A Biblical Perspective on Citizenship
Biblical citizenship is not first about passports, political systems, or earthly loyalties. According to the Bible, true citizenship is tied to the city of God—God’s own dwelling with his people—so that Christians live as resident aliens in this age while belonging to a different homeland. “Citizenship in heaven” shapes how believers view earthly cities, nations, and powers, because their deepest identity is found in Christ and the new Jerusalem rather than in any temporary political order (Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 13:14).
From the beginning, Scripture uses the city as a powerful image. Earthly cities like Babel and Babylon showcase human pride and rebellion (Genesis 11:1–9; Isaiah 13:19–22), while Jerusalem becomes a sign of God’s gracious presence and future salvation (Psalm 48:1–3; Isaiah 2:2–3). Biblical citizenship emerges out of this contrast between two cities and culminates in the vision of the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21–22.
1. Cities in the Bible and the tension of belonging
The story of biblical citizenship starts early in Genesis with the rise of cities. Cain builds a city and names it after his son (Genesis 4:17). After the flood, the descendants of Noah build cities that become the centers of Mesopotamian empires (Genesis 10:10–12). The city can be a place of culture, protection, and prosperity, but it can also magnify human self-reliance and sin (Genesis 11:1–4).
Abraham embodies the tension between settled urban life and pilgrim life. God calls him to leave the great city of his ancestors and live as a stranger in Canaan (Genesis 12:1–9). He dwells in tents between cities like Bethel and Ai (Genesis 12:8; 13:3), and when he negotiates for a burial plot, he introduces himself as “a stranger and a sojourner” among the Hittites (Genesis 23:4). His only piece of land is a tomb, not a city (Genesis 23:17–20).
Later, Israel tastes life both as slaves building store cities in Egypt (Exodus 1:11) and as nomads journeying through the wilderness (Leviticus 23:42–43). They are promised the gift of cities and vineyards they did not build or plant (Deuteronomy 6:10–12; Joshua 24:13), yet God reminds them that the land is still his, and they remain “strangers and sojourners” with him (Leviticus 25:23; Psalm 39:12). Even settled in cities, God’s people are never to forget their pilgrim status. This tension is foundational for biblical citizenship: believers live in real cities, but they belong to God as resident aliens.
2. Jerusalem as the city of God and the hope of biblical citizenship
In the prophets and psalms, Jerusalem becomes the primary symbol of the city of God. God places his name in Zion, and Jerusalem is described as the place from which his law and word go forth to the nations (Isaiah 2:2–3; Micah 4:1–2). The city is meant to be holy, a center of worship and justice (Psalm 48:1–3; Isaiah 1:26–27).
Even when Jerusalem becomes corrupt and unjust, resembling Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:8–10, 21–23; Jeremiah 23:14), the prophets still hold out future promises. God will restore Zion, cleanse her from sin, and make her a joy and a praise in all the earth (Isaiah 24:23; 65:18–19; Joel 3:17). Nations will stream to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (Zechariah 8:22–23; 14:16–19). The messianic king will come to Zion, humble and victorious, bringing peace to the nations (Zechariah 9:9–10).
Here biblical citizenship is tied to belonging to God’s people centered on his chosen city. Yet even this Jerusalem is not the final goal. These promises point beyond earthly geography to the ultimate city of God: the heavenly Jerusalem.
The New Testament makes this explicit. Believers have come to “Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22–23). Paul speaks of “the Jerusalem above” as our mother (Galatians 4:26), tying citizenship in heaven to this heavenly city. The church’s identity is already anchored there, even while living in earthly cities.
3. Babylon as the anti-city and false citizenship
If Jerusalem images the city of God, Babylon represents its opposite: the city of pride, idolatry, and oppression. The Bible first links this theme with Babel, where humanity tries to build a city and tower that reaches heaven, making a name for themselves rather than honoring God (Genesis 11:1–9). God confuses their language and scatters them, exposing the futility of self-exalting projects.
