &quot;you wives... whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of... wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel&quot;. The links between James and Peter are so numerous that it seems fair to assume that there is a conscious connection here. In this case it is worth noting that the passage in 1 Peter 3:3 about adorning has subtle reference to Judaism- e.g. &quot;adorning&quot; is the Greek 'kosmos'-ing, often used about the Jewish age. 'Cosmetic' is derived from this word too.</p><p>&quot;A poor man in vile raiment&rdquo; may also be talking about spiritual pride and partiality. For the word &quot;vile&quot; carries the idea of morally filthy- it is translated &quot;filthiness&quot; a few verses earlier in 1:21 in a moral sense; and &quot;the filthiness of the flesh&quot; in 1 Peter 3:21 (note Rev.22:11 too). The idea of raiment or clothing representing a spiritual state is common in the New Testament. Thus James may be warning them against judging a brother who, due to his poverty, appears outwardly to have an appearance of evil when this is not the case.</p>