Ancient of Days

"It is one of Father's avatars, a manifestation of His rigid and seemingly-merciless rules. It is a law-enforcer, making sure His followers keep themselves pure and in line just like what God had ordered by any mean neccesary."

- Michael.

The Ancient of Days is one of the many names of God and one of His avatars. It was first known to the general public through the Book of Daniel. It is a name that is meant to represent that God is eternal in Judaism.

Overview
The title "Ancient of Days" has been used as a source of inspiration in art and music, denoting the creator's aspects of eternity combined with perfection. Ironically, one of the forms of the avatar is an eldritch heavenly abomination.

In the original Aramaic, it was known as atik yomin עַתִּיק יֹומִין; in the Septuagint palaios hemeron (παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν); and in the Vulgate antiquus dierum.

History
The Ancient of Days became one of His avatars, created to spread His will and protect His creations. It was also made to destroy any creations beyond their fate before being manipulated by Nyarlathotep to destroy Earth. It manifests on Earth to accomplish the "dispensation of the universe" under what it believes as God's will, intending to wipe out all mankind so that a new world may be created. The Archangel Metatron along Adam and Eve had to calm down the avatar and sent back to Heaven where till this day still remains.

Myths and Legends
This term appears three times in the Book of Daniel (7:9, 13, 22), and is used in the sense of God being eternal. In the Zohar, the seminal document of Kabbalah that emerged in 13th Century Spain, 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. 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 ("Crown").

Christianity
In Eastern Orthodox Christian hymns and icons, the Ancient of Days is sometimes identified with God or occasionally the Holy Spirit; but most properly, in accordance with Orthodox theology he is identified with God the Son, or Jesus. Most of the eastern church fathers who comment on the passage in Daniel interpreted the elderly figure as a prophetic revelation of the son before his physical incarnation. 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, or wise baby, to portray him as he was incarnate.

This iconography emerged in the 6th century, mostly in the Eastern Empire with elderly images, although usually not properly or specifically identified as "the Ancient of Days." The first images of the Ancient of Days, so named with an inscription, were developed by iconographers in different manuscripts, the earliest of which are dated to the 11th century. The images in these manuscripts included the inscription "Jesus Christ, Ancient of Days," confirming that this was a way to identify Christ as pre-eternal with the God the Father. Indeed, later, it was declared by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Great Synod of Moscow 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 recalls that some bring forward the objection that the Ancient of Days matches the Person of the Father, without necessarily agreeing with this statement himself.

Daniel 7:13-14 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." From a Christian perspective, this may be understood to be describing the Ancient of Days [God the Father] bestowing rulership upon the Son of Man [God the Son, Jesus], a separate entity. 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”

Lurianic Kabbalah
In 16th-century Lurianic Kabbalah, Atik Yomin is systemised as the uppermost Partzuf (Divine "Countenance/Configuration") in the rectification of the World of Atzilut ("Emanation") after the "Shattering of the sephirot Vessels". Keter of Atzilut acts as the guiding Divine motivation in creation, developing into two partzufim, Atik Yomin (Ancient of Days) and Arich Anpin ("Long Visage/Infinitely Patient One"). Atik Yomin is the inner partzuf of Keter, synonymous with Divine Delight, that enclothes within and motivates Arich Anpin, 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 goes into great detail describing the White Head of God and ultimately the emanation of its anthropomorphic personality or attributes. In the descending realms explained by Luria, the Gulgalta ("Skull"-Keter Will) within Arich Anpin enclothes the Chesed (Kindness) of Atik Yomin, becoming the origin of the lights of the world of Atzilut; the Mocha Stima'ah ("Concealed Brain"-Chokhmah Wisdom) within Arich Anpin enclothes the Gevurah (Severity) of Atik Yomin, becoming the origin of the vessels of the world of Atzilut. The Dikna ("Beard") of Arich Anpin constricts the infinite light originating from Atik Yomin in 13 channels of rectification to lower, relatively finite reality. The Merkabah text Re’ uyot Yehezkel identifies the Ancient of Days as Metatron.

Equivalents
In Christianity, the name is associated with God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and Adam. In Hinduism the name is associated with Kartikeya, and in Buddhism with Brahma and Sanat Kumara.

Quotes

 * "...Can you see me, then, you lesser creature? My name is the Ancient of Days... I am part of the Lord, as well as His messenger. I am the one who casts many beasts into the burning fire. My mission is to purge the world of its humans, and guide a new humanity into their place. In order to carry out this task, I must eliminate all that remains of the previous humanity. This is the Lord's will. Accept your destruction..." - Ancient of Days.


 * "Old mankind whom Pluto could not defeat, thou art wickedness which violates the dispensation of the universe. The dispensation of the universe is collective. There must exist nothing that standeth in violation. I shall commence purifying the land." - Ancient of Days.


 * "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 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 3:136b.


 * "Every tongue in heaven and earth, shall declare Your glory, every knee shall bow at Your throne, in worship. You will be exalted O God, and Your Kingdom shall not pass away. Oh Ancient of Days."


 * "Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise." - The last two lines of the first verse from the hymn Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise.

Trivia

 * It may had created the machine known as Pluto though this is not conclusive.
 * In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the title Ancient of Days belongs to Adam, the oldest and earliest man, who is also identified with the archangel Michael.
 * The Ancient of Days also possess a song of its own though this is more likely meant to be for God. The is called Ancient of Days.

Image Sources

 * (Ancient of Days.jpg) Ancient of Days from Shin Megami Tensei IV
 * (Europe a Prophecy, copy D, object 1 (Bentley 1, Erdman i, Keynes i) British Museum.jpg) The Ancient of Days Watercolor etching by William Blake
 * (Damian. The Ancient of Days.jpg) The Ancient of Days, a 14th-century fresco from Ubisi, Georgia.