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meaning of BC and AD
Great question! Here's the answer:
BC means “before Christ,” and AD means “Anno Domini.”
BC and AD show up all the time in historical dates. BC stands for "before Christ," meaning before Christ was born, and AD means "Anno Domini," which is Latin for "in the year of our Lord." BC and AD are not used in the Bible to distinguish dates; however, this dating system shows how impactful Jesus' coming to the world was—He broke the calendar.
BC and AD were adopted several centuries after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. However, in recent years, there has been a push to use the dating system of BCE and CE instead. BCE stands for "before the common era," and CE stands for "common era." In this way, people believe religious beliefs can be taken out of tracking dates to avoid offending other religions.
Even though many people want to change the dating system, as believers, we should continue to utilize the BC and AD dating system. Utilizing BC and AD honors Jesus and brings Him glory.
The concept of BC and AD can be seen in our own individual lives. The time before we knew Jesus as our Savior could be our "BC" era, and our "AD" era can be after we have placed faith in Him. God's grace transforms us and makes us into a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17). No longer do we have to live in accordance with a BC way of life. Rather, we can live in the light of Jesus.
Bible Truth
“At just the right time Christ died for ungodly people. He died for us when we had no power of our own. It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe someone would be willing to die for a good person. But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6–8).
“You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don’t obey God. At one time we all lived among them. Our desires were controlled by sin. We tried to satisfy what they wanted us to do. We followed our desires and thoughts. God was angry with us like he was with everyone else. That’s because of the kind of people we all were” (Ephesians 2:1–3).
“When anyone lives in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone! The new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
