Martin Lings gives us powerful reasons for believing that we have now
reached a point in time from which 'the end' - whatever that may mean -
is already in sight without being immediately imminent. The Eleventh
Hour has its roots in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The
following questions run through the book: why did the latecomers receive
the same wage as those who had laboured throughout the heat of the day?
Why were they the first to be paid? And why, did Christ say 'And the
last shall be first?' These questions are answered in the light of the
concept of the Millennium, which is clearly the equivalent of the new
Golden Age of the next cycle of time, and which is found in all three
monotheistic religions, bringing them into line, in this respect, with
Hinduism, Greco-Roman Antiquity and Buddhism.