We are developing our understanding of the whole redemptive plan. In our heartwarming Christology, we saw Jesus pre-creation, in the Old Testament, his birth, life, death, resurrection, his ascension, session, Holy Spirit mission, and intercession. All these blessings fill us with bliss, and we might feel like saying, “Enough, what else do I need?” But we are caught by a God who doesn’t bless us according to our capacity, but according to the infinite riches of his grace. So we continue the redemption story. What do you think should be next in redemptive history? Yes, chronologically, we can say it would be the Second Coming of Christ. If you think you’ve seen anything so far, I am delighted to tell you the best is yet to come; the most thrilling topics start now! So far, whatever I have taught is a foretaste of what is to come. The real fullness of blessings actually starts now.
Yes, though in chronological order, it is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but I think we have to understand another glorious present ministry of our Lord: the Mediatorial Reign of Christ. I believe this will be the best preparation to grasp the glory of his Second Coming. Most Christians go wrong in understanding the Second Coming because they either don’t have any idea or proper knowledge of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ. Before we look at his Second Coming, I want to talk about three things today:
- The meaning of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ
- Biblical evidence
- Implications
The Meaning of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ
After Christ rose from the dead and ascended, he was given all authority and power. As God-man, he is not waiting for a future reign, but he started his mediatorial reign when he ascended and was seated at the Father’s right hand. That is why before he went to heaven in Matthew 28, he didn’t say all authority in heaven and on earth will be given to me in the future. No, it has already been given, and therefore you should go into all the world, because my reign has started, and your gospel work will be victorious.
The Mediatorial Reign of Christ is his powerful, official rule over all things in heaven and on earth for the glory of God and to execute God’s salvation purposes for his people. Christ’s reign is absolute and supreme. It is an unrivaled dominion. He sovereignly overrules and controls all political powers, kings, ministers, prime ministers, chief ministers, and counselors of all nations. Any kingdom that rises and falls is under his reign. Right now he is at the right hand of God, above every authority, ruling and reigning every region in this world, whether Lingarapuram, Bangalore, India, or the world. All things are under the reign of Christ. It is unrivaled dominion and unparalleled supremacy. Like a central government sitting in Delhi rules the whole country, so he sits in the control room of the universe in heaven and rules the whole world. It is happening now.
This reign has several purposes. There are two main purposes. First, to gather and perfect his Church. Second, to subdue and use his enemies for his purposes. This includes completely removing the power and effects of evil spiritual forces in the universe and finally defeating them fully. That is the meaning of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ.
Biblical Evidence
As Christians, it is so important to realize and live in the light of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ. Not realizing this not only hinders our spiritual growth but also leads to many theological and practical errors in Christian life. That is why in Ephesians 1, after Paul lists all the blessings, he earnestly prays for three things.
Ephesians 1:15-23 says:
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
He prays for illumination on three things: to know the hope of his calling, second, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and third, notice he prays that they know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us.” Greatness is big, but here it is the “exceeding greatness of the power.” What kind of power is that?
That power is working towards us. It is not only the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him at the right hand of God, but also the power that makes him exercise universal reign: “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” He “put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
Do you see how clear this verse is? “All… All…” There is a present reign of Christ. He is above all; everything is under him. Only when the Holy Spirit opens our spiritual eyes can we see the glory of this reign. That is why Paul prays that our great need is to realize this awesome reign of Christ and the power that comes to us from grasping that. As we look unto Christ with eyes of faith this morning, may we see him “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named.”
All our forefathers were great spiritual giants because they were enlightened by the Holy Spirit to see this reign and lived in the light of this reign. They were fearless lions serving Christ and the gospel. But sadly, after the 19th century, oh how many Christians, not realizing this truth, have gone completely wrong with a worldly kind of dispensational teaching. Just like the Jews, they are stubborn. Even though our Lord said his kingdom is not of this world, they adamantly want him to reign on this earth or at least for 1,000 years. By doing that, they completely reject this marvelous present Mediatorial Reign of Christ and don’t realize how terribly such a view affects their present Christian life. Ephesians verse 23 is very comforting when it says he is reigning with such power for us, for our benefit, for our good. What an amazing thing. If we knew the prime minister of our country was ruling the country for our good and was a member of our church, what a comfort that would be.
