The Lord Jesus at the Centre of Human History
There have been many figures throughout human history who have exerted a great influence on the world. However, no single figure has exerted a more profound influence than the Lord Jesus Christ. Even our calendar dating system (e.g. 2016AD) is based on Jesus’ birthdate at Bethlehem in Judea, although several years out.
The Christian world divides time to before Christ (BC) and after Christ (AD)
AD refers to the Latin term –anno Domini, which means in the year of the Lord. This practice of dating things from the time of Jesus’ birth was first introduced in the year 525AD, and became standard in the Gregorian calendar.
Throughout the Middle Ages until the present day, this has been the unofficial global standard and recognised by international institutions such as the United Nations.
There are those today who are not happy with this convention, but it has held for a very long time, and it is based on the biblical truth that Jesus Christ stands at the very centre of all human history.
He is, as the Apostle John says in Revelations, “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev 22:13)