“THOU SHALT STAND IN THY LOT.”
By Uriah Smith
These were the words spoken to the prophet Daniel after he had received the sublime revelations recorded in his prophecy, and his work was done: “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” It was a gracious promise of rest to the aged servant of the Lord, who, it is supposed, had then reached an age between ninety and a hundred years. He was soon to rest in the grave; but he had written, as he had been moved to write, by the Holy Ghost; and the long sweep of prophetic time, which he had unrolled to the student of prophecy, would finally come to an end, and at the end of the days it was promised him that he should stand in his lot. The “end of the days” must be the end of the prophetic time, which had been the burden of his prophecy; and inasmuch as the great period of twenty-three hundred days was the longest period mentioned by him, and reached down to the latest point of time, it must be the end of that period, which was to mark the time when Daniel should stand in his lot. This expression has been the subject of no little study; for it has been supposed to involve a point that determined the truthfulness or failure of what the prophet has foretold. It has been taken for granted that the promise that he should stand in his lot could be fulfilled only by his resurrection from the dead; hence that the meaning of the promise was that at the end of the days, Daniel would be raised from the dead, and that all the other events concomitant with the resurrection of the dead would take place. And as the days are the twenty-three hundred days, the conclusion was at once reached that, at the end of the twenty-three hundred days, the Lord would come, and the resurrection of the dead take place. It was taken as another evidence that the prophetic periods reached to the coming of the Lord, and that a definite day was to be set for that event. This conclusion is what has led so many theological acrobats to feel it incumbent on them to fix a time for the Lord to come. There is one fact which was a heavy drawback to this conclusion; and that is that the word for “lot,” in which the prophet was to stand, does not mean a portion, or parcel, of real estate, but something “determined by the decisions of chance or providence,” as when, in the selection of Matthias to the place in the apostleship, from which Judas had fallen, the disciples cast “lots” to decide the question. Was there ever any other experience in the history of the church in which the “lot” figured conspicuously, in this sense?—A very notable instance is recorded in Num. 26:52–56. It was a moment of thrilling interest in the experience of the Israelites, between Egypt and Canaan, when they stood upon the borders of the promised land, and the portion of the inheritance that each tribe was to have was divided unto them by lot. The lot was cast, and each family received the portion that was assigned to it in this manner. This transaction, like other events in the history of that people, was an ensample, and was written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 1 Cor. 10:11. As those who then stood upon the borders of the earthly Canaan received the title to their inheritance by the lot that was cast, so the lot, in the sense of deciding destiny, is to be given forth again, for those who stand upon the borders of the heavenly Canaan, and who are thus to have a place assigned to them in that better land. When did the days referred to in Daniel’s case come to an end?—In 1844; there, on the tenth day of the seventh month, October 22, the twenty-three hundred days ended. The prophet had said, “Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” And by this we were brought to the beginning of the final work in the sanctuary in heaven,—a work that involves the examination of every one who has been enrolled as belonging to the Israel of God, and includes the decision of every case, whether to enter into, or be shut out of, the heavenly Canaan,—a work that corresponds, most strikingly, to the dividing by lot of the inheritance to ancient Israel as they stood, in anxious expectation, on the boundary line of the10land to which they had been journeying, ready to pass in and possess it. It is in this work of judgment, this decision of character, and determination of destiny, that Daniel stands in his lot, or receives the assurance of a part in the heavenly land; and here also, all they who have been overcomers stand in their lot in the same manner, when their cases shall be reached. They will pass favorably the test, and be established forever as the children of God, while, as David says, “The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.” Ps. 1:5. What is of intense interest to us now, is that this is the position of the church to-day. We stand upon the borders of the heavenly Canaan; and it should be to us a moment of as much more thrilling interest than was the occasion to ancient Israel referred to, as the inheritance that we are expecting soon to enter upon is greater and more enduring than was theirs. Before them was only an earthly country, with all its imperfections, with danger of drought and flood, with trials and disappointments, disease and death. But before us is the heavenly Canaan, with its freedom from the curse and sin, with its health and beauty, its absence of everything that can destroy or offend, and, in addition to its surpassing physical beauty, an “eternal weight of glory.” And are we so near to that land that we are now standing on its very borders?—So all the evidence goes to confirm. It was a happy day for ancient Israel when they had come so near to the end of their journey that they had only the last particulars to attend to, antecedent to their entering upon their promised inheritance. A happier day for us will it be if we attend faithfully to our interests in this day of the antitypical casting of lots, and counting up the heirs of everlasting life. For nearly fifty-six years the investigative judgment has been going forward. Soon its decisions will all have been reached, and those who are accepted will find their title clear to a portion in the goodly land. No more forty years of wanderings; no more trials, conflicts, and dangers by the way. The word soon will be, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The question for each one now to examine himself upon is, When this work is all done, what is the lot which will be assigned to me? Shall I have an entrance accorded to me into the heavenly fold, or shall I be among those whose lot it will be to see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and they themselves thrust out? We are assured that all heaven is interested in what is occurring in connection with the Lord’s work in the earth to-day; yea, that all heaven is astir in expectation of the decisive scenes soon to take place. To what an hour have we then come! The last generation is reached; the last warning pertaining to the issues of eternity is going forth; the work of our Mediator in the sanctuary on high is almost finished; the one and only scene of rebellion that has been permitted in the universe is soon to be brought to an end by the absolute triumph of the Redeemer of the world; the great plan of redemption, which, without this episode would have been unknown and untried, is soon to be consummated, and its final and eternally glorious fruits to appear. But meanwhile the notes of the Babel of error and confusion are swelling in deafening chorus through all the land. But he who listens with steady nerve, and the ear of faith, can hear above all the surrounding pandemonium the assurance, ringing forth from the Captain of our salvation, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world;” and, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He can hear, also, the counsel of the Faithful and True Witness, saying, “Buy of me gold tried in the fire, . . . and white raiment, . . . and eyesalve;” and this counsel is given just as we approach the verdict to be rendered in our cases, that we may not be found poor, and blind, and naked, in the decisive hour. And these graces are not only offered, but urged upon us, with a plain statement of the necessity of the case, without money and without price. So, in face of the decisions of eternity, no one need lose heart; for every hope and comfort is held out before us, and every provision made for the need of every one who is in earnest for everlasting life.