The Great Discovery of December 31st: The End of Waiting (The Kingdom is Now)

Índice/Index

Date: December 31, 2025

Bible Reading: Mark 1:14-15

Reading Time: 12 minutes

Today is the global day of promise. It is the official day of “expectation.”

If we could place a giant stethoscope on the heart of humanity on this exact day, December 31st, we would hear a deafening noise. It wouldn’t just be the sound of parties, dinner preparations, or fireworks being set up. It would be an internal, visceral sound: a mixture of deep anxiety and desperate hope.

Billions of people are, at this moment, hypnotized by the clock. We are in a collective countdown. We prepare white clothes as if they were priestly robes of purification. We buy grapes, lentils, and pomegranates as if they were sacraments of prosperity. We write lists of resolutions with the seriousness of someone drafting a constitution.

There is an almost magical belief, impregnated in human culture, that at midnight something fundamental will change. We believe there is a mystical border, an invisible line in the fabric of the universe, that separates December 31st from January 1st. We devoutly believe that by crossing this line when the clock strikes twelve, we will leave behind the “old self”—with its failures, extra pounds, debts, and vices—and instantly embrace a “new self,” disciplined, holy, prosperous, and happy.

But, if we are honest, deep down, we know the truth. We’ve done this before. We felt this shiver in 2024, in 2023, in 2022. And we woke up on January 2nd with the same problems, the same temperament, and the same feeling of emptiness.

What if I told you that this magical waiting is a trap? What if the greatest news in the universe isn’t about what will happen “tomorrow,” but about what is already available “today”?

The true novelty of Christianity is not offering a new calendar. The novelty of the Gospel is announcing an invasion. In Mark 1:15, Jesus inaugurates His public ministry. He doesn’t start with a motivational promise that “better days will come.” He starts with a declaration of a consummated fact that alters the structure of reality:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Today, the 31st, I invite you to stop looking at the future for a few minutes. Let’s turn off “expectation” mode and turn on “revelation” mode. Let’s discover why the best way to start the new year is not by making empty promises for 2026, but by believing in the overwhelming reality that Jesus brought to the “now.”

I. The Diagnosis: The Disease of “Tomorrow” and the Tyranny of Chronos

To understand Jesus’ remedy, we first need to understand our disease. We suffer from a spiritual pathology called “Idolatry of the Future.” We convince ourselves that real life is always one step away.

“When I get married, I’ll be happy.”
“When I have children, I’ll be complete.”
“When I retire, I’ll have peace.”
“When the year turns, I’ll change.”

We live as if the present were merely an inconvenient waiting room for the future. December 31st is the apex of this disease. It is the day we tolerate “today” only because we are obsessed with “tomorrow.”

Jesus begins verse 15 by attacking this mindset at the root: “The time is fulfilled.” To understand the explosive depth of this, we need to go to the original Greek of the New Testament. The Greeks, in their wisdom, had two distinct words for “time,” and they describe two completely different worlds.

1. The Prison of Chronos

The first word is Chronos. It is where the word “chronometer” or “chronology” comes from. Chronos is clock time. It is the merciless tick-tock. It is quantitative, sequential time that devours life. It is the calendar you have on the wall or on your phone. Chronos is a tyrant. It ages us, pressures us, and kills us. December 31st is the maximum tyranny of Chronos. It screams in your face: “Time is up! You didn’t do what you were supposed to! You are late! Another year is gone and you are still in the same place!” Whoever lives trapped in Chronos lives anxiously, because time is never enough and the past is irreversible.

2. The Freedom of Kairos

The second word is Kairos. Kairos is not clock time; it is opportunity time. It is qualitative time. It is “God’s moment.” It is when eternity pierces the bubble of history and touches our life. It is that instant when everything changes, not because the clock moved, but because God acted. It is the time of the kiss, the time of birth, the time of conversion, the time of the miracle.

When Jesus says “The time is fulfilled,” He uses the word Kairos. He is saying: “Enough of living as slaves to the calendar! Enough of living waiting for the future!” The Jewish religion of the time lived on waiting. They waited for the Messiah. They waited for political liberation from Rome. They waited for the “Great Day of the Lord.” It was always “one day…” We do exactly the same with our New Year’s Eve. We transfer the responsibility for our happiness to a future date.

The great discovery of Mark 1:15 is that Jesus killed the waiting. He brought Kairos into Chronos. This means you don’t need to wait for the clock to strike 12:00 AM to access “New Life.” The fullness of God does not depend on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun; it depends on the position of your heart in relation to the Son.

If you are waiting for 2026 to bring the peace that 2025 didn’t bring, you are still trapped in Chronos. The number of the year changes, but if you don’t enter Kairos, the old problems will just change dates. Anxiety will still be there on January 2nd. The Kingdom of God is the offer to get off the hamster wheel of time and enter the fullness of the Eternal Presence.

