Noah And The End

Sicut autem in diebus Noe ita erit.. Sicut ante diluvium, recedente ab hominibus Dei timor, nihil faciebant homines ad gloriam Dei, sed omnia propter solam carnem: sive enim manducabant aut bibebant, non ad gloriam Dei manducabant aut bibebant, sicut mandat Apostlus, sed propter solam voluptatem carnalem: sic erit circa saeculi finem. Sicut enim homines, qui in totum carni subjecti sunt, quamvis habeant animam, tamen solummodo carnes dicuntur, testante Scriptura: Non permanebit spiritus meus in hominibus istis, quoniam sunt carnes. In quibus autem pars animae praevalet, quamvis sint carnales, spirituales dicuntur, sicut dicit Apostolis: Vos autem non estis carnis, sed spiritu, si tamen spiritus Dei habitet in vobis. Sic opera hominum, quamvis sint spiritualia, si facta fuerunt propter causam carnis, utputa, si quis opus bonum propter homines faciat, invenitur esse carnale: et quamvis sit carnale, si propter causam spiritualem fuerit factum, id est, propter gloriam Dei, invenitur spirituale esse propter causam spiritualem. Sicut fuit in diebus Noe. Id est, sic erit generalis interitus, sic subitaneus, Sicut tunc omnis creatura deleta est, sola autem area evasit, de trabibus quadratis facta, octo animas bajulans: ita et in consummatione omnes haereses interibunt, una tantummodo arca salvabitur, id est, Ecclesia Christi, de justis hominibus congregata. Sicut tunc quicquid fuit extra arcam periit,sic in fine quicumque fuerit extra unam Ecclesiam veritatis, peribit. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia L Source: Migne PG 56.922

As it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be... 1 As it was before the deluge, when reverence for God withdrew from men, and men did nothing for the glory of God, but everything was for the flesh alone, so that when they ate or drank, they did not eat or drink for the glory of God, as the Apostle commands, 2 but on account of the pleasure of the flesh, so it shall be at the end of the world. For men who are utterly subjected to the flesh, though they have souls, are said to be just flesh, with Scripture bearing witness: 'My spirit shall not remain in men forever, because they are flesh.' 3 But when the part of the soul prevails, though they are in the flesh, they are named spiritual, as the Apostle says, 'But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if the spirit of God dwells in you.' 4 So the works of men, although they are spiritual, if they are performed for the sake of the flesh, that is, if a good work is done on account of men, 5 it is found to be carnal, and likewise if a work is carnal, but it is done for the sake of a spiritual cause, that is, the glory of God, it is found to be spiritual on account of the spiritual cause. 'As it was in the days of Noah.' That is, there shall be a sudden and general ruin. So then all creatures shall be destroyed, and only that place shall be spared where is the work from the square-cut beams, 6 and the eight who bear souls. Thus in the consummation all heresies shall be destroyed, and only the one ark of salvation shall save, that is the Church of Christ, where the righteous are gathered. As, then, whatever was outside the ark perished, so in the end whatever is outside the true Church shall perish. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 50 1 Mt 24.37 2 1 Cor 10.3-4 3 Gen 6.3 4 Rom 8.9 5 Mt 6.1 6 Gen 6.14 LXX