Can We Really Know When Jesus Is Coming?

Can we know when Jesus is coming? 
What does the Bible say? 

Now we have barely begun this post and I am sure many of you are jumping up and down on the inside screaming.... "Day nor Hour", we CAN'T know the Day or Hour!! (Matt 24:36)

To those of you I say this....just take a look at Rev 3:3 and the other verses below.  This whole subject may not be as cut and dry as you think it is.  We know the Bible cannot contradict itself, so if on the surface there seems to be something contradictory, well that is a clue to dig deeper...  So come now... let's do some digging!

Introduction

Take a moment and visualize the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.  He was riding on a donkey...  A crowd was there to meet him...  They recognized that He was the prophesied King.  Now notice this... Luke 19:37 tells us the these believers were in place ready to greet him before He arrived. They were prepared as they saw him approach.  The had seen the signs (John 12:17-18) proving His power and read the prophecies (Daniel 9:26) which pointed to the exact day The Messiah was to enter into town.  Because of this they knew the King was coming (Luke 19:38) and they made sure they were out ready to meet Him (Mark 11:9).


Fast forward to the year 2017.   Most people are way more likely to line up in front of an Apple store for the latest phone than investigate a sign of Christ's soon return (2 Tim 3:1-2).  Instead of palm branches in our hands, it is a phone in our palm.   Perhaps if we stepped outside long enough to let our minds settle and eyes adjust more of us would begin to see all that is happening around us pointing to the soon return of Christ.  Perhaps part of the problem is that many of those who are watching simply repeat the mantra that there is no way we can know anything about when He is coming even though this contradicts scripture.

So with that in mind, lets look 7 Bible verses that imply that we should be able to see that day coming and how we should handle that fact.  My prayer is that this will cause those who totally disregard the Rev 12 Sign because of the "Day or Hour" stumbling block to take a more thoughtful look.

1.  Jesus Expects People to Recognize The SIGNS of the Times.

Mathew 16:3
And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

We see here that the religious leaders of the day were rebuked by Jesus for not correctly recognizing and interpreting the signs of the times.  I find it to be an amazing parallel that Christ used signs in the sky to make this point...  Now we see even more specific and detailed signs in the heavens pointing to the signs of the times!  Are we watching for the signs or mostly just watching TV or our phone?  Christ rebuked them for not watching and correctly interpreting the signs, so clearly that is something we should be doing!


2. We Should Be Able to SEE The DAY Drawing Near.

Hebrews 10:24-27
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

According to the Bible we can "see the Day drawing near."  We will be able to SEE it approaching.  Just as those people on Palm Sunday saw Christ coming down the mountain (Luke 19:37).  They knew the scriptures, they recognized the signs, they were watching and they were ready for Him.   We should surely be doing the same with all the scriptural evidence and signs surrounding us at this point in time.


3. The Book Of Revelation Was Given To Show Us What Is To Come.

Revelation 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

Here in the very first verse of Revelation we learn the purpose of the book.  It is to show us the things what must soon take place.  Therefore it makes much more sense to place Rev 12:1-6 in the future, than in the past.  Christ's birth and ascension had already taken place at the time of the John's writing... what was future was the "birth/ rapture" of Christ's Body (Us), the harpazo of the Church (Rev 12:5).  The event is to complete the mystical union of Christ and His "Body" in Heaven together completely and for all time.


4. Jesus Clearly Implies We CAN When Know If We are Awake.

Revelation 3:1-3
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Rev 3:3 clearly implies that if we do WAKE UP, we can KNOW when Christ will come.  In this verse Jesus is writing a letter to a church and the lessons and rebuke in this letter can be applied to many of us today, just as it did to those church members back then.  Most Christians must "Wake up".  We must remember what we have received (prophecy), keep it, and repent.  If we do not do this, not only will we not know at what hour Christ will come, but worse yet, we are in danger of Him coming AGAINST us!  But if we do wake up, then this verse seems to surely imply that we can have a pretty good idea of the timing.


5. We Will NOT Be Surprised...  We are NOT in darkness!

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people [others] are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you [believers / us] are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.  For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

Paul had just finished re-explaining the rapture to this church in 1 Thes 4:16-18.  Now he is reiterating when it will happen.  He is drawing a distinction between the people of the world who will be surprised, and the those of us in Christ who are not in darkness as to be surprised.   There for if we keep watch and stay sober then it seems we should be able to recognize the general time of His coming and not be surprised.  If I know a thief is coming, then I can be ready... just like Kevin in the movie Home Alone preparing for the thieves to arrive!  We are watching, we are ready... we have a general idea at the very least.


