LETTER TO THE EDITOR
“Unto you is born this day…a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). What does the Bible teach about the birth of Jesus Christ?
Where? He was born of a “virgin” in “Bethlehem”. God’s prophets foretold this 700-800 years beforehand (Isa 7:14; Micah 5:2).
When? The Bible does not give the month or day. Man divides history and reckons time by the year of His birth—B.C., before Christ—A.D., “anno Domini nostri Jesu Christi”, “in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ”. This is A.D. 2022.
Who? Jesus Christ is God and Man. The Creator, the eternal “Son of God” “from everlasting” “who made all things,…was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (Luke 1:35; John 1:1-14). “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim 3:16 KJV). The “virgin’s son” was “Emmanuel…God with us” (Mat 1:23).
Why? “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim 1:15). “Thou shalt call His name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Mat 1:21).
How? “Christ…did no sin” but lived in perfect obedience to God’s law. In the sinner’s place, “Christ…once suffered” God’s wrath, curse, and punishment “for sins—the Just for the unjust”, dying on the cross (Isa 53:3-12; Gal 3:10,13; 1 Pet 2:21-24; 3:18). God “spared not His own Son” (Rom 6:23; 8:32). He was “made sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21). “We have redemption through His blood…the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:14).
“What must I do to be saved?…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31).
This is “good tidings of great joy….to all people” (Luke 2:10)! “Is it nothing to you?” (Lam 1:12)
Michael W. Ellis
Belton
DOCUMENTATION
- Prophecies foretelling Christ’s birth
In Bethlehem: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).
The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (2014)
Micah dates his prophecy in Micah 1:1 as during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Given that Jotham’s reign began in 750 BC and Micah’s preaching had some influence on Hezekiah’s reforms (Jer 26:18-19), Micah most likely prophesied between 750 and 700 BC.
Dr. John Gill’s Commentary (18th century)
Micah is thought to have prophesied thirty or forty years. Bishop Usher places him before Christ 713: but, according to Mr. Whiston, he prophesied 750 years before the era of Christ, and so Mr. Bedford.
Virgin birth: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (2014)
Isaiah 1:1 dates Isaiah’s ministry during the administrations of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. At the latest, Isaiah began his ministry in 740 BC, the year that King Uzziah died (Isa 6:1), but he may have started preaching toward the end of Uzziah’s reign. The last historical reference records the death of Sennacherib (Isa 37:38), which occurred in 680 B.C. Thus 740 to 680 BC marks the general period of Isaiah’s ministry and composition, although it may extend beyond those dates. This make him contemporary with Micah.
Dr. John Gill’s Commentary (18th century)
At what time, and in whose days Isaiah prophesied may be learnt from Isaiah 1:1. He began to prophesy about 770 years before Christ.
- A.D. and B.C. are no Longer P.C.
https://apologeticspress.org/ad-and-bc-are-no-longer-pc-1471/
“B.C.” (“Before Christ”) refers to the years that preceded the birth of Christ. “A.D.” (Anno Domini—Latin for “year of our Lord”) refers to the years that have transpired since the birth of Christ.
- Meaning of BC and AD
What does the Latin Phrase “Anno Domini” Mean?
Anno is a lot like our English word Annual, which denotes a year. Domini means Lord (who dwells in dominion over all creation).
But AD is actually an abbreviation of the original term. The entire original Latin phrase is “Anno Domini nostri Jesu Christi” which translates as “In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Anno Domini (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini
Anno Domini (AD) and before Christ (BC): The term anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means ‘in the year of the Lord’, [1] but is often presented using “our Lord” instead of “the Lord”, [2][3] taken from the full original phrase “anno Domini nostri Jesu Christi”, which translates to ‘in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ’. The form “BC” is specific to English and equivalent abbreviations are used in other languages: the Latin form is Ante Christum natum.