The next biblical evidence for the Mediatorial Reign of Christ is found in Revelation. Revelation will become so clear and meaningful only if you understand this mediatorial reign. For those of you who missed the Revelation series 10 years ago, let me give you a full tour of the book now. Revelation, as the name itself suggests, reveals the glory of Christ, not just his glory somewhere in the future, but also his present mediatorial glory. When the book starts, in Revelation 1:5, see how he addresses himself: “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.” He is not the coming ruler but the present ruler of the kings of the earth. Doesn’t this clearly mean he is presently ruling over the kings of the earth?
Imagine the context to whom Revelation is written. All the apostles are dead. The last apostle is in exile on Patmos island. The churches are suffering from terrible persecution. What comfort would it give those suffering saints if the whole book of Revelation only talked about what would happen thousands of years after their generation? That is what dispensationalists teach. When you are terribly suffering now, who cares about events in the future, what will happen to Jews or Gentiles where we will not even be on earth? During intense suffering, we want to know what our risen and ascended Lord is doing right now by revelation so we can be faithful to him today, right?
With that proper context, if you start reading Revelation, you will see it gives us the most encouraging heavenly view of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ. The book of Revelation reveals to us all the events that happen from his first coming to the second coming. All of them come under the Mediatorial Reign of Christ in apocalyptic, figurative language. It uses apocalyptic and end-time literature. It is not a confused book, but a beautifully orderly, vivid, visual drama. You will see it is explained to us in seven recapitulating cycles: seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. In between each, there are interludes, pictures. After seven churches, there is the throne and worship of God and the Lamb. After seven seals, there are pictures of the 144,000 servants. After seven trumpets, there is the dragon and the woman. After seven bowls, there is the judgment of Babylon, and the final victory and eternal state with the new creation. Each apocalyptic image starts from a period of his first coming, what he does in his mediatorial reign, which leads to the end with his second coming of Christ, judgment, and the eternal state. These are not linear events, one after another, but a recapitulation of the same period from different angles.
Let me show that clearly to you with one example. After the letters to the seven churches, Revelation 4 gives us a vision of the throne of God. The Lamb of God is worshiped and glorified as worthy to open the seal. Great glory is given to Christ by innumerable angels and elders: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” He is exalted above everything. When does this happen? If you read in the proper context of the New Testament without any confusion caused by dispensationalists, this talks about the glorification and enthronement of Christ after he rose from the dead, ascended, and was seated at the right hand of God. He is given all authority in heaven and on earth, symbolized by him taking the scroll and he alone being worthy to break the seals of the scroll. It is a vision to encourage suffering believers by showing what Christ did after he ascended to heaven.
It is not talking about some future seven-year tribulation. It talks about what happens after Jesus takes the throne after his resurrection and ascension. It is Christ ruling and reigning over the present gospel age. He takes the scroll which is God’s redemptive plan—remember he predestined it before creation—and as the enthroned king, he breaks the seals of the scroll. Then events take place on earth. It is a history of what happens between the first and second coming. This period is called the gospel age.
What is written in the scroll? All that Christ prophesied in Matthew 24 that will happen before his coming is stated in apocalyptic language in Revelation 6. He opens the first four seals, the four horses.
2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
The white horse talks about the peace message of the gospel. It shows the victory of the gospel during this age. The gospel will spread and be victorious in spite of all hindrances. Hasn’t that happened in the last 2000 years? The gospel goes conquering and to conquer. From 12 men, it is now the biggest religion in the world, though nominally, it is Christianity today. The white horse of the gospel is still going everywhere and calling the elect, conquering. It is this victorious horse and the one who sits on it that brought you and me to Christ after 2000 years.
