This name for God has always fascinated me. It was given to Daniel in a vision of who God is, who we created ones are, the magnitude of the divide between the Everlasting Almighty Yahweh and us, and The Plan He has already set into motion. As Daniel stood in His presence, he could barely hold up under the glory of the Creator of all of life. This chapter and the visions described therein are about the judgment of the One who Was before time was invented. “Yea, before the day was I am he..” (Isa. 43:13) Ancient of Days, seeing us, teaching us, judging us, rescuing us, all for His great glory. The magnitude of this concept that the One who always knows me and loves me baffles me.
My mind can’t comprehend “no beginning.” And not only that, but the One with no beginning sees me, teaches me, guides, judges, and rescues me, all by His plan of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
That is where we are this season; Jesus enters the scene as a babe, fragile and wrapped in human flesh, feeling our emotions and sensing the sights, smells, and sounds of a human. Ancient of Days joined the created.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, my emphasis added)
Let that soak in for a second.
Another contrast, though less impactful on the salvation of the human soul, I’ve experienced was my Israel journey.
As I walked the cobble streets of Old Jerusalem, I experienced this collision of Ancient and Created. Of Old and Modern.
Four prominent quarters divide this old city; Jews, Muslims, Arminians, and Christians. Leaving religion out of this, each separate quarter has its own unique smells, sights, flavors, and customs. You are keenly aware of leaving one quarter and entering another. Yet, they unify and pledge allegiance to one cause; the protection of Jerusalem.
I can’t honestly explain this space I walked through, beside shops full of sweaters, candies, and even “Israel Clemson” t-shirts, where ancient relics, mosques, and ruins of century-old churches have been for thousands of years. Side by side. Christian crosses, Muslim mosques, and statues of Buddha collide together into one space, yet both the ancient and the new are exactly where they belong. I found myself thrown back in time by a smell, then, as if I’m time-warped to the current century, catching a glimpse of a Patagonia jacket on sale. My mind was blown away.
Diversity yet union. Such contrast!
Think of Daniel’s visions. Ancient of Days and humans. He saw the coming of the Savior centuries before Jesus arrived, and I bet he could hardly breathe.
If you go, you will experience a tiny fragment of a nano bit of what Daniel experienced, walking the streets of Old Jerusalem.
And it may just take your breath away still.
The idea that the Creator of all things is orchestrating a plan to rescue, redeem, and return us to His side absolutely astonishes me. His goal is for The Holy to live side by side with the created. Staggering!
Yet it’s true. One day we will walk with the Lord God, face-to-face, together.
And it is all for one reason; To the glory of the One True God.
This Christmas, as you rush around, let yourself pause, slam the brakes on if you need to, and absorb the majesty of this collision of Ancient of Days intermingling with the created being. You need only look at the manger and the Cross.
Marvel at this Great Plan to return us to the Almighty, and let that affect how you celebrate!
Our Creator, Father, Brother, Friend, and Savior is coming to take us home!
Oh! Praise His Name forever!
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