📘 Lexicon Entry: Eschatological Citizenship

Christian framework emphasizing primary loyalty to God’s Kingdom that relativizes earthly political commitments while enabling faithful civic engagement

Theological framework emphasizing Christians’ primary loyalty to the Kingdom of God that relativizes all earthly political loyalties, creates transnational identity transcending ethnic and national boundaries, and enables faithful political engagement without theological compromise of ultimate allegiance. Drawing from Paul’s declaration of heavenly citizenship in Philippians 3:20, this framework demonstrates how baptismal identity establishes hierarchy of loyalties that relativizes temporal political commitments while maintaining constructive civic responsibility. See also: Counter-Imperial, Kingdom Ethics, Prophetic Witness.

Primary Concept

eschatology, citizenship, political theology, transnational identity, Kingdom of God, civic engagement, prophetic witness, baptismal identity

Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Eschatological Citizenship.” *Political Theology Lexicon*. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon. Accessed [date].

Christian identity fundamentally transcends national, ethnic, and political boundaries through baptismal rather than biological or geographical identity, establishing transnational community

Primary citizenship is in Kingdom of God rather than any earthly nation, as declared in Philippians 3:20, creating hierarchy of loyalties that relativizes temporal political commitments

Eschatological perspective provides critical distance from political systems while maintaining civic engagement through faithful presence rather than withdrawal or co-optation

Church’s transnational character witnesses to ultimate unity in Christ across human divisions, demonstrating alternative community that crosses ethnic, class, and national boundaries

Divine election creates universal rather than nationalist community, challenging all claims of special covenant with particular nations through biblical understanding of God’s universal purposes

Conflation of divine purpose with specific national destiny or political program, reducing transcendent citizenship to civic religion and political triumphalism as seen in American exceptionalism

Subordination of Kingdom loyalty to nationalist identity and political allegiance, reversing proper hierarchy between temporal and eternal citizenship through Christian nationalism

Reduction of eschatological hope to temporal political achievement or cultural dominance, eliminating transcendent dimension of Christian citizenship through prosperity materialism

Use of divine election language to justify ethnic or national supremacy, corrupting biblical understanding of universal election in Christ through providential identitarianism

American civic religion as theological idolatry through conflation of Kingdom of God with American empire, representing fundamental category error between divine and human authority

Transnational Christian identity that crosses ethnic, cultural, and political boundaries through baptismal rather than biological or geographical identity

Prophetic independence from all earthly political systems while maintaining civic engagement through faithful presence rather than withdrawal

Eschatological hope that provides perspective on temporal political developments, relativizing without eliminating earthly responsibilities

Primary loyalty to God’s kingdom that relativizes but does not eliminate earthly responsibilities, creating hierarchy of citizenship rather than dual loyalties

Church as alternative community demonstrating Kingdom values within worldly contexts, embodying transnational solidarity across human divisions

Anti-autochthonous character that opposes all forms of place-based, ethnic, or familial identity as ultimate, following Christianity’s essential boundary-crossing nature

Hart’s analysis reveals Constantinian settlement as fundamental alteration of Christian relationship to political power, creating ongoing tension between eschatological citizenship and imperial co-optation

Development of American civic religion as mutation of authentic Christian eschatological hope into political messianism, reducing transcendent citizenship to national identity

Patristic understanding of church as transnational community crossing ethnic boundaries provides historical foundation for eschatological citizenship against nationalist co-optation

Early church’s financial and structural independence from imperial patronage enabled prophetic freedom and eschatological witness

Pauline theology of heavenly citizenship in Philippians 3:20 as primary identity that relativizes all earthly political arrangements

Johannine understanding of Kingdom not being of this world in John 18:36, preventing conflation of divine purposes with earthly political systems

Abraham as model of pilgrim identity in Hebrews 11:8-16, demonstrating faith that seeks eschatological city rather than earthly political fulfillment

Early church’s transnational identity crossing ethnic boundaries as described in Acts 15, providing historical precedent for eschatological citizenship