II. The Revelation: The Kingdom “Is Near” (The Accessibility of the Impossible)

Jesus’ second phrase is even more shocking: “The Kingdom of God is near.” In Greek, the word is engiken. It has a sense of physical immediacy. It could be translated as: “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” “It is within reach of your fingers,” “It is here.”

For a first-century Jew, this was a scandal. For centuries, theology taught that God was distant. He dwelt in the “Holy of Holies” of the Temple, behind a thick veil of fabric. Holiness was dangerous. Heaven was far away. To reach God, you needed sacrifices, priests, rituals, and pilgrimages. There was an immense bureaucratic and spiritual distance.

Jesus’ radical novelty is: “The Kingdom has come down. It has invaded your living room. The distance is over.”

Many of us face the turning of the year with the mindset of “distance.”

“Happiness is far away, I need to lose 20 lbs to reach it.”
“Security is far away, I need to earn more money to touch it.”
“Holiness is far away, I need to pray more for God to hear me.”

We place fulfillment far away, at the top of an imaginary mountain we promise to climb in 2026. We create a ladder of works and efforts. But Jesus says: “No. The Kingdom has already come down the mountain.” Healing is not far. Peace is not a prize for those who cross the marathon finish line. Forgiveness is not a goal to be met. All this is the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is here.

This is the revelation for your December 31st: You don’t need to build a ladder to God next year. God has already descended the ladder in Christ. End-of-year anxiety comes from the feeling of lack. “I lack something to be happy.” The Gospel of Mark 1:15 comes with the feeling of fullness. “Everything has already been given.”

Imagine the absolute freedom of entering the New Year’s party tonight not as a starving beggar hoping next year will give him crumbs of joy, but as a child of the King who already possesses the Kingdom within himself. This changes how you celebrate. You don’t celebrate to get; you celebrate because you have already received. You don’t toast to have luck; you toast because you already have Grace.

III. The Command: Repent (Not Resolution, but Revolution)

Faced with this reality (the Time has come and the Kingdom is here), Jesus gives the command of response: “Repent.”

On December 31st, the secular world preaches the gospel of “Self-Improvement.” Coaching says: “Optimize yourself.” Self-help says: “Believe in yourself.” The market says: “Reinvent yourself.” Jesus says: “Repent.”

Does this sound heavy to our modern ears? Does it seem like a negative or moralistic message for a day of celebration and champagne? On the contrary. If we understand what Jesus meant, this is the most liberating and joyful message possible.

The famous “New Year’s Resolutions” are, in the overwhelming majority of cases, frustrated attempts to reform the flesh by the flesh itself. It is trying to paint a house whose structure is rotten and infested with termites. Jesus used another metaphor in Mark 2 for this: it is putting “new wine into old wineskins” or “a patch of new cloth on an old garment.” The result is disaster. The tear gets worse. We promise we will stop yelling at the kids, that we will stop spending compulsively, that we will defeat pornography by the strength of our arm. And we fail in February. Why? Because we tried to change behavior without changing nature.

The Greek word for Repentance is Metanoia. Meta (change/beyond) + Noia (mind/perception). Repentance is not crying with remorse in a corner. It is not whipping yourself with guilt over the mistakes of 2025. Repentance means “Changing the Mind.” It means changing the lens through which you see the world. It means turning around. It is an internal revolution.

Repentance is the entry door to the Kingdom. While “resolutions” focus on human effort (“I will try to be stronger”), repentance focuses on human surrender (“I can’t, I am weak, You take control, Lord”).

The “Great Discovery” here is: Don’t take your resolutions into 2026; take your repentance. Don’t promise God you will be strong next year. Confess to God that you are weak. The Kingdom of God is not for the “strong” and “capable” who promise to win; the Kingdom is for the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3) who know they desperately need a Savior.

If you want 2026 to be truly new, don’t make a list of impossible tasks. Pray an honest prayer of surrender. “Lord, I give up trying to be the king of my own life. I repent of trusting in my strength, my money, and my righteousness. I exchange my autonomy for Your sovereignty. I enter Your Kingdom where You are the King.” This is Metanoia. This generates real transformation. This lasts longer than February.

IV. The Invitation: Believe the Gospel (The Radical Novelty)

Finally, Jesus completes the imperative: “Believe in the Gospel.” Today, the word “Gospel” has become synonymous with a musical style or a religious market segment. But in Jesus’ time, Euangelion was a political and military word, not a religious one.

In the Roman Empire, a “Gospel” was announced when a new Caesar was born, when he took the throne, or when a great war was won on the frontiers. Heralds ran through the streets of Rome and the provinces shouting: “Gospel! Gospel! We have a new Emperor! Peace has arrived! The victory is ours!”

