The Ancient
of Days is the Son of God and not the Father.
The prophet Daniel saw God in the
form of a white haired man whom he called the Ancient of Days. Some say it was
God the Father because of confusion over the vision in the book of Daniel. The teaching of the Orthodox Church says
it is the Son of God. The Book of Daniel is the “Book of Revelation” of the Old
Testament. Written more than five-hundred years before Christ, the book is
purely eschatological from Chapters 7-12, with prophecies about the end times.
They begin with Daniel's “night visions” in Chapter 7. The prophet saw a
tribunal or judgment:
The thrones were set and the
Ancient of Days took His seat…His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of
His head as pure wool…His throne was a flame of fire...A river of fire
rushed before Him...The tribunal
sat and the books were opened…And the beast was given over to the burning of
the fire. (7:9-11)
Daniel then describes a succession
of great empires and nations leading to the most powerful ruler in history, the
Antichrist, who “made war with the saints...for a time and times and half a
time” (3.5 years] (v.20, 25), and “prevailed against the saints until the
Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed.” Here we discover that the
Ancient of Days will have the power of judgment at the final day. Twice Daniel
tells us the beast's dominion will be utterly destroyed and the Kingdom of the
Most High will be everlasting. The Ancient of Days, up to this point, is easy
to identify as our Lord Jesus Christ “Who is coming again to judge the living
and the dead, Whose kingdom will have no end.” But there are complications--the
white hair, the name "Ancient of Days", and the following vision
described between the two narrations on the destruction of the Antichrist's
dominion (7:13-14):
I beheld one coming with the
clouds as the Son of man, and he came unto the Ancient of Days, and was brought
near to Him. To him was given the dominion, and the honor, and the kingdom. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away.
This is where one may become
confused—understandably--and say, “The Son of Man is Christ, so the Ancient of
Days must be God the Father.” How can the Ancient of Days “come” unto the
Ancient of Days? Can one “come” unto himself? Yet we must not be too literal in
our understanding of this passage, for it is a vision, and it is before the
dispensation of the God-man Jesus Christ. A vision is rarely meant to be taken
literally, but is representative of deeper, more profound truths. But a closer
look at the Scriptures and at the Church's teachings will reconfirm that the
Ancient of Days is the Son of God. Pay special attention to the parallels, the
imagery of the “types”.
Daniel says the Ancient of Days is
“coming with the clouds.” Christ says He is “coming on the clouds with great
power and glory.” (Mt. 24:30)
Daniel says the Ancient of Days
comes to “utterly destroy the dominion of the beast who will wear out the
saints and prevail against them.” Christ says He is “cutting short the days and
coming for the sake of the elect or no flesh would be saved.” (Mt.24:22)
Daniel says the Ancient of Days
presides at the judgment. Christ says, “the Father hath committed all judgment
to the Son.” (Jn.5:22)
Daniel says, the “wild beast was
slain and given to the fire” by the Ancient of Days. St. Paul says Christ “will
slay the lawless one with the breath of His mouth,” (2Thes.2:8) and raise him
up and the false prophet, and “cast them alive into the lake of fire to be
tormented with Satan day and night forever and ever.” (Rev.19:20; 20:l0)
Daniel says, “thousands of
thousands ministered to Him [Ancient of Days], and ten thousands of myriads
attended upon Him.” St. John says (referring to the worship of the lamb,
Christ), “and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and
thousands of thousands saying, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain...” (Rev.5:ll,
12) . . . The Scriptures, the hymns, and consensus of the saints, as you have
read, leave no doubt as to the mind of the Church in this question. Notice that
in the proper iconographic depiction of the Ancient of Days, you will see the
same nimbus (halo) and inscription (IC XC) as you would on any image of Christ.
This is because the two are one and the same, and should be designated as such.
The Ancient of Days, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was the sole divine person to
appear to anyone at anytime in the Old Testament, is also the one who is worshipped
forever in heaven, according to St. John’s revelation. To Him be glory, honor,
and dominion, now and to all ages. Amen! (Steven Ritter, Who is the Ancient of Days?)