Lori found it first. “You must be talking about this part, starting at verse twenty-six.” She began reading aloud. “‘And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.’”

“That’s awfully grim!” Lori said, thinking immediately of the still-unfolding tragedy on the West Coast. “But look what it says next: ‘Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.’”

“You’re right, Lori,” John Edwards replied. “But for all the horror of that word-picture, you notice that Jesus equates the coming of the kingdom of God to His own return. And what is the sign of His coming?”

Lori answered, “Is it that people in the end times will behave like people behaved in Noah’s time?”

“That’s right, and like they behaved in the time of Lot. But go on, one more step. What does Jesus say specifically they were doing?”

John asked.

“Eating, drinking, and getting married,” Lori replied.

“What about in Lot’s time in Sodom?”

“Let’s see,” she said, looking back at the page. “They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, and planting and building. But there’s no mention of marriage!”

“So is there anything wrong with any of this?” John asked.

Lori thought a minute, then answered, “Not that I can think of. They were just staying alive and building for the future.”

“You’re absolutely right. There was nothing wrong with anything mentioned here that those people were doing,” John remarked. “Nothing wrong at all, except for one thing. I want you to look at the first book of the Bible. It’s called Genesis. Find chapter six, and then verses five and those following. Start there, Lori.”

Lori flipped over the pages in the Bible she was using, found Genesis, and read: “‘Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.’” Lori paused, then added, “Verse six says, ‘And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.’ That’s really awful, Jack. But it’s disturbing to think what God must have been feeling at the time.”

“Yes, you’re right. But there is something else,” John said. “Jump down to verses twelve and thirteen.”