Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Genesis 6:5.

The inhabitants of the world at this time are represented by the dwellers upon the earth at the time of the Flood. The wickedness of the antediluvians is plainly stated, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” God became weary of this people whose thoughts were only of sinful pleasure and indulgence. They sought not the counsel of God who had created them, nor cared to do His will. The rebuke of God was upon them because they followed the imagination of their own hearts; and there was violence in the land. “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth….”

In His teachings Christ referred to this. “But as the days of Noe were,” He said, “so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” …

The inhabitants of the antediluvian world had the warning given them prior to their overthrow, but the warning was not heeded. They refused to listen to the words of Noah; they mocked at his message. Righteous people lived in that generation. Before the destruction of the antediluvian world, Enoch bore his testimony unflinchingly. And in prophetic vision he saw the condition of the world at the present time. He said, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” …

It is living earnestness that God requires at this time. Ministers may have but little learning from books, but if they do the best they can with their talents; if they work as they have opportunity; if they clothe their utterances in the plainest and most simple language; if they walk in carefulness and humility, seeking for heavenly wisdom; if they work for God from the heart, actuated by love for Christ and the souls for whom Christ has died, they will be listened to by those of even superior ability and talents. There will be a charm in the simplicity of the truths they present.—The Review and Herald, November 1, 1906