2009; A New Year with a Unique Message

It's another new year; another year where people make resolutions promising to do this or that in order to improve themselves. As we see a new year some people look back on the old year remembering the hard days that faced us as individuals; as a nation; and as a world united with the expectation that 2009 may be a hard year before it has even began. But what can we expect in a realistic sense from 2009 that may be different from 2008?

One thing we can be certain of is the following; none of us has ever seen the year of 2009 before; it is a new year; a fresh start; and with it their is a sense of new hope.

It is now the year 2009 AD or 2009 Anno Domini; for those who do not know this means it means very simply that no matter where you go in the world it is the Year of Our Lord 2009; it is reconized as such. There are some who have tried in an odd way to change or take the Anno Domini part off of the year so that it doesn't say the Year of Our Lord as a result they say things like CE for the Common Era however that is a useless substitute some have added to take the name of Christ out of the very year we live in just like they try to take Christ out of Christmas even when Christmas is about Jesus Christ; it is pretty pathetic and in like trying to remove Armistice Day or Veteran's Day as some call it from the meaning of World War I or Independence Day from a nation's identity; Anno Domini is no different. The unique and humorous thing about the use of the Common Era addition is that the one thing we all have in common is that we live in the 2009th year after Christ Jesus birth so in reality it still reflects Anno Domini; the Year of Our Lord.

Before the Church which is a key foundation of Western Culture adopted the current calendar; every culture had its own calendar that was based on its own distinct historical importance; the Jewish calendar was based on the life of Abraham; the Islamic calendar was based on the prophet of that religion; the Chinese; Mayan; Ethiopian and Egyptians calendars were based on kings and emperors of the past which is why when historical records were recorded they would say that an event took place in the reign of a particular king's or in a particular year of a kings reign.

When the church made the current calendar that the entire world goes by, it was based on the birth of Christ at the first Christmas; the math was close to accurate if not perfect but the church adopted it and as Christianity spread so did the Christian calendar so that now the entire world uses it as a uniformed way to measure time. No matter what your race or colour is; your nationality or speech you can now measure time by the maker of time and event in which God entered human time through Jesus Christ at the first Christmas. Of course as the centuries have gone by everyone takes the naming of years for granted and forget that this is what it actually means; we live in the 2009th year of Jesus' reign; thus we say it is the Year of Our Lord 2009 or 2009 Anno Domini; or AD. Therefore this is a new year we have never seen before. It is 2009 AD; the international year on the international calendar as seen.

Also, let's look at what 2009 actually means.

God is a trinity and to understand the significance of one must understand the trinity; that is to say that God is one; there is only one God but has chosen three ways to show himself to humanity; as a Father, as an obedient Son, and as a Holy Spirit. As a Father, God instructs us and will punishes evil; as an obedient Son, God came into this world as Jesus Christ to do what was required to help all of us who were not perfect in the same way an older brother should help a younger sibling so we can be redemned back to God as a whole; and as a Holy Spirit, God guides us in ways we can't see or understand. Much of this information on Biblical numbers can be found in any Bible Dictionary or at the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministryas well.

Likewise, God who created this Universe made it to where nothing in the universe can exist without being a trinity; we cannot exist correctly in this world without being in a human body, a soul that is our personality an a spirit which always looks for things that are greater than us for we know inside that there is a God. We can't look at each other bodies without understanding that each of us has hieght, depth, and length which make up volume as a trinity. We can't as a soul it needs space, matter and time to be one and exist; as a result our souls cannot act without thought, word, and deeds. Our spirits cannot operate without understanding time which no other creature does by understanding past, present, and future. We are a trinity for we are made in the image of a God who is a trinity and therefore everything about us operates as a trinity in some form or fashion.

What however does 3 mean in the Christian calendar; it helps to know if we live by the Christian calendar? The number 3 means divine perfection; it can mean divine perfection in the sense of being holy as God is holy or in the sense of judgement.

Since the year 2001 the earth has entered a distinct period of time; the 3rd millenium of or Our Lord Jesus; the 1st millenium was from the birth of Jesus or what was suppose to be the year 1 to the year 1000; the 2nd millenium was from the year 1001 to 2000. Since it is after the year 2001 we are in the 3rd millenium of our Lord. Understanding the meaning of 3 in the sense of the one God who is holy and in the sense of time which we live in; it is safe to consider that sometime in this 3rd millenium God will show His divine perfection either by showing that He is divine and sovereign or by judging evil in a way that only a divine God can, in perfect judgement.

Also, in the Holy Bible usually a millenium means a period of rest when it comes to time so if we look at time being in the 3rd millenium of Our Lord would also mean that the people of the Lord or those who guide their lives according to His words in the Bible have rested for a long period that has reached a point.

When we now look at the year 2009 can now see a new sensation on its meaning withthe new year; we are now in the 9th year of the 3rd millenium of our Lord. The number 9 in the Bible appears twice; in the reference of God's gifts He gives those who live according to His salvation for their are 9 gifts of the Spirit that are to be used to reach the world with the good news of the gospel seen in I Corinthians 12:8-10; and their are also words of divine judgement that are mentioned 9 times in the Bible. With the meaning of the number 9 seen in the Bible it may be considered that the year 2009 will be a unique year when God shows the people of this world Hid divine character which is perfect. God may chose those who call on Him and live by His ways to affect the world by the gifts He has given them in a strong way; or He may show himself directly to the world and choose to judge evil in some way that is perfect and precise due to his own choosing; we won't know until we see it so be prepared for it either way but one thing is for sure; 2009 will be a year of hope; one way or another; one thing is for sure; God is soveriegn; 2008 lived up to what it meant a year when new beginnings hard to be done because old methods showed themselves to be suspect at times; just look at the economy for an example.

Considering this is now a new year; whether we voted for Barack Obama or live in a nation where there was no election this past year we can now focus on the hope of a new year in a new way; we can focus on a new hope that starts by understanding that it is God's year; a God who loves us and it is in His hands so that no matter what we face; the challenges are quite easy to vanquish and so with it comes the hope that this year will be easier for all of us. Let me say now to each of you; Happy New Year.