The Conflict Between Capital and Labor

 

God’s Message to the Rich

 

What are some sins of this last-day industrial age?

 

‘People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.” 2 Timothy 3:2.

 

When according to prophecy, were men to amass wealth?

 

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 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.” James 5:1-3.

 

Note – Billionaires and millionaires who in their greed have amassed so much wealth contrasted with misery and poverty mark this present age in the 21st century. The greed of Main Street is beyond measure and America is amassed in so much debt because of greed, that total bankruptcy is coming faster then what most people realize. Our present age most fully fits the prophecy concerning the end of time.

 

Why did Christ, in the parable, reprove the man who hid his talent and failed to put it to good use?

 

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.” Matthew 25:26,27.

 

What did Christ tell the rich young man to do? 

 

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21.    

 

What, in the parable, what did God say to the rich man who thought to build larger barns in which to store his goods?

 

“But God said to him. ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” Luke 12:20.

 

Who gives men the power to get wealth?

 

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who give you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant.” Deuteronomy 8:18. 

 

How does James condemn greed among the rich?

 

“You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.” James 5: 5,6.

 

Note – This indicates that they have lived in luxury and for pleasure, heedless of the responsibility to God or to their fellow men. Heartless greed disregards the rights, the welfare, and even the lives of those affected by its merciless schemes and intrigues. The righteous, or just, however, do not make forcible resistance to this unjust treatment.

 

How have the rich defrauded the laborers?

 

‘The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.” Verse 4.

 

Seeking a fair remuneration, what do many laborers do?

 

Form labor unions, engage in strikes, boycotts, et cetera.

 

Note – These means may improve conditions temporarily, but they cannot eradicate the deep-seated evil, it lies in the heart; and nothing but conversion – a change of the heart – a failure to love one’s neighbor as oneself. The struggle between capital and labor is inevitable as long as sin and selfishness are in the world. And now that we are at the end of time, it becomes more intense, because sin has come to its full measure and the Lord God Almighty will step into the affairs of mankind with His righteous judgments. Currently the present time is: 01-27-2010 and time is already nearing the midnight hour before the Great Tribulation.

 

God’s Message to the Laborer

 

What are God’s people told to do at this time?  

 

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5: 7, 8.

 

Note – Many Bible writers thought that Christ’s soon coming was very near. Most of the prophets of the past and many of Christ’s apostles also thought Jesus soon coming very near. Because God has foreknowledge and can see down through the ages of man, Jesus knew that the last generation of man living upon Earth would be able to understand the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. The Lord Jesus knew just how much of Earth’s population there would be at the end of time and how many people would listen to the truth about the gospel preached by His 144,000 servant prophets. Now, the time is right in Earth’s history, the word soon becomes more applicable. The last generation living upon the Earth will soon see the Judgments of Jesus and the close of the sin problem.     

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