Years are followed by either BC or AD. What does BC and AD stand for? What is the meaning of the two abbreviations? How about BCE and CE, what do they mean?
Before Christ
BC stands for “before Christ”. Any year that is followed by these letters simply refers to the amount of years before Jesus was born. For example, if something in history is said to have happened in 777 BC, this means it occurred 777 years before Christ was born.
Anno Domini
Because BC stands for “before Christ”, AD is often thought to mean “after death”, referring to the death of Jesus. It actually stands for anno domini, a Latin phrase meaning “in the year of the Lord”. Our current year of 2017 AD means it has been 2017 years since Jesus Christ was born.
Is BC And AD In The Bible?
The BC/AD dating system is not spoken of or mentioned in the Bible. The system was created by Dionysius Exiguus in 525 AD. This was many years after the death of Jesus and the completion of the Bible.
Jesus’ birth was actually miscalculated when the dating system was created. Scholars later determined Christ was most likely born between 6 to 4 BC, instead of 1 AD. Even so, the most amazing part about this dating system is that it recognizes the birth of Jesus Christ as being the turning point in history.
BCE And CE
BCE stands for “Before common era” and CE stands for “common era”. Both have been used as alternatives to BC and AD by some who object to Christ being designated as being the dividing point in history. Replacing ‘before Christ” and “in the year of the Lord” with “common era” fails badly at this attempt. Where BCE ends and CE begins is still based on the birth of Jesus.
Consider The Calendar
For those who doubt that Jesus ever existed, consider the very calendars we use today. They reflect the impact Jesus made on the world. It seems it would be hard to explain how someone who didn’t exist was able to have such an impact on the world that his birth was, and still is recognized, as being the dividing point in history.
