What is the meaning of BC and AD (B.C. and A.D.)?

It is commonly thought that BC stands for “before Christ” and AD stands for “after death.” This is only half correct. BC does stand for “before Christ.” But AD is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase Anno Domini, which means “in the year of our Lord.” The BC/AD dating system is not taught in the Bible. It was, in fact, not fully implemented and accepted until several centuries after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension.


Interestingly, the purpose of the BC/AD dating system was to make the birth of Jesus Christ the dividing point of world history. However, when the BC/AD system was being calculated, a mistake was made in pinpointing the year of Jesus’ birth. Later scholars determined that Jesus was born 6—4 BC, not AD 1. But the precise date is a minor issue. The main point is that the life of Christ is the turning point in world history. He truly changed the world.

It is fitting that the life of Jesus Christ is the separation of “old” and “new.” With the appearance of the Son of God incarnate, the Light shined in darkness (John 1:5), the Shepherd began gathering His lambs, and the Victor commenced His conquest (1 John 3:8). The world “BC” was quite different. Since Jesus’ coming, we have truly been living “in the year of our Lord.” Jesus impacted world history in profound ways, and He reigns supreme as the Lord of creation. One day all created beings will recognize His lordship: “At the name of Jesus every knee [will] bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11).

In recent times, there has been a push to replace the BC and AD labels with BCE and CE, meaning “before common era” and “common era,” respectively. The change is simply one of semantics—that is, AD 100 is the same as 100 CE; all that changes is the label. The advocates of the switch from BC/AD to BCE/CE say that the newer designations are better in that they are devoid of religious connotations and thus avoid offending other cultures and religions who may not see Jesus as “Lord.” The irony, of course, is that what distinguishes BCE from CE is still the life and times of Jesus Christ. He is still the turning point.

We see the principle of BC/AD at work on the micro level in the personal stories of individual believers. The dividing line in every believer’s life is his or her faith response to Jesus Christ. Before a person is saved, he lives in his own particular “BC” era, as it were. Paul describes our condition before faith in Christ: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins. . . . [Y]ou followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, . . . gratifying the cravings of [your] flesh and following its desires and thoughts, . . . by nature deserving of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1–3). But after a person is saved, everything changes. The grace of God transforms us. In the “AD” part of our lives, Jesus is Lord. “The new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).