A Prophetic View of Our Times

 The Bible Answers – America and the Western World  - Israel – The Nations of the World in Prophecy – The Antichrist – A World in Chaos or Peace? – The Millennial Reign of Christ!

Bishop J. L. Payne, D.D. PhD

 

 

ISBN: 0-9752757-6-3   (Case Laminate)  First Printing March,2004 Additional Copies can be ordered From Church House Publishers online http://chpub.us

or  write to: Church House Publisher  419 West Silas Brown Street Jackson, Mississippi 39204   Publishing services provided by: CHP  Printed in the U.S.A.

  

Part Two

            The greatest question facing mankind today is the question of survival. Can we survive in these highly confused and tumultuous times? Does man’s survival depend upon him? These questions and more parade before serious minded persons in this age.

 

Closely linked with the question of survival is the question “the end”. The end is inevitable. What kind of end will it be? How near are we? Are there answers to these questions and others? Is there an ultimate source we can appeal to for explanation?

 

“The End of an Age” is a book prompted and inspired by the Holy Spirit to relay to you God’s last message to a dying age -- an age that’s headed for an abyss of sure death and judgment by an Almighty God.

 

Chapter twelve to chapter eighteen is a series of sermons with a little editing that has been preached to thousands of people and prayerfully prepared in print. May the same impact grip your heart with the same urgency that has gripped others as these messages were shared. I am deeply grateful to the word and Spirit our God’s revelation of truth revealed for these times.    

 

Chapter ninteen to chapter twenty-two is the conclusion of this presentation text on the end of the age and can be the beginning of the a continual important study of eschatology presented in the Payne Bible College Online. For more information, please contact Office of Registrar 426 W. Silas Brown Street – Jackson, Mississippi 39204 or visit site http://paynecollege.com

	Jesus’ Words, Jews in Prophecy, Islam, Gentiles, Antichrist, Coming of the End, Jesus Will Return

 

	The Climax of History…………….…………
	Trends, Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation Period, How Near Are We, Why is This Knowledge Important, Christ’s Return, Sin Question, End time Gospel, What Must God’s People Do
	Dispensations………………………….……...
	Six Great Dispensations
	Prophecy, The Bible Answers…………..…...
	Important Answered Questions Regarding the End of the World
	A Cry to America…………………….………
	The Greatness of America, Foundations Destroyed, Social Change, Our Colleges, Religious and Political Systems, Spiritual Awakening, Homosexuality, Abortion, Race Relations, Atheism and Atheist, Terrorism, Threat of Terrorism Within, International Terrorism
	The Prophet, The Life of Daniel,.…………..
	Glorious Visions and Prophecies of Daniel, Antichrist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Events are no longer  in the hands of men.” There are increasing tides of pessimism filling our national and international scenes. News programs on television and radio, newspapers and magazines all seem to unfold a growing number of sad affair in our times leading up to a final climatic hour. We cannot look candidly at situations around us today without realizing that something is about to take place beyond human control. “The End is Coming!”

 

Jesus’ Words

 

Jesus prognosticated an end to this world system. Christ never indulged in fantasy. He was truth. On one occasion His disciples asked Him, “Tell us when shall these things be” (Matt. 24:3)? Immediately, Jesus began to   give them signs to look for. However, He warned them of pinpointing dates and times. “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, the Father has put in His on power” (Acts 1:7). Although we are not to know the exact time of His return, He assured us that we could speculate by the signs that would appear and indicate the end is near. “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift your heads up; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).

 

Christ mentioned at least 25 events that would indicate His coming.  When these events are all happening at the same time, we can be sure the end of the world (age) is very near.

 

a.         Jesus spoke certain of “The End.” In reply to his disciples’ question, “When shall these things be and what shall be the signs of thy coming?”

 

Jesus answered in part, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, for nations shall rise against nation.”

 

We are in a world sick with doubt and wicked with repeated disappointments. In every country we have a widespread of distress and perplexity.

 

What does all this mean? The ruthlessness, terror, and lawlessness of our world point to nothing but anguish and misery? It adds up to one thing… It means the end is at hand. “When you see these things, look up… your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).

 

Jesus will return to the earth during the time of unprecedented war and trouble among men. It is true that there have always been war and conflict among tribes, kingdoms, and nations but never until this generation has universal destruction been on a world scale. Jeremiah was given a preview of our awful day when he cried, “I am pained at my heart, my heart maketh a noise in me, and I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of the war. Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is spoiled. I beheld and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger” (Jeremiah 4:19, 20, 26).

 

The Bible says, “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be before Christ’s coming” (Matthew 24:38,39). Before Christ comes, there will be a repeat of days of Noah.

