Historically, the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary was always a given. Until recently, there were symbols of the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ almost everywhere. When a public building, church, or major edifice was built, its cornerstone indicated the year of its completion together with the letters: A.D. which stood for the Latin words, Anno Domini, Year of our Lord.

For nearly two thousand years we have been living in this Christian era. Referring to times prior to Bethlehem, years were reckoned backward with the designation: B.C., (in English this time) meaning: Before Christ. The birth, death, and resurrection from the dead of the Lord Jesus Christ changed the world. But, just suppose you didn’t happen to be a Christian—what then? This date designation system was an everpresent reminder of your conflict. Now, enemies of Truth imposed a subtle change upon the world in an attempt to remove this reference to the “stumbling block” against Humanism and secularity. For the past quarter century or so there has been a successful movement in academia away from the “A.D.” and “B.C.” designations. Frequently, C.E. replaces A.D. and B.C.E. replaces B.C. C.E. stands for Common Era, referring to today. B.C.E. stands for Before Common Era.

There is one thing we as Christians can do about it—utilize “A.D.” whenever we can in our personal and church correspondence as a testimony. (Not at work as your employer might not be sympathetic.) People receiving your letters, personal checks, memos, etc., may ask, “Why are you writing AD?” Then you will be able to tell them. If you do this and a door of opportunity opens and you are able to witness, please share your experiences with us.

eric@spiritsbreath.org