ere is
none that doeth good, no, not one."

11. Similar to this judgment upon the world was Christ's declaration
as to the last days. He says: "When the Son of man cometh, shall he
find faith on the earth?" Lk 18, 8. It is a fearful thing to live in
such an evil and godless world. By the goodness of God, since we have
the light of his Word, we are still in the golden age. The sacraments
are rightfully administered in our Churches, pious teachers proclaim
the Word purely, and, though magistrates be weak, wickedness is not
desperately rampant. But Christ's prophecy shows that there will be
evil times when the Lord's day approaches. Wholesome teaching nowhere
will be found, the Church being dominated by the wicked, as today the
plans of our adversaries are a menace. The pope and the wicked princes
zealously strive totally to destroy the ministry of the Word,
oppressing or corrupting the true ministries, that everyone may
believe whatever pleases him.

12. So much the more diligently should we pray for our posterity, and
take earnest heed that a more wholesome doctrine be transmitted to
them. If there had been more godly teachers in the days of Noah, there
might have been more righteous people. The fact that Noah alone was
proclaimed a righteous man makes it evident that the godly teachers
had been either destroyed or corrupted, leaving Noah the sole preacher
of righteousness, as Peter calls him, 2 Pet 2, 5. Since government had
been turned into tyranny and the home vitiated by adultery and
whoredom, how could punishment be delayed any longer?

13. Such danger awaits us also if the last days are to be like the
days of Noah. Truly, the popes and bishops strenuously endeavor to
suppress the Gospel and to ruin the Churches which have been
rightfully established. Thus does the world assiduously press onward
to a period similar to the age of Noah, when, with the light of the
Word extinguished, all shall go astray in the darkness of wickedness.
For without the preaching of the Word, faith cannot endure nor prayer,
nor the purity of the sacraments.

14. Such, according to Moses, was the condition of the ancient world
in Noah's day, when the world was young and at its best. The greatest
geniuses flourished everywhere and people were well educated by
experience because they lived so long. What will be our fate in the
frenzy, so to speak, that shall befall the world in its dotage? We
should remember to care for our posterity and