Dear Mom,

I was listening to the news the other day, and it struck me how quickly people talk about the world as if it’s spinning out of control — politics unraveling, nations raging, evil gaining ground. Even in many churches, you can hear that same tone of despair, as though the story has slipped from Christ’s hands and Satan is running the show. They talk about victory, but brace for defeat, and pray for escape. When I read Scripture, I can’t find that picture. The Bible doesn’t present Jesus as a future King waiting for His turn; it declares Him as King now, seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling until every enemy is placed beneath His feet.

That difference — whether we believe Christ reigns now or later — changes everything about how we see the world, the church, and our hope for the future. If we think the world belongs to Satan until Christ comes back to reclaim it, then the best we can do is hang on and wait for escape. But if we believe, as Scripture teaches, that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him,” then every moment of life — every act of faithfulness, every prayer, every ordinary work — takes place under a reigning King who is already subduing His enemies through His gospel.

That’s why I’ve been thinking lately about how certain systems, especially ones like Darby’s, seem to forget that Christ’s kingdom is present and advancing. They speak as though the devil currently governs history and Christ must wait for another age to rule. Yet the apostles preached the opposite: that the resurrection and ascension were Christ’s enthronement, and the church’s mission flows from that victory. This is what I wanted to write to you about today.

After His resurrection Jesus declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). Paul wrote, “He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor. 15:25). That’s present tense—He reigns now. The kingdom is not postponed; it is advancing, even when the world looks dark.

We are not waiting for Jesus to become King. He already is. Colossians says He has “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). John greets the churches in Revelation by saying Christ “has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (Rev. 1:6).

Think of it in marriage terms. Scripture calls the Church the Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25–27; Rev. 19:7). We aren’t an engaged couple waiting decades for the wedding to be real—we are already His, joined to Him, living under His care and authority. To say His reign has not begun is like saying a husband and wife aren’t truly married until long after their vows. What God has joined together, let no man separate. Christ the King and His Bride reign together even now.

Jonathan Edwards once wrote, “The kingdom of Christ is gradually to prevail against all opposition, till it finally be perfected in the most complete victory.” Mom, this isn’t wishful thinking—it’s the testimony of Scripture itself.

That means tribulation, as hard as it may be, is not evidence of Christ’s absence but of His reign. He rules even in the fire. And His kingdom will continue to grow until the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Mom, I want to encourage you here. So much teaching looks for escape. But the Bible calls us to endurance under a reigning King who cannot fail. That is the hope I cling to, and I long for you to rest in it with me.

With love,
Your son

Passages to read together:

• Matthew 28:18–20
• 1 Corinthians 15:25
• Colossians 1:13
• Revelation 1:5–6
• Ephesians 5:25–27