Secondly, during this reign, he not only has to call and build his church, but he also has to dismantle all the foundations of the evil spiritual forces in the world, which have many complex layers of spiritual powers, principalities, and dominions. So secondly,
4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
This indicates that as the gospel spreads in this time, there will be constant wars in the gospel age, and people will be hating and killing one another.
Verse 5, he opens the third seal:
5 So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
This indicates that during this time, there will be scarcity on Earth: famine, a lack of resources, recession, economical collapse, and inflation, even for basic food items like lentils, oil, and petrol at high rates. Should we wait for a great tribulation for this to happen? Isn’t this happening before our eyes?
Verse 7 says,
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
This shows that during this time, there will be mass deaths from war, hunger, and plagues.
The fifth seal shows the souls of those beheaded crying under the altar of God because of the word of God and their testimony, crying “how long?” It talks about Christian martyrdom during this time. Isn’t that happening in the last 2000 years?
Now see how the sixth seal takes us to the end. Verse 12 describes a great earthquake; the sun turned black; the whole moon turned blood red, and verse 13 says, “the stars in the sky fell to earth, the heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” This is the great day of judgment. Verse 15 says, “Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.” Verse 16 continues, “They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!'” Verse 17 says, “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
When he opened the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1), “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” The judgments were so terrible and unimaginable that it doesn’t even say. You will notice the same pattern in the seven trumpets and seven bowls, but from different angles. All of them tell us what will happen between the two comings during the reign of Christ. Not understanding these cycles, dispensationalists take this and say there will be two resurrections, three comings, and two kinds of judgment. They have messed up the simple truth of scripture.
Christ exactly prophesied the same events in Matthew 24, all leading to his Second Coming. Turn to Matthew 24. He talks about the destruction of the temple, political upheaval, and the prevailing disasters of this age: wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, and famines, with one kingdom rising against another. Just as he said the Jerusalem temple would be destroyed, it was destroyed and the Jews scattered. We have seen the distress of the Gentile nations over the past 2000 years. There has been the constant upheaval of the rise and fall of empires, nation rising against nation—Roman wars, European wars, the Crusades, World Wars I and II. Even now, in May 2025, as I preach this message, isn’t everyone talking about a war this year between our country and Pakistan? In the last three years, we have seen the war between Russia and Ukraine and the tariff wars going on between the US and China. We are also seeing new kinds of wars: cyber and digital wars. This is causing people to live in fear, wondering what is going to come next. There is political turmoil. Wars and rumors of wars have marked this entire age.
So, my brothers, my humble submission is that all this points to not something coming in the future, but all these manifestations are the awesome reign of Christ over the world now. He prophesied all this on earth. Now he is in heaven with all authority. All of this is the result of the risen and reigning Christ breaking the seals on God’s scroll, unveiling the redemptive plan of God. How marvelously encouraging to see it that way. All these disasters—earthquakes, wars, famines, foods, tsunamis, landslides, political upheavals, injustices, and inflation—are to be seen as great proof of Christ’s mediatorial reign and the fulfillment of his prophecy.
Matthew 24 says:
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows…
So my brothers and sisters, I hope you can see that after our Lord died, rose, and ascended to the throne of God, as the enthroned king with all authority, his Mediatorial Reign of Christ started. All events are happening in this world because Christ is breaking the seal right now as I speak, and he reigns over the world in the fulfillment of prophecy. Great events and movements are going on earth as a result of Christ’s reign in heaven. So with Paul, I say, “Upon us the ends of the ages have come.”
