There’s quite a bit of uncertainty these days, to put it mildly. World powers are acting in ways we haven’t seen for decades. Lots of anxiety. But who’s actually ruling the world right now? What do you think? What you believe about this shapes how you read the news, how you pray and how you act.

Here are some popular views:

1. Jesus is Reigning “already, but not yet fully”

This came from some 20th century theologians who I think had the right idea. But we tend to give way too much credit to the “not yet” half as our excuse for anything wrong, as if Jesus is only partially King, and we’re waiting for him to come try again.

2. Satan is the “god of this world”

Satan is in charge until Jesus comes back. He does have power and influence, but since Jesus became King 2000 years ago, he no longer has any authority unless we give it to him. So yes, he is the god of this world if we let him, but otherwise, he’s not enthroned, he’s demoted to prowling around like a roaring lion.

3. God is Sovereign Over All, Even Evil

“God is in control” we confidently state as if it’s in the Bible. So whatever’s happening is basically his decision and we just have to trust him and live with it. Well, God is Sovereign over all, but he’s not controlling everything. Think of a country that’s sovereign, they can choose to be controlling, like a dictator, or not, like a democracy’s supposed to work, counting on the people to behave.

4. Humans are Ruling (poorly)

God gave us dominion and we’re responsible for the earth, but we sinned and now evil is thriving. So we need to overcome injustice and unrighteousness. Ya, kinda. In the Old Testament things would work this way among the Gentiles, where God would leave them to sort it out. But when Jesus came he switched the delegation paradigm. Now we can only do what the Father tells us.