Jesus is the “Alpha and the Omega.” As such he is also the “author” of everything. Another “A” title of Jesus is “Ancient of Days.” Daniel uses this phrase frequently. In Daniel 7:9 we read, “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.” The “Ancient of Days” is a strange title for us but the Bible uses it more than once to speak of Jesus. We can only surmise from other passages what that might imply. I’m thinking of Hebrews 13:8:, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” I’ll be 75 next month (January 15, 2022). My grand kids might want to refer to me as the “ancient of days” and I sometimes feel that would be correct. Things have certainly changed over the years for me. I’m not up for a lot of running. I don’t care too much for the idea of roller coasters and other amusement park rides. I’ve no interest in bungee jumping or hang gliding, or high diving. I’ve done some of that in my youth but, wow, have I changed. But the days and the years do not change Jesus! I like the way Charles Rolls puts it. He writes, “Christ is not described here as the Ancient of Years, which would imply age, but Ancient of Days, which indicates His ageless, timeless, changeless character. No furrows disfigure His graceful features, no defects mar His clear discernment, nor is there any weakness in His wondrous will. His body of glory and beauty of countenance are unwrinkled by years, while His vigorous vitality and virtuous energy are unwearied by ceaseless activity. Ages are absolutely unable to age this ageless One who abides unchanged.”

The United Bible Society’s handbook for translators explains that Hebrews 13:8 could be confusing if not translated correctly. It says, “To communicate this information clearly may require considerable expansion; for example, “Jesus Christ never changes. He has not changed in the past, he does not change now, and he will never change in the future.” We live in a world where the only thing you can truly count on is change! We along with the world around us is always changing. Kent Hughes says it well in his commentary on Hebrews. He writes, “Forests rise and stand for a millennium—and fade into deserts. Rivers cut canyons and disappear. Newtonian physics, with its straight lines and right angles, is replaced by Einstein’s elegant curves of relativity. The only thing that is sure is change! We humans appear for a little while to laugh and weep and work and play, and then we are gone. This is a melancholy thought at best. Our souls long for something solid.”

In the 60’s, i used to be a fan of the Rock and Roll band called “The Doors.” Jim Morrison was their lead singer who died of an overdose of some drug at a very early age. But i remember one of their songs, “Riders on the Storm.” Since becoming a Christian I’ve preferred the poetry of William Cowper who wrote “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; he plants His footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm.” In Acts Jesus ascended into heaven in the clouds and and the angel told his disciples that he would return in the same fashion. I expect that Jesus is the one and only true “rider on the storm.” Daniel 7:13-14 even uses the phrase to speak of the coming of the Messiah’s reign on earth and says, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” The point of the “Ancient of Days” is that although everything around us will change. Entropy is the second law of thermodynamics. Everything is deteriorating! But not Jesus! The author of Hebrews knew his Psalms well. When he began his letter he quoted from Psalm 102:27. It’ says, “but you are the same, and your years have no end.” He expanded on the Psalmists idea when he wrote Hebrews 1:12, “like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” Want stability? The only thing in this world or the next that will not change is Jesus, “The Ancient of Days.” We need to look to him, “The author of our faith” who will one day come riding back on the clouds.