Applications
- The truth of the Mediatorial Reign of Christ (MRC) removes all dispensational carelessness in Christian life.Realizing we live in the midst of prophecy being fulfilled removes all dispensational carelessness in Christian life. I hope I can help you see and get this. When I was a dispensational guy, I was all about waiting for a secret rapture. Until then, we didn’t know what was happening in the world or what Christ was doing in heaven; it all felt out of control. There was no prophecy or control here. The prophetic clock had supposedly stopped ticking during the church age, and we were living in a great chaos. It was only when the secret rapture occurred and the church was taken out of the world that the prophetic clock would start ticking again, and events of prophecy would begin to unfold. Until then, the church was not important, and commitment to the church was not important. The only thing that mattered was Israel. Now, gospel spreading is not important because there is another chance during the tribulation, which leads to so much carelessness in Christian life.I don’t know about you, but when I changed from a pre-millennial to an a-millennial view of prophecy, it changed everything about how I think about my Christian life, my ministry, and my view of the church. It changes everything. The church and my commitment to the church became my greatest priority in life. Working for the Gospel became not only my great pleasure and delight but also an urgency. I hope it changes everything for you. We are the ones upon whom the ends of the ages have come.The church is not some side plan of God that will secretly disappear so that the main plan for Israel can happen. No, the church is the center of God’s plan, the only plan of salvation. Jews and Gentiles should come inside the church to be saved. My greatest loyalty and commitment should be to the church of Christ. We are the ones through whom the world is to be redeemed. We are the ones who are to bear witness to God in these last days. We are the ones. Doesn’t that change it for you? Christ is reigning and breaking the seals; this is the Gospel age. Preaching the Gospel and church commitment are now life-and-death issues. I can never be careless about these things.The truth of the MRC should bring great comfort to believers. What are you worried and tense about? Look to Christ! Christ reigns over the world for our good. Our Joseph is governor, accomplishing the salvation purposes of God for us. He will reign until his coming. Everything that happens in the world—every single thing in our life—is under the reign of Jesus Christ. Nothing can come into our life without the good and saving purposes of his will. He will allow only things that bring the greatest good for you and me individually and as a church. What peace, confidence, and boldness that can bring when we lift our eyes to see our Lord reigning with all sovereign authority.
- Stop being so wrapped up in politics.There was a time when I was fully fixed on the news—this news and that. “Oh, what will this government do?” All their conspiracy plans, NRC, anti-conversion laws, India-Pakistan wars. “Oh, inflation is going up… what will happen next?” We don’t need to be so wrapped up in all the political injustices, conspiracies, and problems, biting our nails day and night. Oh, the Balakot attack, an India-Pakistan war is coming. News channels have now become thrilling horror channels with all the graphics and voices. Looking at them, our blood pressure will go up. Oh, whatever politician or party comes, they cannot fix the problems in our world. Only when He comes will it be solved. He is reigning now for our good; he is in control; he is coming soon. You know now, I don’t waste my time and energy on all the latest news channels, maybe just a few minutes to be updated so I can vote for the right party. I am not worried because I know all this is part of his plan, and he reigns fully now. Instead of getting involved in all these passing things, we need to spend time knowing the Lord more, worshiping him, and serving him.
- The MRC should give great boldness and energy for Gospel witness.It will give us enough motivation for sharing the Gospel with people because this is the Gospel age. The Gospel is the center. You know when Christ gave the Great Commission, what was the foundational basis of the Great Commission? It is the reign of Christ. He said, “Go into the world and preach the Gospel.” On what basis, Lord? “Because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” I am reigning; therefore, go into the world. We can go with confidence and preach because Jesus is ruling and reigning. There is nothing that is going to stop the Gospel. No work of Gospel effort will go in vain. The white horse and the one who sits on it went out conquering and to conquer. The Gospel will triumph, however discouraging the situation may be. Oh, we get discouraged. “Oh, no one listens.” Just imagine, many of you don’t do anything because of this discouragement. Jesus is reigning. If you have confidence in that, you will not back down. He’s reigning now in the spread of the Gospel during this age. We need to be bold in our witness. Seeing his MRC will fill us with boldness and energy for Gospel efforts. Our work will be victorious. We need to preach the Gospel with that mindset—not as if we are losing a side. No, we are on the winning side.Revelation 20, the 1000 years of reign, talks about the mediatorial reign. Those who suffer for the Gospel in this Gospel age are the wisest and greatest winners! Revelation gives two pictures: in this world, Gospel suffering may look pathetic and struggling, and all the Gospel enemies may seem to be winning, but in the heavenly scene, they are the greatest winners. Whatever they lose for Christ and the Gospel, they will not only gain 100 times more and receive a reward even for giving a glass of water, but in case they die, as soon as they die, they will reign with Christ in this mediatorial reign during this period. What an encouragement for the Gospel! Oh, how foolishly we would waste our lives if we don’t see the Gospel as the main work during this mediatorial reign. This is the Gospel age. Preach, live, sacrifice, and do everything for the Gospel!
