The Ancient of Days

I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire.

Daniel 7:9*

Jesus wasn’t born yesterday.  He didn’t even come into existence some 2,000 years ago.  He always was as He is now.  The Bible never speaks of the origin of Christ.  As the prophet Micah put it, His “goings forth have been from old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

To some the phrase the Ancient of Days summons up thoughts of antiquity and being out of date, but that misses the whole thrust of the title.  The idea is not about age but rather about the ageless character of Christ.  He never grows old, impatient, or unconcerned.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (i.e. always young and lovely).  As David said it in Psalm 110, “You have the dew of youth.”

The Lord is as fresh as the sunrise even though that too has an ancient origin. Yet Christ’s energy will be just as strong long after the sun has run out of fuel. As Ancient of Days, He can remember other suns long since extinct but His own brightness has diminished not at all.

The years are unkind to human flesh and the centuries crumble away civilizations. But, to the Lord, “one day is a thousand years and a thousand years one day”(2 Peter 3:8). Time becomes irrelevant. When everything in this world seems to be in a state of flux, there is great comfort in knowing that the Christian can go to One who never changes – The Ancient of Days.

*see also Daniel 7:13 and 22