Later, Babylon becomes the empire that destroys Jerusalem, carries God’s people into exile, and boasts in its power and glory (2 Kings 24–25; Daniel 1:1–2). Prophets describe Babylon as arrogant, violent, and destined for desolation (Isaiah 13:19–22; Jeremiah 50:29–32). Nebuchadnezzar’s boast—“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built… by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”—captures the spirit of the city (Daniel 4:30).
Revelation intensifies this imagery. “Babylon the great” is the harlot city drunk with the blood of the saints, riding on the beast and ruling over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:1–6, 18). She represents the corrupt, idolatrous power of human empires that oppose God and persecute his people. Her downfall is swift and total, occurring “in a single hour” (Revelation 18:10, 17, 19).
This contrast between the city of God and the city of man clarifies biblical citizenship. To belong to Christ is to refuse Babylon’s values: greed, idolatry, violence, and pride. Christians live within earthly cultures—including powerful “Babylon-like” systems—but their ultimate allegiance is not to those systems. They are called to “come out of her” morally and spiritually, lest they share in her sins and plagues (Revelation 18:4).
4. Citizenship in heaven and the heavenly city
The New Testament gathers these strands into a clear vision of citizenship in heaven. Believers are described as “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), mirroring Abraham’s status in Canaan (Genesis 23:4; Hebrews 11:13). Their true homeland is not any earthly city but the one God has promised.
Hebrews reflects on Abraham’s tent-dwelling life and concludes that he was “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). He and the other patriarchs desired “a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). The letter identifies this promised city as “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22–23), and reminds believers that “here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).
Paul speaks of the same reality when he writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Biblical citizenship is defined by union with the risen Christ, not by earthly boundaries. Through him, Jews and Gentiles are made fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built together into a holy temple (Ephesians 2:19–22).
Revelation 21–22 presents the final vision of this city of God. The holy city, new Jerusalem, comes down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride for her husband (Revelation 21:2). God dwells with his people; tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain are gone (Revelation 21:3–4). The city shines with the glory of God, needs no temple because the Lord God and the Lamb are its temple, and needs no sun because the glory of God gives it light (Revelation 21:22–23; 22:5). The river of the water of life and the tree of life heal the nations (Revelation 22:1–2).
To confess biblical citizenship is to confess that this is the believer’s true home—and that this future is guaranteed by Christ’s death and resurrection.
5. Living as citizens of heaven in earthly cities
If Christians already have citizenship in heaven, how should they live in earthly cities now? Scripture emphasizes that this heavenly citizenship does not produce withdrawal from the world but faithful presence and distinct holiness.
Like the exiles in Babylon, God’s people seek the welfare of the cities where they live while refusing idolatry (Jeremiah 29:4–7; Daniel 1:8).
They honor governing authorities appropriately yet recognize that all earthly powers are temporary and accountable to God (Romans 13:1–7; Revelation 13:1–10).
They live as strangers and sojourners, abstaining from passions of the flesh and keeping conduct honorable among the nations (1 Peter 2:11–12).
They gather as local churches—the present outposts of the city of God—displaying the character of their true King through love, justice, and holiness (Ephesians 4:1–3; Philippians 1:27).
Biblical citizenship calls Christians to see themselves as Abrahamic pilgrims and future inhabitants of the new Jerusalem, even as they work, worship, suffer, and serve in present-day “Babylons.” Their lives bear witness that the city of man is passing away, and that an unshakable kingdom and an eternal city are already breaking into this world through the reign of Christ (Hebrews 12:28; Revelation 11:15).
Bible verses about biblical citizenship
Genesis 23:4, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
Leviticus 25:23, “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.”
Psalm 39:12, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.”
Isaiah 2:3, “Many peoples shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Jeremiah 29:7, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Hebrews 11:10, “For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
Hebrews 11:16, “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
Hebrews 13:14, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Revelation 21:2–3, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
