Diving into Daniel: Ancient of Days
Daniel 7:9-12; Psalm 69:28; Malachi 3:16; Revelation 3:5 - Are you ready for this vision to be manifested?
““I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat, And the books were opened.
Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking;
I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.
As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.”
Daniel 7:9-12 NASB1995
So the next part of Daniel’s dream/vision is of the “Ancient of Days”. According to commentary, this particular phrase is unique to Daniel 7. Also, most Biblical scholars believe that at least this first usage of the term refers to God the Father, because the next passage talks about the Son of Man. The Ancient of Days is on a throne with His clothing like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool, demonstrating His eternal age. The throne is emblazoned in fire and a river of fire is flowing outward from Him. There were vast numbers attending to Him and standing before Him. The books are opened.
Here is commentary from Enduring Word:
a. I watched till thrones were put in place: The King James Version poorly translates this as thrones were cast down. The New King James Version corrected this and indicates that the thrones were established.
i. When the Apostle John saw heaven, he also saw thrones, but he also saw those who sat on those thrones – the 24 elders described in Revelation 4:4. Daniel made no mention of these elders, perhaps because the 24 elders represent the church, and the church was an unrevealed mystery to Old Testament saints (Ephesians 3:1-7).
b. And the Ancient of Days was seated: The Ancient of Days is obviously God, but there is debate as to if He is specifically God the Father or God the Son. Most believe it is God the Father, and the white garments and white hair stress the eternal character of God the Father.
i. Daniel 7:13 seems to make a distinction between the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man, and this supports the idea that the Ancient of Days is God the Father, not God the Son.
ii. “We ought not to imagine God in his essence to be like any appearance to his own Prophet and other holy fathers, but he put on various appearances, according to man’s comprehension, to whom he wished to give some signs of his presence.” (John Calvin)
c. His throne was a fiery flame: This was a brilliant manifestation of God’s splendor and the fierce heat of His judgment. There seems to be something lava-like in the stream of fire pouring from the throne; it was like a river of vast destructive power.
i. Isaiah 66:15-16 describes the judgment of God in terms of fire: For behold, the LORD will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the LORD will judge all flesh; and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
d. Its wheels a burning fire: Many commentators say that in the ancient eastern world royal thrones were often on wheels. Yet it is just as likely that they represent the endless activity of God.
e. A thousand thousands ministered to Him: This describes the innumerable company of angels surrounding the throne of God.
f. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: This describes humanity standing before God in judgment.
g. Court was seated, and the books were opened: The Bible describes several books before God, and any of these or combination of these could be meant.
· The book of the living (Psalm 69:28).
· The book of remembrance (Malachi 3:16).
· The Book of Life (Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27 and 22:19).
God will come to judge with fire! I thought the AI image that Steve created was quite good; we can never really know what God looks like, but this fits with the Daniel description. It’s so hard to imagine trembling before the all-powerful Creator of the Universe when you are doing mundane things like driving around aimlessly or scrolling through social media posts. Perhaps we should think about these scenarios of multitudes of angels and vast humanity standing in fear before God in judgment instead of worrying about someone else’s political viewpoint or numbly watching a sporting event or sweating about what the stock market did today.
So what is the book of the living referenced above? Here is Psalm 69:28:
“May they be blotted out of the book of life
And may they not be recorded with the righteous.”
Psalms 69:28 NASB1995
What is the book of remembrance? Here is Malachi 3:16:
“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.”
Malachi 3:16 NASB1995
What is the book of life? Here is Revelation 3:5:
“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Revelation 3:5 NASB1995
Daniel, in his vision, is looking for the horn that was from the last beast in his dream. The little horn from that last and most fearsome beast, the one that supplanted other horns and had eyes like a man and spoke boastfully, is still speaking. But the dreadful beast was slain and its body destroyed. The other beasts had their dominion taken away from them but were granted an extension of life for a period of time.
Ok, we have jumped into real eschatology here, folks. The answer (or least speculation) about the little horn (is it the Antichrist?) is coming up later in Daniel 7.
My next devotional examines Daniel 7:13-14 - The Son of Man is presented.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I tremble to think that my mundane and silly things of this life are occupying my time. I should be thinking about overcoming my sinful ways and being sure of my place in the book of life. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.