Stop Planning for Collapse - A Hopeful Realism for 2026

This past Sunday, we had our last church gathering of the year. In applying the text of Isaiah 9:6–7, I drew our attention to the truth that Christ’s reign is a present and ongoing reality, not merely a future one. At Christ’s second coming, what we will witness is not the inauguration or establishment of His kingdom, but the consummation of it.

Some take this as mere speculation about eschatology (our theology of the end of this age) and therefore as something of little importance for the Christian life here and now. I believe the opposite is true. Not only do I believe that, but we can clearly see the effects of people’s eschatology in the way they think, live, and plan for the future.

Isaiah 9, alongside other prophetic texts of the Old Testament (such as Daniel 2), and even Jesus’ own teaching on the Kingdom of God (the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven), shows us that the Kingdom of God does not come in a sudden, cataclysmic way. Rather, the Kingdom starts small and grows; it increases and expands. And we are called to take part in this kingdom expansion primarily through the preaching of the Gospel, and then by aligning all of life under the kingship of Christ.

The Kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of peace—shalom—which means that when Christ reigns, everything follows God’s creational order, purpose, and direction. This peace was broken in the Garden of Eden when Adam sinned, and sin shattered our peace with God, with one another, and with the rest of creation. To rebuild this peace, we must begin with the proper foundation: peace with God. And peace with God comes only through faith in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross.

For this reason, from the moment Christ lived a perfect life, and especially through His vicarious death, resurrection, and ascension, humanity began to be reconciled to God. Thus, the Kingdom of peace is no longer a future promise only, but a present reality. And we ought to live with this understanding, embracing this reality in faith and obedience.

As we approach a new year, many people are pessimistic about the future of our country and our society. Others are optimistic, but for the wrong reasons, placing their hopes in human agents and projects. But we, Bible-believing Christians, have every reason not to be “optimistic” in a subjective sense, but to be hopeful realists. The Kingdom of Jesus is a reality, and its expansion is not only a biblical truth but something we can observe in the world around us, if our eyes are calibrated to see true reality.

A new year is coming, and Christ continues to reign. His Kingdom of peace will continue to increase, and the Gospel will continue to advance. Therefore, we must make plans with this in mind. We do not plan for the destruction of all things, but we live and build in preparation for the coming of our Lord, desiring to be found faithful and fruitful, multiplying the talents He has entrusted to us when He returns.

We do not know how many generations will pass before Jesus comes back, but we do know that He will come, and that He will come when all His enemies are made His footstool. In the time God has given us here, we work mightily by the power of the Spirit to bring to nothing the enemies of Christ—not by force or coercion, but through the preaching of the Gospel, holy living, and God’s sovereign acts in history, as false kingdoms are exposed, judged, and ultimately displaced under Christ’s reign. We do this by living holy lives, building holy families and churches, and by being salt and light in the world.

The earth belongs to Jesus, and it belongs to us—not by grasping or domination, but by promise, inheritance, and faithful stewardship under Christ’s lordship. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:5, Christians will inherit the earth. We are not here merely to endure hardship and then escape to a different reality. Like Abraham, we are called—by faith—to take possession of the land, the earth God has promised us, patiently cultivating what He places before us.

A new year is coming, and God will give us many opportunities. So let us work and cultivate well whatever small plot of land the Lord has entrusted to us. Our labour in the Lord is not in vain.

Nino Marques