"and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be"
Notice the word understand; it is the word ginosko. It means to know, to understand, to perceive, to comprehend. Jesus tells His followers that right up until the end of the world the people who oppose Christianity will not get it. They will continue to think that they are right and we are wrong. They will not understand that they are under the wrath of a holy and righteous God and need the Savior that has been provided. They will continue to go about living life as though there were no outside judge evaluating their behavior.
They will be taken completely without warning from their point of view. People who live with a complete self-focus are only consumed with what they want and what makes sense from their limited point of view. It is unfortunate that they are unwilling to realize that there is a judgment day to face, that there are consequences for their actions, that there must be a Creator who developed the world in which they live. All this escapes their notice as they pursue money, sex, and power or their own particular pleasure.
Notice that the flood of Noah is being used as historical fact by our Lord. It really took place and it really wiped everybody out.
Notice the suddenness of the destruction. There was no warning for those who were completely self-absorbed. It was unexpected for those who were not paying attention to the larger issues of the natural and spiritual world. It will not be unexpected for those who are believers. It is an unexpected disaster to those who love this world. They make the pleasures, rewards, values, and stuff of this world their whole universe. It never occurs to them that the culture that they are living in is a man-made construct using the gifts of God. They look down their noses at those who do not embrace their value constructs. It is through these constructs that they completely erase from their minds the larger questions of: Why are we here? Is there a God? What is truth? Why am I here?
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz