Daniel 7:9-10; The Ancient of Days

03/27_Daniel 07:9-10; The Ancient of Days ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220327_dan07_9-10.mp3

Today we move into Daniel 7:9-14; the center, the very heart of the book of Daniel. We saw that chapter 7 is the center, the hinge of the book; linked linguistically and structurally to the Aramaic section of chapters 2-7, but linked by its apocalyptic style to chapters 8-12. Daniel 7 is the center of the book, and Verses 9-14 are the center of this chapter, and everything hangs on these verses.

The first 8 verses relay Daniel’s vision of the four great beasts, representing future kingdoms, parallel to the four kingdom statue of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2. The last 14 verses (15-28) give details and answer questions about the final beast, its ten horns, and the little horn. This center section is the heart of the chapter, the very heart of the book of Daniel, the inner sanctuary, the throne room.

We are just going to look at the first part of this center section today, verses 9 and 10, the description of the Ancient of Days. We are going to look at the symbolism, to see what it says about him, to see him in his glory. He is high and lifted up, seated on his throne, worthy of all worship, and our pursuit in gazing on this One must result in our being drawn to fall on our faces in worship of this One who is seated on his throne.

Daniel 7:9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 ​A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

The Throne Room

The scene has shifted from the four great beasts, these four kings who will arise out of the earth, to the heavenly courtroom. Daniel sees thrones placed for judgment. There are multiple thrones, but one lone figure is the focus of all attention. The scene is more fully depicted in John’s vision in Revelation 4

Revelation 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Ancient of Days

In Daniel’s vision, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. The Lord is referred to three times in this chapter (9,13,22) and nowhere else in Scripture as the Ancient of Days. Other titles in Scripture call him the eternal, the everlasting one (Deut.33:27); the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, who is and who was and who is to come (Rev.1:8; 22:13); he is the one who lives forever and ever (Rev.4:9;10:6); who has neither beginning of days nor end of life (Heb.7:3). In Isaiah 43, God says:

Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. 11 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

This is the Lord, the one and only, the eternal God, the Ancient of Days.

White as Snow

His clothing was white as snow. White clothing throughout scripture is symbolic of purity. Angels are clothed in white (Mt.28:3); the saints are given white robes (Rev.3:4-5; 6;11); ironically the saints ‘have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’ (Rev.7:9,13-14).

David, in Psalm 51 asks for the Lord to ‘Purge me… and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Ps.51:7).

The Lord says in Isaiah

Isaiah 1:18 …though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

We are like Joshua the high priest in Zechariah’s vision; he was clothed in filthy garments, and Satan was standing before the Lord to rebuke him. The command was given “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments” (Zech.3:4).

We are like Joshua and David, sinners in need of cleansing, needing to wash our filthy garments in the blood of Jesus, needing to be clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

Jesus, in his humiliation, took the form of a servant (Phil.2:7), but on the mountain his disciples were given a glimpse of his true glory.

Matthew 17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Mark describes:

Mark 9:3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

Or, as Luke puts it, ‘his clothing became dazzling white’ (Lk.9:29). Jesus ‘committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth’ (1Pet.2:22).

This one seated on the throne is intrinsically pure; as in Isaiah’s vision of the Lord seated on his throne, the train of his robe filling the temple, the seraphs never cease to cry out ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ (Is.6:1-4).

Hair like Pure Wool

The hair of his head was like pure wool. In the Proverbs,

Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

We are to show appropriate honor to age and wisdom. God’s people were commanded:

Leviticus 19:32 “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

Job said:

Job 12:12 Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. 13 “With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.

In John’s vision of Jesus, he saw

Revelation 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

The Ancient of Days is eternal, intrinsically pure, infinitely wise.

God’s Chariot Throne

Daniel 7:9 …his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 ​A stream of fire issued and came out from before him;

God’s throne has wheels. The image here is of God’s war chariot, his chariot throne. In Exodus, God instructed the Israelites to make the ark or box containing the covenant with the lid or mercy seat, made with gold cherubim, to be placed in the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle.

Exodus 25:20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

This was God’s symbolic throne, from which he would instruct his people. It is interesting that 1 Chronicles, describing Solomon’s temple, uses the word ‘chariot’;

1 Chronicles 28:18 …also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

In Psalm 18, in response to a cry for help to the LORD, it ssys:

Psalm 18:6 …From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. 9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 10 He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. 12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. 13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. 14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

The Lord rode on a cherub. Ezekiel was given a vision in Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10 of living creatures or cherubim, fantastic creatures that each had a wheel within a wheel, that could move in any direction without turning, and:

Ezekiel 1:22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. …26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.

Ezekiel 10:1 Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne. 2 And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in before my eyes. …6 And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.

The Fire of Judgment

Three times Daniel describes the chariot throne of the Ancient of Days as ‘fiery flames, burning fire, and a stream of fire’. God’s throne is fire, its wheels were burning fire, and a stream of fire came out from before him. We see this element of fire in Ezekiel’s visions, and in Psalm 18, where because he was angry devouring fire from his mouth and glowing coals flamed forth from him, hailstones and coals of fire and lightnings broke through his clouds, Fire is symbolic of the just judgment and righteous wrath of the Lord God throughout the Bible.

All the way back to the judgment of the first sin in the garden,

Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

In response to the idolatry of his people, God says:

Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Isaiah 66 says:

Isaiah 66:14 …the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies. 15 “For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.

It is Isaiah 66 where Jesus gets his image of Hell (Mk.9:43, 47-48):

Isaiah 66:24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

2 Thessalonians tells us of a day

2 Thessalonians 1:7 …when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

This passage makes it clear that Jesus is pouring out justice only on those who do not know God, those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Do you know him? Have you submitted to his good news?

The Books and the Book

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. …15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

God is absolutely just. God keeps accurate books. Every sin will be punished. Either you will pay the price in full for every sin you have ever committed, or the record of debt that stood against you was nailed to his cross (Col.2:14) and he paid your price in full. You will either experience his justice or his mercy. Fly to him for mercy!

Notice that the just wrath of God is grounds for worship. Jesus inflicting vengeance on all who have rejected him is right and good and glorious. God’s grace is glorious and sweet, and his justice is awesome and terrible and righteous and good. When we see God’s wrath poured out on unbelievers, when we see sinners receiving what they deserve, we will remember what we deserve, we will savor his grace which we do not deserve, and we will marvel and we will worship. Remember,

Exodus 34:6 …“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

A Thousand Thousands; Ten Thousand times Ten Thousand

The Ancient of Days is seated on his flaming chariot throne to pour out judgment on the nations.

Daniel 7:10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

God is absolutely just, but he is abundantly gracious. Jesus said ‘whoever comes to me I will never cast out’ (Jn.6:37). God is slow to anger, eager to forgive, keeping steadfast love for thousands.

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org