6. If We Watch the Day Will NOT Surprise Us Like a Trap.

Luke 21:34-36
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Once again, if we are not watching for the signs but instead weighed down with the cares of this life then it is likely that the day of the Lord's return will be a very sudden, shocking and unexpected event to someone (like a trap).  But if that is true, then the implication is that if we DO watch, then we will not step into that trap because we will see it coming and be stepping very cautiously as to avoid stumbling at such a critical time.  Imagine if your wife puts out a mouse trap in the kitchen.... she says, watch out for those traps.  Well the next morning as you stumble for coffee you step on the trap and you are very surprised...  You weren't watching!


7.  We Are To Watch, Recognize and WARN.

Ezekiel 33:1-6
The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

God has given us warnings just like He gave warnings to Noah (Heb 11:7, Matt 24:38).  It is our duty to recognize those warnings and transfer that into the message of the Gospel with greater urgency than ever.  Yes, the verse above is talking about the prophet Ezekiel when he was set over Israel as a watchman.  But has not God set each of us as a watchman for our own families and friends whom we love?  If you know the truth of the Gospel yet stay silent when those people are in eternal danger, what sort of love is that?  Do you love them enough to have that talk, especially now with all that we see coming together?  What is more compassionate, letting someone comfortably live in their sins apart of Christ, or doing your best to reach them with words and prayer with whatever influence God has given you in their lives?  God is the one who saves...but I believe that we are called to participate in this most amazing miracle of salvation by at the bare minimum sharing these things with the people we care about.  At the very least send a letter, share a post, or bring it up in a conversation.  Just plant a seed and trust that God can make it grow.


Conclusion

It's a sad fact that most Christians are asleep to the lateness of the hour.  The study of prophecy and end times signs is ignored in the vast majority of churches today... and anyone who is interested in those things often feels very alone among their congregations. 

Worse yet, many of our asleep siblings are very quick to pounce on those of us who are awake to the signs of the times.  If we happen to point out or share a specific sounding sign such as the Revelation 12 Sign, we are often times attacked or mocked or called date setters.  Once and for all, please realize that God set the date of this sign.  Man had zero influence in the matter. 

September 23rd is surely the date of the sign, but could it also be the date of the rapture?  I certainly wouldn't rule it out at this point!  I certainly wouldn't mock it.  There is enough evidence pointing that direction to take it seriously, and the above verses seem to imply at the very least we can have some idea of when Christ will return. We shall wait eagerly and see.  Until then, please... Share the Gospel!

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  Romans 13:11


Comments

  1. Have you seen this math Brad?

    http://www.alphanewsdaily.com/mathprophecy2.html

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  2. Thank you again.
    Eagerly waiting and warning.

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  3. People will travel hundreds or thousands of miles to view an eclipse, but few will open a book to meet The Creator of the eclipse nor listen to what He says.

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    1. People will wait outside a store for days to save 50% on a new TV, but won't spend 5 minutes reading the Word.

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    2. So true! If it's not satisfying their flesh they are not interested!

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  4. Thank you Brad for this serious scriptural confirmation! :) I think we can learn a lot from old Simeon and Anna in Luke 2 too: both were eagerly waiting for the LORD Jesus at His first coming and living in Jerusalem after Gods silence to the Israelites of even 400 years (!!!), both had a promise (Simeon) and an appointment (Anna) given by the Holy Spirit to meet baby Jesus "just in time" in the temple - and not by mere coincidence. I really cannot see how God would not reveal His most important appointment to us now (i.e. the invitation for the marriage of His Son Matthew 22:2) which has to be set on a specific date like every other earthly marriage has a day and time to meet Him in the air. Others may perhaps not be fully convinced by outwardly "signs" Jesus may give but every true believer has got the promise and appointment given by the Holy Spirit who is absolutely infallible. MARANATHA FoT 9/21/17!

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    1. Great points Annabel! Yes, Simeon and Anna were fully aware of the times! Thank you!!

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  5. I totally agree! I think we can know!

    I've been looking at this from a Jewish wedding perspective and this is my response to those who say we can't know the day or the hour:

    Sometimes it's what he didn't say. He didn't say the Father would never reveal the hour, just that it's the father who knows.

    The very first verse of Revelation: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which GOD gave HIM to show his servants the things that must soon take place. Here we see the Father making known to Jesus what is soon to take place. God seems to go out of his way to make sure we know this!

