The specific term, “Ancient of Days,” is used in Daniel 7:9, 13, and 22. As with the term “Yahweh” (see the Q&A in our Update of November 29), it seems to be referring to both the Father and Jesus Christ.
In Daniel 7:9-14, we read that “thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated…And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion…”
This passage identifies the Ancient of Days as the Father, and the “One like the Son of Man” as Jesus Christ, appearing before the Father in heaven after His resurrection. However, Daniel 7:21-22, when speaking of the “Ancient of Days,” seems to be talking about the returning Christ:
“…and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days CAME, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.”
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, under #6268, defines the word for “Ancient,” “at-teek,” also as “venerable.” The concept of being “ancient of days,” or “venerable,” applies both to the Father and to the Son. Note that Christ is described, in His glorified outward appearance, in the same way as the Father (Compare Daniel 7:9 with Revelation 1:14). Christ said that he who has seen the Son has seen the Father (John 12:45;14:9; compare Colossians 1:15). They are both God; They look alike;They have both lived since eternity; and They will both live forever. Truly, then, the expression “Ancient of Days” would accurately describe what the Father and the Son are.
We read in Psalm 90:1-2,4, “LORD (“Yahweh”), You have been our dwelling place in all generations, Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God… For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is passed, And like a watch in the night.”
In 2 Peter 3:8, this last passage is quoted, as follows, “But, behold, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Peter goes on to explain, in verse 9, that the “Lord is not slack concerning His promise [to return to this earth], as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us [especially referring to us Church members], not willing that any [of us] should perish but that all [called by God into His church] should come to repentance.”
Peter applies the term “Lord” in his second letter to Jesus Christ (compare 2 Peter 1:8, 11,14, 16; 2:20; 3:18). In quoting from Psalm 90, he identifies the “LORD” (“Yahweh”) in that passage with Jesus Christ as well. Christ is described in Psalm 90 as God, existing “from everlasting to everlasting.” Paul describes Christ, in Hebrews 13:8, as “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Christ identifies Himself in Revelation 1:8 as “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End… who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” This same description (“…Who was and is and is to come”) is applied, in Revelation 4:8, to the Father.
God is a Family, totally united in purpose and goal, truly “one.” God consists presently of two Beings, the Father and the Son. They are both God, “venerable,” worthy of worship. They are both called “Yahweh,” existing and having existed for all eternity, and they are apparently also both referred to as “Ancient of Days.”