 

b.         Days of Noah

 

When we read Genesis chapter 4, 5, and 6 we are given a graphic picture of some events before the flood.  It was…

 

1.                  A time of religious apostasy (Gen. 4:3-5)

2.                  An age of travel (Gen. 4:16)

3.                  An age of music  (Gen. 4:21)

4.                  An age of metal (Gen. 4:22)

5.                  An age of city building  (Gen. 4:17)

6.                  An age of agricultural advances (Gen. 4:20)

7.                  An age of crime and violence (Gen.4: 23, 24)

8.                  An age of polygamy and sexuality (Gen. 4:19)

 

Today, we have an exact repetition of those days.

 

 The Bible predicts an end to the systems of men

            Arnold Toynbee, an eminent historian of our day, has pointed out that 26 civilizations have withered and died since the beginning of time. Is there any question that we aren’t going in the same direction these past civilizations took before their fall?

           

There are many people who brand us as calamity preachers, alarmists, or panic button pushers, because we speak of the end. I see something coming upon this nation as well as upon the world that requires an alarm to be sounded. This alarm is sounded for every man, woman and child. Not a person dare be missed. It concerns us all. It is God’s last call to man. Something strange is taking place about us. It can be felt as well as seen. Ladies and gentlemen, we are coming to “THE END!”

 

God has declared in His word that He would not do anything until He first reveals it unto His servants, the prophets. When we look back at history, there was no flood without Noah’s warning to the people. There was no apostasy in Israel without an Elijah sounding the alarm. There was no fall of Rome without early Christians predicting its doom. There wasn’t the coming of Jesus Christ without the sounding of prophets. There was no eminent coming of Christ without John the Baptist. Will we experience an abrupt end of world systems, the second advent of Christ, and Armageddon without a warning?

           

Is there such a warning? Is there a message that will do for today’s world such as that spoken by Noah, Elijah, and John during their generations?  This is a challenging, alarming, and daring thought. The fact remains that all signs point to the end and terminus of history, as we know it.     The Prophet Jeremiah saw the doom of Babylon fifty years before it fell and began to declare it. In Jeremiah 51:13, the Bible says, “Thine end is come.”  Babylon at that time was at the height of its power. God’s judgment against the nation was irrevocable. Gross sins were bringing it down. “The wages of sin is death.” “The wicked shall be turned into hell,” says God. God’s Spirit will not always strive with man.

           

When the Prophet Zephaniah saw the approaching end and disaster of Judah, he cried, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly” (Zephaniah 1:14). Yet, Judah was 20 years away from her fall. Her sins had made the end inevitable and near.

           

I, too, see catastrophe coming upon our entire world, the western world and this nation unless we turn to God. The evidence is overwhelming. The end of an age and death is on our civilization. As we look at the deaths of past civilizations, they had similar experiences as most of the great nations of our world, western world, and the Americas. They rose to power through a long period of development. They prospered for a season, and then abruptly passed away. Our progress has risen higher and higher each year. It is not a civilized world and America’s progress that’s killing us, but our sinfulness; our departure from God. This civilization, rich and most prosperous of all times, is dying spiritually!

 

Billy Graham stated in his book, World Aflame, “Our interests are centered in ourselves, we are preoccupied with material things. Our supreme god is technology, our goddess sex. We give more thought to what we wear, what we eat, what we drink, and what we can do to relax than we do to what we   are.” We don’t   seem to be concerned with the way we are going, where we are headed and our final end.       The world is on its deathbed and it is only a matter of time before we’re placed in the grave, if we aren’t awakened and rescued out of our spiritual slumber. The grave is open, pallbearers are standing at the door, the last rights are about to be given, the eulogy is about to be pronounced and memories of our existence are about to be banished in outer darkness, never to be relived again. Every concerned person needs to go to God in prayer seeking His divine favor and pardon, deliverance, and help.

           

“WILL God in His mercy postpone judgment a little longer?”  Coupled with the end of the nations of our world, western world, this nation, and mankind on this planet, I foresee something else, “IT IS THE END OF THIS AGE AND MANKIND IN THIS NOW KNOWN WORLD!”

 

The Bible tells us that the world as we know it shall end. The scripture says in I John 2:17, “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” It says again in II Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up.”          This world is now on a rapid course to the climax of this present time. It is very possible that we may witness such a climax in our day.

           

“It’s later than many think.”

           

Paul wrote to Christians, “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the Armour of light” (Romans 13:11-12).

           

Thousands, tens of thousands, even millions are blind to the end of time and the doom of the world. Many Christians have grown familiar with the constant warning of the nearness of the end and the legacy of their lives until this familiarity has bred contempt. They are sophisticated in their believing, slow of heart in their devotions to Christ’s ministry, unrepented in their spirit. They have just become dead in the pretense of being spiritually awakened.

           

May these words resound in our hears until it grips our hearts and lives, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the work of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Roman 13:12-14). “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein, the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?   Nevertheless, we according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (II Peter 3:11-14).

