The Son Of Man And The Ancient Of Days

The Son of Man and the Ancient of Days Sermon for August 6, 2023

Why do we always talk about Jesus on Sundays? Why don’t we talk about politics or social trends, or even just hope in a very general sense, or spirituality in a general way?

Why do we believe Jesus is relevant and why do we need to keep talking about Him? And why is this true today and has been true every day since the death and resurrection of Jesus? I’m asking!

Yes, for those of us who have found in Him that Pearl of Great Price, that Great Treasure, that genuine living water, that friend like no other, that perfect hope - it’s like we just can’t stop talking about Him.

We’re so into Jesus that we’re ok with being misunderstood, being mislabelled, being thought of as less than for our beliefs. We’re so into Jesus that we absorb all of the misunderstanding that comes with being a follower of Jesus.

My father, an atheist at the time I became a Christian, thought that I would become a right-wing republican with ultra conservative views on everything.

When I told my Mom I had become a follower of Jesus she said: “As long as you don’t become one of those people who just goes around blessing everybody!”

My family was worried I’d joined a cult and would become a loopy cultist.

The earliest Christians had it much rougher. They were grossly misunderstood.

Because of the mass or the eucharist or communion, people thought outright that Christians were cannibals - you know, the body and blood of Jesus.

And Christians were treated at best with disdain because of this misunderstanding.

They were completely misunderstood by religious leaders who felt threatened by their testimony about the Prince of Peace as they had been threatened by Jesus.

So Why? Why do we always talk about Jesus on Sundays?

Today we are looking at two very interesting passages from the Bible that help us to zero in on who this Jesus is and why he is such a big deal.

Let’s look close up at the fist passage, from the book of Daniel. Daniel is considered a minor prophet. He’s a minor prophet not because what he has to say is somehow less than what the Major Prophets have to say.

It's simply because the Book of Daniel is smaller than some of the other, longer prophetic books like Ezekiel and Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Those longer books take their time to communicate what they need to from God. Daniel and the other Minor Prophets are much more concise and they are quick to get to the point.

Here’s verses 9 and 10:

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. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

The phrase “Ancient of Days” refers to God the Father, And in Daniel's vision this figure has white hair and a white robe.

We see the river of fire coming out before Him. And of course, the angels, numbering 10,000 squared, which equals one hundred million. That’s a lot of angels, messengers of God.

So this is a grand image of God the Father, one that you may or may not be able to relate to. All powerful, wise, completely sovereign, utterly majestic in every imaginable way.

And this like the way a lot of people think when they think of God, or when they think of the Judeo-Christian view of God.

Of course the reality is that God the Father does not have a corporeal form, He doesn’t have a body. But still, the picture accurately depicts Daniel’s description of the Ancient of Days.

Note, for anyone offended by my showing this image due to the prohibition of images of the divine that we find in the 10 Commandments, please understand that I’m showing these images not for the purpose of worshiping the images, which is the point of the caution in the 10 Commandments.

It’s for the purpose of helping us begin to wrap our minds around the greatness and holiness and majesty of God, as portrayed in Scripture. God is vastly greater than any image can possibly convey.

And as the text says, 13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.