Is there faith at the end of the world?

The parish celebrates the 29^th Ordinary Sunday while the Diocese the Mission Sunday. I attended both and there are two different gospel readings. The Luke story in the Ordinary Sunday is very demanding and comes back to the theme of "faith" once more.

Luke made it clear at the beginning that the parable is about perseverance in prayer.
And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1).
So, what story did Jesus make up to encourage people to persevere in praying?
Jesus made use of an unrighteous judge and a widow. The judge was unrighteous because he neither feared God nor regarded men (Luke 18:2). In the eyes of the modern men, these judges would be ideal judges because they would be impartial.
Morality has changed. The norms have changed. In ancient Israel, there were many legal provisions to protect the rights of the disadvantaged such as widows. For example, Deuteronomy explicitly warned the judges who did not deal with widows fairly.
Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow (Deuteronomy 27:19).
In the parable, the judge brushed aside the case of a widow who kept pestering him to vindicate her case. At last, the widow was able to bend the judge.
For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor regard man,
yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.' (Luke 18:4-5)
So, Jesus seemed to encourage us to persevere in our prayer to wear God out so as to bend His will.
And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily." (Luke 14:6-8a)
The judge had been unrighteous because he had denied the widow justice. By wearing him out, the widow obtained what was due hers. God is not unrighteous. He certainly will vindicate His chosen ones without waiting for them to wear Him out.

While we think we have already read and understood the parable, Jesus reserves a little surprise for us.
when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8b)
Why did Jesus suddenly turn the topic to the end of the world, "when the Son of man comes"?
Well, we need to read the whole context. Indeed, Jesus was talking about the end of the world (Luke 17:20-37), and this parable of prayer seems to have been inserted before the last half of the text to become 18:8b. Jesus teaches us that perseverance in praying helps us go through all the tribulations and trials at the end of the world. Let's return to the context.
The Pharisees were asking Jesus when the Kingdom of God was coming (Luke 17:20a). Then Jesus mentioned the stories of Noah and Lot to tell the audience that the Kingdom of God would come at the least expected moment.
Now, Jesus' words make more sense. At the end of the world, God's elect will call on the name of the Lord to deliver them and God will vindicate them speedily. God will not forsake them.
But why did Jesus make such an odd statement about how little faith he will find on earth at the end?
Let's do some calculations with the 2 destruction cases Jesus chose. In Noah's Deluge, only eight people survived: Noah, his 3 sons and the wives (Genesis 7:13). In Lot's situation, the situation was worse. Only Lot, his wife and his 2 daughters survived the Sodom and Gomorrah destruction (Genesis 19:15). There were other destruction cases such as the fall of Jericho. Whatever cases you choose, in each, very few people put their faith in God. No wonder Jesus lamented the lack of faith at the end of the world. Perhaps it is the lack of faith that push the world over the edge and only perseverance in praying helps us survive.

Dear Lord, You teach us to remain sober and alert all the time to prepare for Your return. I am too much occupied in my work and in my studies. Help me, Lord, strike the right balance. Amen.