    A Jewish wedding is a picture of our relationship with Christ. After the bride and groom are betrothed to each other, the groom goes and builds an addition to his fathers house for them to live in. It is the father that makes it known to the groom that the addition is ready, and the wedding can be planned. It's during this time the Jewish saying "no one knows the day or the hour but the father" applies. Only the Father of the groom can make that decision. Once the addition is approved, the bride and groom now know the day of their wedding, but the hour is not known. The groom comes as a thief in the night and steals away his bride! It's usually around midnight, but sometimes he is delayed as we see in the parable of the ten virgins.

    So if this understanding of a Jewish wedding is correct, is it that far fetched the we should know within a several day period of the coming of our groom, Jesus Christ? I think not.

    Over the last 2000 years, nobody knew the day or the hour. Over the last year or so, it seems the Father has made it known to us that our mansions in heaven are ready, and it's time for the wedding to begin!

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    1. Wow Brother, love the way you worded your last sentence, gave me goosebumps.

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    2. Great comments George! I feel sorry for all those who so quickly dismiss signs simply because they think they are too specific!

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    3. George may I copy your comment about the wedding feast? I recently learned this in church and you wrote it so well. I'd love to share it on my pages. My name is Heidi

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    1. I like strawberries! ... but also would be more than willing to sample whatever the tree of life is growing.

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  7. We may not know the day or the hour, but maybe we can know the week. I can handle that. "Something like half and hour", or 1 week after the sign comes Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur relates to harpazo by some. So is it possible that any time between Trumpets and Atonement could be the time? I DON'T KNOW. But I'm pretty sure it's somewhere around there. Also, is it possible that we may not go up at the same time, but scattered through the week?

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    1. All I know is that a sign from the book of REVELATION is being fulfilled in a month....that should cause all of use to be on HIGH alert from here on out!

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    2. Dear friend, the clue to this is 1 Corinthians 15:52 = moment and time at the Feast of Trumpets! :) And the order of resurrection (dead first, living next) is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 so it must be a very short timespan on one day only. Much blessings to you!

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    3. Yes, I give a hearty amen to Annabel and also add Isaiah 66:7-8, which reveals that our "birth" (resurrection + rapture) occurs miraculously in a single day.

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  8. Well said Brad. This is a post people need to read.

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    1. Appreciate that Gary... Jeff helped me out again if you can't tell! ; )

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    2. Great job, Brad, on the post! Please tell your wife not to set any mouse traps in the kitchen anymore, now that you've used it as an illustration ;)

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  9. Thank you Brad for this article. It is one of many very worthy tools we can use to explain to others, including unbelieving believers! Your words echo with such resounding care for those in our midst who have become burdened by the cares of the world. I pray, this article might nudge them to ponder more deeply...

    Rose

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    1. Time to start detaching all the strings that try to tie us down to this world....

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    2. Dear Brad, so much true...! This recent Heavenlysign2017 video really provided great comfort to anyone of us during these last days, highly recommended! Much love to all of you :))

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  10. As I study, I am more and more of the belief that Matthew 24 & 25, which the "know one knows the day and the hour" folks use as their primary text for imminency, probably has nothing to do explicitly with the rapture at all. I believe it is more a second coming, 70th week/Day of the Lord text. Remember, the Jewish Messiah Yeshua is instructing Jewish disciples who know absolutely nothing about either the Church or the rapture at that point in time. Context, context, context. Both of those concepts are later identified as mysteries and not revealed in Paul's writings until after Jesus has ascended to the Father.

    In the meantime, I share the sense of urgency to warn the world. Just finished spending about three hours holding up a sign at a busy intersection in my neighborhood. Hundreds and hundreds of exposures to "Warning: Rapture Soon. Then Judgment. Please Trust In Jesus Now." Each view is like a tap on the shoulder by the Lord attempting to warn the recipient of the message. A few thumbs up along the way, a few middle fingers, and a lot of people warned. May God be glorified as seeds are planted and watered awaiting His grace to produce the increase. Maranatha, Lord Jesus!!! Watchman35

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    1. The people I respect most feel the same way about Matt 24.... Thank you for spreading the word.... you can't imagine how such a small sign can gain such attention.

      See here: http://ksoo.com/sign-of-apocalypse-posted-in-sioux-falls/

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  11. I just came across this latest wonderfully described rapture dream/vision in the internet, please share! Wow...

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  12. Even prior to becoming aware of the Revelation 12 sign, I sensed 2017 could be a very special year: the last of six-thousand from creation. In 2010, I decided to do my own study on Jesus' ministry and the one very important thing I discovered during those seven years of research is Luke 3:1 actually refers to the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar's tribunician power. That was the most common method that emperor used to reckon his reign; he did not go by regnal years. Luke was certainly aware of this. Tiberius' fifteenth year of tribunician power corresponds to AD 13/14. Once this is understood, everything easily falls into place to show the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was actually in AD 17. No, that is not too early. Every fact fits. Flavius Josephus, who wrote "Antiquities of the Jews," has the Crucifixion somewhere within the AD 17-19 range and he promised he put all of his reports in chronological order. There is just too much to get into here, but if anyone is interested in roughly 200 pages of research showing AD 17 was the year of our Lord's Passion, you can check out the pdf hosted here:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxfpAQd6MVXCbWwzeXRRem16eUk/view?usp=sharing

    Keep looking up! I think we're almost there!

