S. P. Tregelles writes,
The Apostle James (Chapter 5) speaks of the evil characteristics of “the last days”; in contrast to which he says, “Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient, stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” (7, 8.) This , then, shows what the kind of waiting for the Lord’s coming was which this Apostle taught: it was that in which “long patience” was needed. The expression, “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh”, is not one to be measured by mere interval of time, but rather with the intelligence of its absolute certainty, even though the intervening period might seem great.
….He does not make instantaneous [imminent] looking for the coming of the Lord the reason why such things should not be said or done. He does not say (as some now do), in speaking of things presently before them, “Unless the Lord come first.” (The Hope of Christ’s Second Coming, p. 24)
