Ancient of Days
Encyclopedia
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
in Aramaic: Atik Yomin; in the Greek Septuagint: Palaios Hemeron; and in the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
: Antiquus Dierum.
The title "Ancient of Days" has been used as a source of inspiration in art and music, denoting the Creator's aspects of eternity
Eternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
combined with perfection
Perfection
Perfection is, broadly, a state of completeness and flawlessness.The term "perfection" is actually used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts...
. William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
's watercolour and relief etching entitled "The Ancient of Days
The Ancient of Days
The Ancient of Days is the title of a design by William Blake, originally published as the frontispiece to a 1794 work, Europe a Prophecy. It shows a figure, the Ancient of Days, crouching in a circular design with a cloud-like background. His out-stretched hand holds a compass over the darker void...
" is one such example.
Judaism
- See also The names of God in Judaism
There are many sources for this term, including:
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
Daniel
Book of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
7:9
Whenever Judgment looms and the forehead of the Impatient One is revealed, the Forehead of the Ancient of Ancients is revealed; Judgment subsides and is not executed.
Idra Rabba, Zohar
ZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
3:136b
This term appears three times in the book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
(7:9, 13, 22), and is used in the sense of God being eternal
Eternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
.
The most powerful effect of this particular Name of God stems from the Jewish mystical book
Kabbalah: Primary Texts
Like the rest of Rabbinic literature, the texts of Kabbalah were once part of an ongoing oral tradition, though, over the centuries, much of the Oral Torah has been written down...
the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
, the seminal document of Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
that emerged in 13th century Spain. In the Kabbalah there is mention of the Ancient of Ancients, and the Holy Ancient One - Atika Kadisha, variably interpreted as synonymous with the En Sof, the unmanifested Godhead
Godhead (Judaism)
Godhead is used to refer to "God as He is in Himself." This is the aspect or substratum of God that lies behind His actions or properties, i.e., the essence of God, and its nature has been the subject of long debate in every major religion.-Terminology:...
. The Ancient of Days is the manifestation of the Ancient of Ancients within Creation. It refers to the most primary ("ancient") source of Creation in the Divine Will Keter
Keter
*Keter in Kabbalah, is one of the ten Sephirot *Keter or kether כתר is the Hebrew word for "Crown ", as worn by a king or queen* Keter Publishing House is a book publisher based in Israel...
. In 16th century Lurianic Kabbalah, Atik Yomin becomes the inner Partzuf of Keter, synonymous with Divine Delight, that enclothes within and motivates Arich Anpin
Arich Anpin
Arich/Arikh Anpin is an aspect of Divine emanation in Kabbalah, identified with the sephirah attribute of Keter, the Divine Will....
, the outer Partzuf of Keter, synonymous with Divine Will. Arich Anpin is said to extend down all levels of Creation in ever more concealed mode as the Divine substratum of everything. The Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
goes into great detail describing the White Head of God and ultimately the emanation of its personality or attributes
Anthropomorphism in Kabbalah
Kabbalah, the central system in Jewish mysticism, uses subtle anthropomorphic analogies and metaphors to describe God in Judaism. These include male-female influences in the Divine. Kabbalists repeatedly warn and stress the need to divorce their notions from any corporeality, dualism, plurality, or...
.
Christianity
In Eastern Orthodox Christian hymns and iconIcon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
s, the Ancient of Days is sometimes identified with God the Father
God the Father
God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...
; but most properly, in accordance with Orthodox theology he is identified with God the Son
God the Son
God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit...
, or Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. As such, Eastern Christian art will sometimes portray Jesus Christ as an old man, the Ancient of Days, to show symbolically that he existed from all eternity, and sometimes as a young man to portray him as he was incarnate. This iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
emerged in the 6th century, mostly in the Eastern Empire. It was declared by the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
at the Great Synod of Moscow
Stoglavy Sobor
The Stoglavy Sobor was a church council held in Moscow in 1551, with the participation of Tsar Ivan IV, Metropolitan Macarius, and representatives of the Boyar Duma...
in 1667 that the Ancient of Days was the Son and not the Father. In the Western Church similar figures usually represent only God the Father. Building his argument upon the Daniel passage, Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
identifies the Ancient of Days as the Person of the Father.
In the hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
"Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise", the last two lines of the first verse read:
- Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
- Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.
says, “I kept on beholding in the visions of the night, and, see there! with the clouds of the heavens someone like a son of man happened to be coming; and to the Ancient of Days he gained access, and they brought him up close even before that One. And to him there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin." A visit by the Son of Man to bestow a kingdom and honor on the Ancient of Days would suggest that they are two distinct identities. Among ancient Christian pseudepigrapha, one Book of Enoch states that He who is called “Son of man,” who existed before the worlds were, is seen by Enoch in company with the “Ancient of Days”
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the title Ancient of Days belongs to Adam
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
, the oldest and earliest man, who is also identified with the archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
.
Hinduism
The SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
name, Karttikeya or Skanda, means "always a youth" and is revered as one of the four (or seven) sons of Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
.
Buddhism
In BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, in the Kevattha Sutta (Digha Nikaya 11), the term "ancient of days" is referred to the creator God Brahma,
"“I am the Great Brahma, the Supreme, the Mighty, the All-seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of all, the Controller, the Creator, the Chief of all, appointing to each his place, the Ancient of days, the Father of all that are and are to be.” ."
In Buddhism, although Brahma or God is respected, he is not regarded as omnipotent or all knowing, but someone in samsara
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
who is subject to ignorance, birth and death (over billions of years) and a disciple of the Buddha.
Bahá’í
In the Bahá’í Faith, 'the Ancient of Days' is one of the titles with which Bahá’u’lláh refers to Himself.In music
- Ancient of Days is a well-known Anglican hymnHymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
, also known by its tune, Albany, by William Doane, the first Episcopal bishop of Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. - "Ancient of Days" is a song by Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
from his 1984 album A Sense of WonderA Sense of WonderA Sense of Wonder is the fifteenth album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison released in 1985. When first released original pressings had to be recalled when the W. B. Yeats estate refused to allow Morrison's musical version of the poem, "Crazy Jane on God" to be included on the album,... - "The Ancient of Days", is a 1992 song composed by Gary Sadler and Jamie Harvill.
- The Blake image was used as the cover of a 1978 album by the band SlaveSlave (band)Slave was an Ohio funk band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpeter Steve Washington and Mark Hicks formed the group in Dayton, Ohio in 1975.-Career:Trombonist Floyd Miller teamed with Tom Lockett Jr...
- Ancient of Days is the name of a metal band from Leeds, England.
- Referenced by Tuomas HolopainenTuomas HolopainenTuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
in the song "Dead Gardens" on the 2004 release of OnceOnce (Nightwish album)Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
.
In literature
- Science fiction author Michael BishopMichael Bishop (author)Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning American writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
wrote a novel called Ancient of Days, about a Homo habilis discovered living in 20th century America. - The 'Ancient of Days' is a term for God in Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy.
- In the last stanza of his poem "Atlantis," W.H. Auden writes the following: "And may the Ancient of Days provide for all you must do his invisible guidance, lifitng up, dear, upon your face the light of his countenance."
- In the book series by the Irish author Michael Scott,The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, from book three, The Sorceress, and onward, Gilgamesh the King, the oldest immortal in the world, is sometimes referred to as the "Ancient of Days."