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  13. Excellent post, now YOU get your "mike drop" moment. Many watchers touch on many such points to minister to siblings resistant to the teaching and it is Spirit blessed to have your article join the chorus and add such clarity to His perspective on the context. Thank you and Maranatha!

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    1. I don't plan on dropping the mike yet buddy!! : )

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  14. Brad,

    I read a chapter that really opened my eyes several months ago. There is so much info in the Bible, that we can easily miss some of the significant stories. II Kings 2 1-17 tells the story of Elijah being taken to Heaven. The amazing thing to me was that Elijah, Elisha, and a host of prophets had fire-knowledge of Elijah's removal. How did they know? I think we will continue to get more and more confirmation as we the day (whatever day that is) approaches. Check out the story, it is shocking...at least it was to me.

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    1. Supposed to be fore-knowledge not fire-knowledge....sheesh

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    2. Lance, you are the second person who has brought this up to me today!!! Surely there is something to this!!!! Keep digging!

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    3. Lance, I pondered this Elijah rapture as well some time ago. The disciples knew the date but then couldn't see Elijah departure like Elisha did (because of the Spirit missing). As well, they apparently didn't know where he had gone and reasoned wrong. I assume these descriptions are some step-by-step revelations on the rapture topic in the OT since Enoch, but then fully explored in the NT until the book of Revelation and the letters of 1 Thessalonians and Corinthians. Just thinking aloud...

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    4. Yeah good one Lance. There is awesome typology of the end times with the entire story of Elijah (Jezebel and Thyatyra anyone). The awesome thing about that chapter you quoted, was the significance of which towns the 'warning of ascension' came from. First one being Bethel, meaning 'the house of God' possibly hinting that the church was the first to be warned of his ascension. Then the city of Jericho. Jericho was the evil Canaanite city that God destroyed (note God destroyed it) representing the unbelievers and possibly the trib saints (depending on how you view Rahab), and Jordan representing Israel as the river Jordan was where Israel stepped into their promised land. God gives the warning in that order; the church, the unbelievers, and finally Israel during the trib when their hearts are no longer hardened.

      Heaps of other interesting points of significance including Elijah and Elisha s names etc

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    5. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. I think there is so much more than just the surface detail with scripture. I missed the items you pointed out.....good stuff!

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  15. I agree totally. One other thing I keep thinking but haven't heard anyone else bring up is that Revelation 12:4 says the dragon is waiting to devour the child as soon as it is born. If the rapture didn't happen immediately, the dragon would have time to 'devour it.'

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  16. One thing also to keep in mind is that when it comes to things yet in the future, none of us truly KNOW.. Unless you truly have the gift of prophecy. I do not. I can guess, surmise, believe or think that it's about to rain. But, until that first drop hits the ground, I could be wrong. A lot of people these days forget that opinion is not fact and that is just my opinion.

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    1. That's where FAITH kicks in...and God said we should ask for more if we lacked any. We walk by faith not by sight but I would say God is giving us enough to believe this is real so that our walk will be easier. God could change His mind if there is total repentance but judging on how things are going the likelihood of that is minimum plus Jesus must come back someday so why not this year based on God's own appointed Times.

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  17. Wonderful post Brad. These are the posts we should be printing out and sticking to our tables windows etc, so when we are gone, those who come 'checking for missing people' will have a very clear goodbye note to ensure we are still giving the message of Jesus well after we have departed.

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  18. Hey guys... Now guess when this years Global Citizen Festival in NYC is supposed to take place: yep. 9/23/2017. :)

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  19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7tE9Rllctk

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-eapPa_rNM

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  20. 8:38

    How Do We Know That Jesus' Will Return on September 13, 2024?

    8:51

    "No man knows..." Really?

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  21. sorry the youtube teaching links above can't be clicked on...definitely visit the site, she's a great teacher. looking up with you, in Christ, Erika

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  22. Yes. How can we be called the bride of Christ, when we don't know the season of His coming for us? And how can we be called the child of God when even demons know the appointed time to be sent to hell, and we the child of God do not know the appointed time of our wedding?

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Colossians 3:2-4

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Philippians 3:20-21

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.