- We need to bow our knee to this Lord.Christ said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” If you have not repented, you have to now because it is not what you see. It is all ruled by the kingdom of heaven. Christ rules. So you have to repent now, otherwise, very soon he will come, and then the whole universe, every knee will bow and confess him as Lord. You know why? Because the Second Coming of Jesus will undoubtedly prove the mediatorial reign of Christ. The whole universe will realize at that time that he reigned over the world all these years and accomplished his purpose until his coming. As believers, if there are areas in your life not under the Lordship and reign of Christ, we need to repent and submit to him. We need to glorify him for the way he is reigning today.
- We should yearn for his coming during this MR period.Some of you don’t believe in his MR now. You know, one day you will fully know about his reign and it will make you bow down; that day is the Second Coming. His Second Coming will reveal to everyone that he was the one who reigned on this earth and accomplished his purposes. This is what I want to expand on and prepare our hearts for the next message on the Second Coming. There are two things:
- Guard your heart and mind from mocking disbelief in the Second Coming in the last days.
- Develop a mindset of the New Testament experience of the Second Coming.
- The New Testament sees eager expectation and yearning for the return of Jesus Christ as a distinctive evidence of true conversion.1 Thessalonians 1:8-10: talking about the Thessalonians’ conversion, Paul lists the marks of their conversion. “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and 1) how you turned to God from idols, 2) to serve the living and true God, 3) and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Do you see he points to one sign of true conversion—”wait for His Son from heaven”? It is an eager waiting. Even when talking about the Corinthian church with all their defects and failures, their conversion was marked with waiting for the coming of Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:7 says they were “eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” True saving union with Christ always had this trait. So, if this aspect of waiting for Christ is missing in your life and mine, do you realize there is a defect in the Christian experience?
- It is not only a trait of true conversion, but the New Testament also saw it as one of the primary means of sanctification in this world.Titus 2:11-13: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”The grace of God, as a teacher, teaches us negatively to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and positively, we should live soberly (with clarity and in touch with the realities of time and eternity, not in a dream or vanity, drunk with the cares of this world and food, but to live as this world is not our home, not like in Noah’s days), righteously (according to God’s standard of right), and godly in the present age. What is the means used to make us live like that? Verse 13: “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”Oh, if we are not denying ungodliness and worldly lusts and living soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, it is only because we have not been taught by the grace of God to look for the appearing of Jesus Christ.
- The Second Coming is not only a sign of salvation but also a means of sanctification.The Second Coming is the great hope of believers as a pledge of the complete salvation of believers. It is their great hope, their blessed hope. Titus 2:13 says “blessed hope.” 1 John 3:3 says he who has that hope purifies himself, just as he himself is pure.It was central in the New Testament experience. So much so, they greeted one another with the Aramaic greeting, “Maranatha,” which means “Our Lord, come!” See, whatever world you are living in, whatever Christian perspective or school of thought you are living in, if you are not living with an eager expectation of Christ’s Second Coming, your Christian experience is defective.
So, as we prepare our hearts for the next message on the Second Coming, may God help us guard our hearts and minds from mocking disbelief in the Second Coming in the last days and develop a mindset of the New Testament experience of the Second Coming. The truth of the MRC should make us yearn for the coming of Christ.
As we take communion today, “Do this in remembrance of me, until I come.” We remember his coming as well. He says we have to remember his death in the light of his Second Coming. We not only have to look backward at the reality of his suffering and look upward at the reality of spiritual fellowship with him and his mediatorial reign now, but we also have to look forward to when all that he died to purchase for his people will be realized in our experience.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 