God will not be fooled—He is the Judge of all—the Ancient of Days. As today is known as “April Fool’s Day” many seek to pull pranks or untruths on others. The history of April Fools' Day is shrouded in mystery, with no definitive origin known. Some historians link it to the calendar change in France in 1582 when the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar, shifting the start of the New Year from April 1 to January 1. People who continued to celebrate the New Year in April were mocked and called "April fools". When we think of it, it is a day honoring Satan who is a liar, the father of lies, who is always trying to trick us! There is an old saying that “You can fool some of the people part of the time; all the people some of the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” We can fool God none of the time! God has much to say about fools in the Bible in sharp contrast to the wisdom and understanding of the Ancient of Days.
In the Bible, a fool is someone who disregards God's wisdom and instruction, often characterized by a lack of wisdom and understanding, and who acts foolishly without regard for God's ways or the consequences of their actions. This definition includes those who do not fear God, who mock at sin, and who are easily upset or fiercely independent. The term "fool" in the Bible does not merely refer to someone who is ignorant or unintelligent but rather to someone who has a reprobate mind and acts wickedly. In Psalm 14: 1 we read; “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Proverbs 1:7 points us to the answer to avoiding being a fool: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” We are called to have a reverential fear of God—the Ancient of Days and reject the world’s mindset driven by the god of this world. I Corinthians 1: 25 says; “This is because the foolishness of God (is not foolishness at all and) is wiser than men (far beyond human comprehension), and the weakness of God is stronger than men (far beyond the limits of human effort).”
With this in mind, I believe that God is calling us to focus on Him—the Ancient of Days. Atik Yomin is the Hebrew name for God meaning the Ancient of Days. God is referenced as the "Ancient of Days" three times in the book of Daniel, chapter seven. The name Atik Yomin-The Ancient Of Days does not point to an elderly ruler made feeble by age, but to a divine ruler who is eternally all-powerful. He is the everlasting God who rules in sovereignty. This name of God points to Him as the divine judge.
This name of God is only referenced three times in the entire Bible. All three references can be found in Chapter 7 of the Book of Daniel. The first half of Daniel (Chapters 1-6) contains stories about Daniel’s experience and his friends under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, Belshazzar, Darius I, and Cyrus. The second half of this Book is then written about Daniel’s visions and a dream. These visions and dreams are accounts of the end times when the reign of God will be established.
The three scriptures references are:
Daniel 7:9: “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.”
Daniel 7: 13: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.”
Daniel 7: 22: “until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.”
The setting of the scene is a courtroom drama:
It is 553BC. Daniel has a dream and a vision given by God about the Gentile nations of the world and God’s dealing with them. It is a dream of prophecy. The prophet had a vision of four world empires that rose to great power but they crumble and fall. Then a fifth-world power emerged in the vision. Many theologians believe that this power represents the Antichrist of the end times. But then the Ancient of Days took His seat on the throne and He destroyed the Antichrist and opened heaven's gate for Christ's return.
Daniel was describing God who was on a flaming throne with hair and clothes that were as white as snow, and the throne had wheels of fire. The flaming throne was symbolic of judgment while the description of God’s white hair and beard were representative of God existing before time began. He is also describing God as our judge. The Ancient of Days refers to God as the Father and Jesus approaching God on the Throne as the “Son of Man” on clouds. It is important to understand God is a Triune God and Daniel is describing this as best as he can. It’s also important to understand Daniel is describing Jesus returning to pronounce judgment on the world.
God is called the Ancient of Days because He has all authority as God the Father. Moses explained this in Deuteronomy 4: 39: “The LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” God who created the universe and earth knows the past, present and future. In Daniel 7 we see a transfer of power between God and Jesus. Psalm 62: 11 says: “Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.” And in Matthew 28: 18 we read” And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” God so loved the world that He sent His only Beloved Son to make the supreme sacrifice for the redemption of mankind because He loves us! God the Father grants God the Son power and dominion over all peoples, nations and languages that serve Him. This adds weight to the events unfolding In Daniel Because God is giving authority to the Son of Man. God is giving His Son the keys to the kingdom that never ends. All of Scripture leads up to the moment when this earth will pass away and the new heaven and earth will be established. During this time, every person will be judged. And Jesus is our rightful judge because He chose to be obedient to God even unto death on the Cross to be our Savior. It’s important to keep in mind, God isn’t retiring or stepping back, He is sharing His glory with His Son.
Likewise, the same resurrection power that Jesus displayed has been given to us who trust in, rely on and depend on Him as Savior. Jesus imparts a divine power known as dunamis to believers, which is described in Acts 1:8 as the power that comes when the Holy Spirit descends upon them, equipping them to be witnesses of Christ’s message. This power is not derived from human strength but from God’s might, which is beyond our comprehension and is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of God. This divine power is available to all believers and is intended to enable us to have authority over all the power of the enemy, including the ability to cast out demons and perform miracles. This empowerment is not about personal strength but about the authority and power of God working through believers.
All the dead and all of the living, from the past, present, and future will stand before God’s Throne. We will be judged according to our works. Believers will be rewarded according to our works before the Judgment Seat of Christ. The unbelieving multitude will be judged according to their works and assigned to the Lake of Fire. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16: 26-27: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for His soul? For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then ‘He will repay everyone according to his deeds.” In Revelations 22: 12 Jesus said; “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to pay back each one according to his deeds.”
Why Is It Important That We Know the Ancient of Days?
God is Eternal. His God’s self-revealed name—Yahweh, I AM THAT I AM means that He has no beginning and no end. He exists before time ever began. He is the El Olam—the Everlasting God, the Atik Yomin—the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and Omega—the First and the Last, the One Who Lives Forever. Now, that we know what the Ancient of Days means, it is not important that we know the meaning but it’s because He wants us to get to know Him on an intimate level in a way that we, as humans, can relate. The more we get to know God, the more we can trust Him. God wants us to walk with Him on a daily basis. He wants to be our Provider when we are worried about our finances. He wants to be our Comforter when things go wrong. He wants to be our Abba Father because He loves us with an everlasting love. He knows that time is running short for us to get to know Him and to choose Him as our God and Jesus as our Savior.
According to Hebrews 11:10 we like Abraham, are looking for a Kingdom whose builder and maker is God, the New Jerusalem with Jesus reigning upon the Throne for a 1000 years, but even more the holy city in the new heaven and new earth. In Revelation 21: 1-4 we read: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city—the New Jerusalem—coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I also heard a loud voice from the Throne, saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away.” The Ancient of Days will dwell with His people forever and ever and He said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”