           

A U.S. Senator stated recently, “There is a developing mood of anger frustration in this country and there ought to be for we are losing round after round in the cold war and our people do not like it.” At the close of World War II, our forces stood triumphant on the land and sea and in the air. We had at our command the mightiest array of military power in history. Yet, the last 16 years have witnessed a calamitous retreat from victory. During all these years we have suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the lack of vision for the Christian’s message. We have retreated from the spirituality of our faith and Christian heritage in practice and message in this country. America was founded on the Bible. Please refer to the chapter in this book title “A Cry to America.” Everywhere we are in spiritual decline. We have retreated so far that we now stand perilously close to the brink of total disaster as a spiritual nation of Bible’s standards and laws.

 

The senator was asked how close are we to this disaster and the total enslavement of the world?  He replied, “Last December I was privileged to speak in the City of Paris and at the time I said, if there were another 15 years like the last 15 years, there would be no more free world left to defend. In the light of what has happened over the intervening 8 months since I made that observation in Paris, I feel compelled to revise that timetable. I do not believe we have 15 years left. The next 5 years will contain a series of decisive battles, which will determine for centuries to come whether mankind is to live in freedom or to live in slavery. We stand now, my friends, with our backs to the end. We have no more ground to give, no time to lose, no margin for error.”

 

World Answer – Jesus Christ

 

In this world full of turmoil and pessimism, there is only one light penetrating in this gloom. It is expressed from the pages of the Bible. Jesus Christ, God’s Son is coming back to this earth. This is the most profound coming event in the whole world. Every Christian, I believe, at this hour should be looking for the soon return of our Lord; that day will not catch us unaware. “Be watchful, be ready” said the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Yet, in spite of the continual and repeated warning in the Bible of Christ’s coming, this event is the most unpopular to the world and people dare to receive or believe it.    The Bible speaks of scoffers that will come, saying: “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (II Peter 3:4).         

 

God’s word always disregards the ideas and opinions of men. If there is ever a time our Bibles should be taken seriously, it is now!!!

 

“The Alarm Clock is Ringing”

 

A message for this crisis time in which we live is found in Romans 13:11-14. It reads:

 

“And that, knowing the time, 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: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

 

            Here we have a pattern for action spelled out for pastors and churches, which are called upon to meet the challenge of society in crisis. This is the situation in which we find ourselves today. Paul is writing to the infant church at Rome. Roman society and civilization at that time were in a sad state of decline. The Empire was beginning to break up. In earlier history it had had a relatively high standard of law and order, of political integrity, of moral behavior, and of civil obedience. But now the seeds of decadence, the seeds of lawlessness, the seeds of permissiveness, the seeds of self-indulgence, the seed of greed, and the seed of ambition had taken root and sin was rampant in the society at that particular time. Edward Gibbon, the famous historian who wrote the classic, The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire, made that famous remark that the decline of the great Roman Empire came not because of opposition without but because of corruption and decay within.

           

This was the kind of society that this infant church was cradled in. They were living in times of social, political, economic, domestic, and moral crisis -- very much like the day in which we are living at this particular time.  In verse 11 we read, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” The Apostle Paul uses the word “time” twice “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time…” and in the original text these are two different words. The first word  “time” – means it is a special occasion, it is seasonable. It is not the usual or the normal word used for time. Literally it means a period marked by untoward ness or emergency circumstances, crisis times. Williams in his New Testament translated like that – “knowing the present crisis.”  It is an emergency situation, not just a normal, usual setting.

           

The second word, “Now it is high time to awake our sleep…” means it is the moment for action; the moment has arrived. There is a sense of urgency, a sense of pressure here. The hour is late – in what he is trying to get across. It is now high time. It is a call to action. Lenski in his commentary suggest that what Paul is saying here is “The alarm clock is ringing!” as he writes to these Christians in Rome. These are crisis days, emergency days, and the Apostle writing to the believers in the church at Rome says, “it is high time; the time is late; this is an emergency situation. It is a call to action. He gives us more details with regard to the situation as we read on. In verse 13 he says, “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.” That is not a complete list, obviously, of the sins of that society. What we have here is a summation. They cover the whole range of iniquities. The sins of men in that day may be classified into three categories: word, thought, and deed; body, sense and mind. Sins of the flesh, world, and the devil had taken over the lives of people.

 

We look upon our day with the same crises and sense of emergency. The condition and picture of the Roman Empire just before her fall is an exact replica of our times. Their condition was seen so clearly to the early church as a judgment of God upon a society where its sins were at a saturation point.  God’s judgment could not be delayed.  Are we not in a similar situation today? Is it not that the Spirit of God is grieved over the affairs of men in our nation and the world? Will God tolerate sin forever? Can we judge from God’s dealing with men and declare an alarm clock is ringing? Is not this is a moment for action? It is high time to awake out of spiritual sleep? These are crises days, emergency days. The time is late! An emergency situation exists to seek the Lord while He may be found!