The Messianic Era
Living under the Reigning Messiah in the Present Age
First Published: February 2026
© 2026 Rebecca Holihan. All rights reserved.
Definition
The Messianic Era is a period in the life of the Church marked by a comprehensive re-centering of Christian faith, practice, and imagination on the present, active reign of Jesus Christ as Messiah. In this era, Christ’s Messiahship functions not merely as a doctrinal confession or future hope, but as the living interpretive center through which Scripture, identity, community, ethics, and mission are understood and embodied.
The Messianic Era names a shift from Christianity organized around belief, experience, or institution toward a faith ordered by allegiance—a lived orientation under the reigning Messiah whose reconciling work is already reshaping humanity and creation.
Proclamation
Every major turning point in Church history has required new language—not to replace the gospel, but to reveal its depth in a changed moment. The Patristic era defended Christ’s identity. The Reformation reclaimed justification and Scripture. The Charismatic era renewed expectancy of the Spirit’s work.
The present moment requires a different re-centering. The Church now stands amid fragmentation, polarization, performative spirituality, and fatigue with spectacle. In this context, the most urgent need is not more intensity or innovation, but a renewed submission to the
The Messianic Era names this need and this hope.
This era is defined not by novelty, but by orientation. Faith is no longer organized around what Christians oppose, consume, or experience, but around whom they obey and embody.
Messiahship becomes the organizing reality of Christian life.
Core Principles
- Allegiance over affinity: Faith organized around Christ, not ideology or performance
- Reconciliation over polarization: Embodying peace and unity in all communities
- Formation over spectacle: Discipleship producing faithful, measurable life change
- Present-tense Messiahship: Faith lived today, not deferred to past or future
- Integration of Spirit and witness: Gifts and experiences are oriented toward Christ’s reign
Scriptural Anchors
- Isaiah 11:6–9 – Vision of peace and restored creation
- Isaiah 58:12 – Repairing and restoring foundational principles of the gospel message
- 1 Corinthians 1:26–30 – The Wisdom of God
- 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 – New creation and ministry of reconciliation
- Galatians 5:22–23 – The expressions we produce
- 1 John 2:17 – Alignment with the will of God
- Revelation 19:10 – The testimony of Jesus
Closing Affirmation
The Messianic Era does not announce the arrival of a new Christ, but the rediscovery of the One who is already reigning.
It calls the Church to live as though Jesus truly is who we confess Him to be—and as though His reconciling reign is already breaking into the world.
This is not the end of faith, but its deepening.