Where is Your Citizenship Registered?

by Brian Shilhavy

Most people in the world today hold a “citizenship” tied to a specific geographical place, usually a “nation” or “country.”

Here is the Britannica Encyclopedia’s definition of “citizenship” as it is understood today in modern culture:

Citizenship, relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection. Citizenship implies the status of freedom with accompanying responsibilities. Citizens have certain rights, duties, and responsibilities that are denied or only partially extended to aliens and other noncitizens residing in a country.

In general, full political rights, including the right to vote and to hold public office, are predicated upon citizenship. The usual responsibilities of citizenship are allegiance, taxation, and military service. (Source.)

The opposite of the word “citizen” is “alien”, which is someone currently residing in a place where they are not citizens and do not have the rights or privileges of citizens.

In the United States, for example, the term “alien” or non-citizen, has several legal sub-definitions, such as “illegal alien” who were not granted government permission to enter the country, “visitors” who are generally given temporary “visas” to enter the country for a specific duration of time, “permanent residents” who can stay in the country as long as they want, but do not yet have the full rights and privileges of citizens, etc.

Proof of citizenship is usually dependent upon a person being registered in a written record somewhere that is controlled by the government. In the United States, proof of citizenship is generally proven by a person’s birth certificate, or by a U.S. Passport used for international travel.

Citizens and Aliens Defined in the Bible

In the Bible, and specifically in the New Testament portion of the Bible, the terms for citizenship and aliens are defined differently than they are in Western culture, and encompass not just the earth in the natural world, but also Heaven in the spiritual realms.

One of the best descriptions of citizens and aliens is found in the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:17-21)

In the New Testament writings, believers in Jesus were referred to as “citizens” of Heaven, where Jesus currently rules as the King of the Kingdom of God.

Those of us who have this citizenship, are granted the full rights and privileges of members of this Kingdom, to which we owe our allegiance to, along with all the duties that go along with citizenship.

It is also interesting to note the context from which Paul wrote this in chapter 3 of Philippians, which was the situation of certain Jews who were trying to force believers to be circumcised and obey all the Jewish laws.

They are the Satanic Jews, the forerunners to today’s Zionists, and they considered themselves superior to other ethnic groups as “the chosen people.”

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (Philippians 3:2-9)

Nobody could claim to be more Jewish than Paul! And yet it was not his Jewish ethnicity that he was trusting in to become a citizen of Heaven, but his faith in Jesus Christ.

And as such, Paul, along with the rest of the early believers in Christ during the New Testament period, who were all ethnic Jews, considered themselves aliens on earth, because their citizenship is in Heaven.

This foundational New Testament truth as found in the Bible, that your citizenship on earth gives you no privileges in Heaven, is perhaps most clearly defined in the 11th chapter in the Book of Hebrews, where it is explained that even the Old Testament Jewish heroes of the faith were not citizens of earth, but waited to be admitted to their home country in Heaven.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.

And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:1-16)

Anyone today who believes that the geopolitical nation of Israel, and the city of Jerusalem, is still significant in terms of the Kingdom of God, has to completely disavow the entire teachings of the New Testament, which clearly teach the opposite.

The writer of the book of Hebrews continues in chapter 12:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”

Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.

He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

And what more shall I say?

I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.

They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.

They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.

God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:17-40)

Registered Citizens of Heaven

Just as there are documents registered in countries of the world listing who their citizens are, so too there is a registry in Heaven listing its citizens.

And in Heaven is where the current spiritual Zion (Israel) and Jerusalem exist.

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”

The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the assembly of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.

You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.

If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”

The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:18-29)

The words of Jesus:

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)

We citizens of Heaven while still walking on earth, have more power than all the citizens of all the kingdoms of Satan!

And we are going to need that power, as it appears we are now very close to entering into the “Last Days”.

Whether those “last days” are the days of an era, such as the believers in the New Testament times who were living in the last days of the Jewish State, and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD, or in the last days of the entire world, only time will tell.

But the principles are the same, and we need to carefully consider the words of the New Testament writers and their warnings.

As Paul wrote in that 3rd chapter in Philippians that I quoted above:

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

These were the believers in their gatherings who were won over to the Party of the Circumcision, the Zionists. They fill up the Christian churches today, supporting genocide and even advocating dropping nuclear bombs on citizens of other countries.

It follows false teaching, claiming that something is taught in the Bible but is actually the teachings of demons.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

The apostles Peter and John issued similar warnings for the last days.

Peter:

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.

They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.

Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

John:

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come (Editor’s note: e.g. they are already here! And there are many of them, not just one. If you search the book of Revelation for “antichrist”, you will get ZERO results.)

This is how we know it is the last hour.

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.

Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.

Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.

No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you.

But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. (1 John 2:18-27)

This “anointing” that John refers to is the Spiritual rebirth, which is then recorded in Heaven as our certificate of citizenship.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.

He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:1-8)

This is the only citizenship you should be concerned about right now, and make sure your citizenship is recorded in Heaven.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Another book was opened, which is the book of life.

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12-15)

Related:

American Christians are Biblically Illiterate Not Understanding the Difference Between The Old Covenant vs. The New Covenant

Exposing Christian Myths: The Bible does NOT Teach that Believers Should Always Obey the Government

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See Also:

Understand the Times We are Currently Living Through

American Christians Want a New Jewish King to Become Slaves Instead of Serving Jesus Christ in Freedom