When Jesus steals this imperial term and applies it to Himself, He is making a subversive and glorious declaration: “The war is over. The true victory has already been won. The true King has taken the throne. Believe this.”

The world enters the New Year based on “Cheering.” “I hope it works out.” “Hopefully the economy improves.” “Let’s root for good health.” This is not faith; it is vague optimism. It is “positive thinking.” And positive thinking cannot withstand the first difficult Monday of January, nor the first bad diagnosis, nor the first crisis in the marriage.

The Christian enters the New Year based on the “Gospel.” We don’t “hope” God is with us; we believe He already is (Immanuel, God with us). We don’t “hope” our sins will be forgiven if we are nice all year; we believe they were already forgiven on the Cross 2000 years ago. We don’t “wish” to overcome the world; we believe He has already overcome the world for us (John 16:33).

The radical novelty is this: Christianity is not an invitation to DO; it is an invitation to BELIEVE in what has already been DONE. All other religions and philosophies of life say what you must do to reach the divine or happiness. “Do this, climb that, pay that.” The Gospel says: “It is done.”

As you prepare tonight’s dinner, remember: the true main course has already been served at Calvary. The banquet of grace is set. You don’t need “luck” for 2026. Luck is for those who play dice with destiny. You are a child. You need faith in the Good News. You need to believe that, no matter what happens in the economy, in politics, or with your health in 2026, the final victory already belongs to Jesus, and you are in Him.

V. Practical Application: Living God’s “Now”

How do we bring all this deep theology down to the ground of our life today, as the clock ticks toward midnight? How does this change your attitude at the New Year’s party?

1. Abandon Spiritual Procrastination

The biggest lie we tell ourselves on the 31st is: “Tomorrow I start.”

“Tomorrow I forgive that person.”
“Tomorrow I apologize.”
“Tomorrow I go back to church.”
“Tomorrow I quit this vice.”

But Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled.” The Kingdom is Now. Jesus’ “is near” eliminates distance and delay. If the Kingdom is here, the grace to change is available now, at 6 PM on the 31st, and not just at 12:01 AM on the 1st. Is there someone you need to forgive? Don’t carry that emotional corpse into the new year. Do it now. Send the message. Call. Is there a habit that is destroying your soul? Don’t say “just one more today to say goodbye.” The farewell to sin is immediate repentance. Living in the Kingdom is living in God’s immediate present. The Holy Spirit only acts in the “today.”

2. Celebrate Presence, Not Promise

At the turn of the year, when the fireworks explode and everyone hugs, shift the focus of your heart. Most people will look at the empty sky, making silent requests, casting wishes to the universe, hoping the future brings what they lack. You, a disciple of Jesus, will do differently. You will look at the sky full of God’s Glory and you will thank Him for the Presence. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have (the future promise), focus on Who you already have (the present Presence). Hug your family not with the anxious fear of losing them in the future, but with the deep gratitude of having them in the present. Savor the food. Laugh with friends. The Kingdom is about enjoying God’s goodness now. Eternity has already begun.

3. Exchange Pressure for Peace

Do you feel, deep down, a crushing weight of having to “make 2026 work”? Many of us enter the new year exhausted before it even starts because we carry the world on our shoulders. We feel that if we don’t control everything, everything will collapse. Take off that backpack today. Drop it at the foot of the Cross. If the Kingdom has arrived, then the King is on the throne. And the King is not you. 2026 is not in your trembling hands (thank God!). The new year is in the firm, nail-pierced hands of Him who said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” You can eat your dinner in peace. You can sleep soundly today. The Universe has a King, He is good, He loves you, and He is already there in the future preparing the way.

Conclusion: The New Year Starts at the Cross

Today, December 31st, is the end of a human cycle, but it can be the beginning of a personal eternity for you. The novelty you so desperately seek is not in the digit changing from 5 to 6 on the calendar. The novelty is not in a new government, a new job, or a new house. The novelty is a Person.

Jesus didn’t come to reform your old year. He didn’t come to put a fresh coat of paint on your old life. He came to kill your “old man” on the cross and give you a life that doesn’t age, that doesn’t wear out with time, that doesn’t rust, and that doesn’t depend on stock market fluctuations. He brought the Unshakable Kingdom.

So, when the clock strikes 12:00, celebrate with all your might. Shout. Hug. Cry with joy. Eat the best of the feast. But do it knowing a secret the world ignores, the secret that makes your eyes shine differently from others:

You are not entering an unknown and scary year alone, depending on your own luck or strength. You are already, at this exact moment, inside the unshakable Kingdom of God, protected and accompanied by the King who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The time is fulfilled. The waiting is over. Real life starts now.

Happy New Kingdom.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” — 2 Corinthians 5:17