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The Great Controversy 1888
drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been
pronounced in the sanctuary above. Before the flood, after Noah en-
tered the ark, God shut him in, and shut the ungodly out; but for seven
days the people, knowing not that their doom was fixed, continued their
careless, pleasure-loving life, and mocked the warnings of impending
judgment. “So,” says the Saviour, “shall also the coming of the Son of
man be.” [
Matthew 24:39
.] Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief,
will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man’s
destiny, the final withdrawal of mercy’s offer to guilty men.
“Watch ye therefore; ... lest coming suddenly He find you sleep-
ing.” [
Mark 13:35, 36
.] Perilous is the condition of those who, growing
weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the
man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure-
lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging
her adornments,—it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will
pronounce the sentence, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art
found wanting.” [
Daniel 5:27
.]
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