The title “Ancient of Days” is used for God in Daniel 7:9, 13, 22. It’s a meaningful moniker used in Scripture to help us understand some of God’s attributes and character more fully. Let’s explore the meaning, significance, and implications of this title for our own lives.
Meaning and Origin of the Title
In Daniel 7, Daniel has a prophetic vision of God seated on His throne in heaven. In verses 9 and 13, God is specifically called the “Ancient of Days” in the original Aramaic. The Hebrew word translated here as “ancient” literally means “advanced in days” or “aged.” It conveys the sense of one who has been around for a very, very long time. The pairing with “of days” emphasizes God’s eternal nature and immeasurable age.
The imagery of God as the Ancient of Days points to how He transcends time and has existed forever. While humans and created things have a beginning point and time limit, God has been around before time itself began. The phrase highlights God’s sovereignty over all of time and human history. He was ruling and reigning even before the earth began and will continue to do so into eternity. As humans, we exist within time and can only see a tiny snapshot of history, but the Ancient of Days sees and knows the end from the beginning.
In addition to eternity, the title also hints at qualities like wisdom, experience, dignity, judgment, and power that come with advanced age. The ancient God has a perfect vantage point over all history and complete knowledge of everything that has or will happen.
Old Testament Background
Though the specific title “Ancient of Days” is only used in Daniel 7, the concept and imagery originate much earlier in Scripture. A couple examples:
Genesis 21:33 speaks of the “eternal God.” Deuteronomy 33:27 declares, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Both Genesis and Deuteronomy were written centuries before Daniel lived.
In 1 Chronicles 29:10, David praises God saying, “From everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90, likely written by Moses, says “From everlasting to everlasting you are God” and “You have been our dwelling place in all generations.”
Isaiah 40:28 declares, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.”
So the foundation and understanding of God’s eternal nature was clearly there long before Daniel’s vision. The specific expression “Ancient of Days” builds upon this Old Testament revelation of God’s self-existence from before time began.
New Testament Connections
The New Testament continues to develop the idea of God’s eternality and supreme reign over time.
For example, Hebrews 9:14 refers to Jesus as the “eternal Spirit.” 1 Timothy 1:17 praises “the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God.” Revelation 1:8 declares God as the one “who is and who was and who is to come.”
So whether it’s called eternal, immortal, the first and the last, or some other term, Scripture is unified in presenting God as transcending time and having no beginning or end.
There are also a few potential connections between the Ancient of Days in Daniel and Jesus in the New Testament. In Daniel 7:13, the “one like the son of man” approaches the Ancient of Days on the clouds of heaven. This appears to foreshadow Jesus, the Son of Man, ascending to the Father’s right hand. And passages like Revelation 1:12-18 portray Christ in a similar manner to Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days. Jesus is the one who declares “I am the Alpha and the Omega” and holds the keys to death and Hades (Revelation 1:17-18).
So while the New Testament does not directly use the title “Ancient of Days,” it reinforces the truth about God’s eternal nature that the title is meant to convey. And there are hints that we can connect this aspect of the Father in the Old Testament to the divine nature of Jesus revealed in the New.
Theological and Practical Significance
Calling God the Ancient of Days is more than just an interesting description – it’s meant to shape how we think about Him and relate to Him. Here are some key truths and implications we can take away:
1. God is self-existent and eternal. He was never created or “born” but has simply always existed. The Ancient of Days stands apart from all limitations of time and age.
2. God is all-knowing and wise beyond measure. He sees and knows the past, present and future simultaneously. The Ancient of Days has infinite understanding that we as humans can never fully grasp.
3. God reigns over all history and human events. Nothing takes Him by surprise or is outside His sovereign plan. The Ancient of Days is actively governing all nations and periods of history for His purposes.
4. God is worthy of our worship and reverence. The profound truths about the Ancient of Days should lead us to bow down in awe before Him. He is so far above and beyond us as humans.
5. We can trust God to fulfill His promises and plans. What God says will come to pass over centuries and millennia will certainly happen. The Ancient of Days has power over all time and will make good on every word.
6. God is the rock and refuge we can depend on. Everything around us changes so rapidly, but the Ancient of Days is steadfast and unchanging amidst it all. He is the secure shelter we can cling to.
7. God cares for His children across all generations. He who has existed from before time relates intimately to His people in every age. The Ancient of Days is actively shepherding His people throughout all human history.
May this powerful picture of God as revealed in Scripture lead us to worship Him more, trust Him more fully, and find security in His eternal nature. The unchanging Ancient of Days rules over all and relates to us tenderly as His beloved children.
Other Bible Passages on God’s Eternity
Here are some additional verses that speak to God’s eternal nature and transcendence over time:
Psalm 90:2 – Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 102:24-27 – I say, “O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations!” Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.
Isaiah 57:15 – For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Jeremiah 10:10 – But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.
Romans 1:20 – For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
2 Peter 3:8 – But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Revelation 1:8 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 22:13 – I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
The consistent testimony of Scripture is that God alone is eternal and stands outside of time and human limits. He reigns as the Ancient of Days, existing before anything was created and remaining long after it will fade away. This awe-inspiring truth should humble us and also give us great comfort and confidence.
Jesus Christ as the Ancient of Days
We’ve already touched on potential connections between the title “Ancient of Days” and Jesus Christ as revealed in the New Testament. Jesus shares divine qualities and performs divine activities that Scripture elsewhere ascribes to the eternal God alone.
Here are some specific ways Jesus reflects or embodies the Ancient of Days:
– Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus “is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Like the Ancient of Days, Jesus transcends time and is unchanging.
– Jesus says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13). He bookends history just as the Ancient of Days exists before time and will remain after it.
– Jesus receives honor, glory, and authority to rule over all peoples and nations (Philippians 2:10-11, Revelation 5:13-14) just as the Ancient of Days rules over all human kingdoms.
– Jesus was instrumental in the creation of all things (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16-17), an act Scripture also attributes to the eternal God before time began.
– The Ancient of Days gives dominion and authority to the Son of Man. This foreshadows God the Father bestowing all authority to Jesus the Son of Man.
– Jesus wields divine judgment over sin and evil (John 5:22-23, Acts 10:42, 2 Timothy 4:1), one of the qualities of the Ancient of Days depicted in Daniel’s vision.
– Jesus is called “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15), indicating His supreme reign just as the Ancient of Days rules above all earthly rulers.
So in many tangible ways, Jesus in the New Testament reveals Himself as the eternal God and Ancient of Days portrayed in the Old Testament. This affirms the divine nature of Christ and His oneness with the Father.
Conclusion
The distinctive biblical title “Ancient of Days” challenges us to reckon with the eternity, sovereignty, and wisdom of almighty God. He transcends human limits and boundaries, existing before time itself began. Throughout all generations and periods of history, the Ancient of Days actively governs all things according to His perfect plan and purpose.
While God’s eternality is hard for us to fathom, it provides deep comfort and confidence. Our all-knowing and all-powerful Creator cares for us tenderly through every age. No matter how volatile and changing the times, the Ancient of Days remains steadfast and guides His people faithfully.
All the truth bound up in this unique title should move us to deeper awe, worship, trust, and obedience toward our eternal God. As the Ancient of Days, He is worthy of all glory and honor both now and forevermore.
