ch individual with as close
and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth.
Every one must be tested, and found without spot or wrinkle or any such
thing.

Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement.
Momentous are the interests involved therein. The judgment is now passing
in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress.
Soon--none know how soon--it will pass to the cases of the living. In the
awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time
above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour's admonition,
"Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."(873) "If therefore
thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not
know what hour I will come upon thee."(874)

When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all
will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time
before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ in the
Revelation looking forward to that time, declares: "He that is unjust, let
him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and
he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let
him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me,
to give every man according as his work shall be."(875)

The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their
mortal state,--men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all
unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in
the sanctuary above. Before the flood, after Noah entered 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."(876)
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 sleeping."(877)
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