rk is the only place of safety. We must bear in mind that these
railroads that we think so much of, will soon go down; they only run
for time, not for eternity. The heavens will be on fire, and then what
will property, honor, and position in society be worth?

The first thing that alarms them is, they rise one morning, and lo!
the heavens are filled with the fowls of the air. They are flying into
the ark, two by two. They come from the desert; they come from the
mountain; they come from all parts of the world. They are going into
the ark. It must have been a strange sight. I can hear the people cry,
"Great God! what is the meaning of this?" And they look down on the
earth; and, with great alarm and surprise, they see little insects
creeping up two by two, coming from all parts of the world. Then
behold! there come cattle and beasts, two by two. The neighbors cry
out, "What does this mean?" They run to their statesmen and wise men,
who have told them there was no sign of a coming storm, and ask them
why it is that those birds, animals, and creeping things go toward the
ark, as if guided by some unseen hand.

"Well," the statesmen and wise men say, "We cannot explain it; but
give yourselves no trouble; God is not going to destroy the world.
Business was never better than it is now. Do you think if God was
going to destroy the world, He would let us go on so prosperously as
He has? There is no sign of a coming storm. What has made these
creeping insects and these wild beasts of the forest go into the ark,
we do not know. We cannot understand it; it is very strange. But there
is no sign of anything going to happen. The stars are bright, and the
sun shines as bright as ever it did. Everything moves on as it has
been moving for all time past. You can hear the children playing in
the street. You can hear the voice of the bride and bridegroom in the
land, and all is merry as ever."

I imagine the alarm passed away, and they fell into their regular
courses. Noah comes out and says: "The door is going to be shut. Come
in. God is going to destroy the world. See the animals, how they have
come up. The communication has come to them direct from heaven." But
the people only mocked on.

Do you know, when the hundred and twenty years were up, God gave the
world seven days' grace? Did you ever notice that? If there had been a
cry during those seven days, I believe it would have been heard. But
there was none.

At length the last d