Hart’s theological anthropology emphasizing Christianity’s essential opposition to autochthonous identity and blood-and-soil attachment

Augustine’s Two Cities framework distinguishing earthly and heavenly citizenship while requiring engagement with temporal political order

Paul’s declaration of citizenship in heaven in Philippians 3:20 as critique of earthly-minded thinking and establishment of primary citizenship in God’s kingdom

Jesus’s statement that his kingdom is not of this world in John 18:36 demonstrating Kingdom’s transcendence of worldly political categories

Jesus’s explicit rejection of political messiahship in John 6:15, defining divine power through service rather than domination

Peter’s description of Christians as aliens and strangers in 1 Peter 2:11 establishing pilgrim identity that transcends settled places

Galatians 3:28 declaration of unity in Christ across ethnic and social divisions in Galatians 3:28, eliminating fundamental human categories through baptismal identity

Revelation’s vision of multinational worship community in Revelation 7:9 demonstrating eschatological fulfillment of transnational Christian identity

Hart’s critique of American civic religion as theological idolatry demonstrates contemporary need for eschatological citizenship against nationalist co-optation of Christian identity

Church communities that intentionally cross national, ethnic, and class boundaries as practical embodiment of transnational Christian solidarity

Christian engagement in global justice issues transcending national interests, demonstrating Kingdom loyalty over nationalist priorities

Resistance to Christian nationalism’s false claims of divine mandate for American political agenda through emphasis on primary eschatological allegiance

Immigrant and refugee ministry demonstrating transnational Christian solidarity that challenges border-focused nationalism

International Christian partnerships transcending political divisions as practical expression of eschatological citizenship

Prophetic witness against political idolatry while maintaining faithful civic engagement through eschatological perspective

Hart’s systematic critique of modernity’s false dialectic between “large and small” revealing how both corporate capitalism and nation-state create tyrannical oscillation between emptily universal and emptily local

Contemporary crisis of Christian nationalism attempting to use divine election language to justify ethnic or national supremacy against authentic eschatological vision

Post-Christendom context requiring recovery of pre-Constantinian understanding of church as transnational community rather than cultural establishment

Globalization creating need for theological framework that transcends nationalist reactions while maintaining authentic local community

American political polarization requiring Christian framework that enables civic engagement without partisan co-optation through eschatological grounding

Challenges dominant American narrative of Christian nationalism by demonstrating Christianity’s essential transnational character

Provides theological foundation for Christian resistance to both isolationist withdrawal and nationalist co-optation

Influences contemporary political theology discussions about proper relationship between faith and patriotism

Shapes ecclesial practices toward greater international solidarity and prophetic independence from political systems

Contributes to academic discussions about dual citizenship models and Christian public engagement in pluralistic democracies

Hart’s extensive work on civic religion, nationalism, and Christianity’s anti-autochthonous character provides systematic theological foundation

Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon’s *Resident Aliens* develops ecclesial implications of eschatological citizenship

Luke Bretherton’s political theology research on hospitality and ad hoc commensurability demonstrates practical applications

Willie James Jennings’ work on theological whiteness critiques nationalist distortions of Christian identity

Oliver O’Donovan’s *The Desire of the Nations* provides Anglican framework for Christian political authority through eschatological grounding

Contemporary political theology scholarship on dual citizenship models and Christian public engagement in pluralistic contexts

Related Primary Concepts: Civil Religion, Kingdom Ethics, Providential Identitarianism

Key Mutations: Disordered Nationalism, Binary Apocalypticism, Christian Nationalism

Contemporary Movements: MAGA Christianism, Prophetic Patriotism

Theological Alternatives: Counter-Imperial, Prophetic Witness, Faithful Presence

Historical Context: Two Cities Doctrine, Constantinian Settlement

May 30, 2025

*This entry is part of the Political Theology Lexicon, accessible exclusively to subscribers. View the complete lexicon to explore related concepts and the full theoretical framework.*