A Time to Come Here and a Time to Return Home After Service
🌿 A Time to Come Here and a Time to Return Home After Service
“Time for everything. A time to come here and a time to return home after service. Watch and pray.”
— Prophet TB Joshua’s final words, June 5, 2021
🕊️ The Last Words of a Prophet
On June 5, 2021, Senior Prophet TB Joshua stood before his congregation for the last time. The service had concluded. The message had been delivered. And before leaving the stage, he spoke these final, haunting words:
“Time for everything. A time to come here and a time to return home after service. Watch and pray.”
Within hours, he had transitioned to glory.
Those who heard it assumed he was simply concluding the service. But the prophet was speaking at two levels — the natural and the spiritual. He was not merely dismissing the congregation for the evening. He was prophetically announcing his own homegoing.
I, Samuel, have reflected on these words many times since that night. They are not the words of a man caught off guard by death. They are the words of a man who understood something most believers have never grasped:
This earth is not our home. We came for a reason. When the service is done, we return.
⏳ There Is a Time for Everything
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
— Ecclesiastes 3:1
Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, opened Ecclesiastes 3 with a declaration that cuts through every human illusion of permanence. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to mourn and a time to dance.
Time is not accidental. Time is orchestrated by God.
Most people live as though their time on earth is their entire existence. They accumulate, build, and strive as though this world is the final destination. But Solomon’s insight — and TB Joshua’s last words — point us to a deeper reality:
Everything has a season. And seasons end.
When TB Joshua said “a time to come here and a time to return home after service,” he was echoing Ecclesiastes — confirming that his arrival on earth had been timed by God, his service had been appointed by God, and now, his departure was being called by God.
The same is true for every one of us.
👤 You Are a Spirit, Not a Body
“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:45
This is perhaps the most misunderstood truth in Christian living:
You are a Spirit living in a physical body, learning to live in a natural world — TB Joshua
The Apostle Paul understood this deeply. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:1:
“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
The body is a tent. A temporary dwelling. A vehicle for the spirit’s assignment on earth. We decorate the house and neglect the occupant. We polish the vessel and ignore the treasure within. But heaven does not evaluate us by the condition of our physical appearance. Heaven evaluates the condition of our spirit.
I, Samuel, have come to understand this truth not merely as theology but as lived revelation. When Prophet TB Joshua said “I am a spirit living in a physical body, learning to live in a natural world” — he was describing the fundamental condition of every son and daughter of God.
The real you — the eternal you — is your spirit.
The body ages. The body tires. The body will one day return to the dust from which it was formed (Genesis 3:19). But the spirit? The spirit never dies. The spirit returns to the One who gave it.
“The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
— Ecclesiastes 12:7
🏠 We Have a Home We Came From
“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”
— John 14:2
Jesus did not say He was going to create our eternal home. He said He was going to prepare a place — implying it already exists. Heaven is not a new construction; it is the original dwelling of every spirit before its earthly commission.
David understood this. He wrote:
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
— Psalm 23:6
Paul understood this. He declared in Philippians 3:20:
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Citizenship in heaven is not something we earn. It is where we belong.
A citizen may travel abroad for work, business, or assignment, but eventually he returns home. Likewise, every believer has been sent into this world with a purpose.
Some are called to teach.
Some to evangelize.
Some to raise families that glorify God.
Some to serve quietly.
Others to influence nations.
But whatever our assignment may be, one day the Master will call us home.
The question is not whether we will return.
The question is:
Will we finish our assignment before we return?
TB Joshua understood this at a depth that few do. His entire ministry carried the fragrance of a man who was merely passing through — never building personal wealth, never owning property, always serving, always giving, always pointing upward. He lived like a man who knew that home was not here.
And on June 5, 2021, when the time came, he recognized the call and said goodbye — not with grief, but with prophetic declaration:
“A time to come here and a time to return home after service.”
📖 Biblical Heroes Who Understood the Assignment
The Bible is filled with men and women who understood that earth was a place of service, not a place of settlement.
Abraham — A Pilgrim with a Promise
“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.”
— Hebrews 11:8
Abraham left his homeland without a map because he understood that his true home was not in Ur or in Canaan. Hebrews 11:10 tells us he was “looking for the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
He was passing through — on assignment.
Moses — A Lifetime of Preparation, Then Service Completed
Moses spent 40 years in Pharaoh’s palace and 40 years in the desert before his 40-year assignment of leading Israel began. His life was not wasted — it was being calibrated for a specific divine service. When the service was complete, God called him to Mount Nebo, and he saw the Promised Land from a distance. The body stopped. The spirit returned home.
Elijah — Translated Without Death
Elijah’s service on earth was so complete that God sent a chariot of fire:
“Suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.”
— 2 Kings 2:11
When God says “enough” — the service is complete, and home is where the spirit returns.
Simeon — Waiting Only for His Divine Assignment
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation.”
— Luke 2:29–30
Simeon knew his time on earth was tied to a specific assignment — to see the Messiah. The moment his assignment was fulfilled, he was ready to depart. He did not beg for more time. He accepted the completion of his service with peace and finality.
Jesus Christ — “It Is Finished”
The most powerful demonstration of completed earthly service came from Jesus Himself:
“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
— John 19:30
It is finished. Not “I have failed.” Not “I am dying too soon.” But the triumphant declaration that the assignment was complete. Three days later, He rose. Forty days later, He ascended — returning home to the Father.
Death is not the end for the believer. It is the return journey.
🔍 What “Watch and Pray” Really Means
TB Joshua did not end his final words with theology alone. He added a command:
“Watch and pray.”
These were also the words Jesus spoke to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane — the night before His own homegoing:
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
— Matthew 26:41
To watch is to live with spiritual awareness — knowing that your time on earth is not unlimited, that your service has a season, and that the call to return home can come at any moment.
To pray is to maintain the connection with heaven — to live as a citizen of heaven even while occupying a body on earth.
Most people live in reverse. They treat the body as permanent and the spirit as an afterthought. TB Joshua’s final instruction calls us back to spiritual reality:
Know that your time is limited. Stay spiritually alert. Maintain your connection with heaven through prayer.
| Living for Earth | Living for Heaven |
|---|---|
| Accumulate for this life only | Invest in eternity |
| Fear death as an ending | Welcome completion of service |
| Treat the body as identity | Treat the spirit as identity |
| Live for personal comfort | Live for divine assignment |
| Ignore spiritual alertness | Watch and pray always |
🌅 A Time to Come Here — and a Time to Return
There is something deeply comforting in TB Joshua’s final words when you understand their full weight.
He was not afraid.
He was not caught off guard.
He was not confused.
He was complete.
He had come at the appointed time. He had served with everything he had — healing the sick, setting the captives free, preaching the gospel to millions, raising disciples, building the Kingdom. And when the Father said “enough,” he recognized the sound.
“A time to come here and a time to return home after service.”
This is the life that should mark every believer. Not a life that clings to earth desperately. Not a life that fears death terribly. But a life so fully invested in divine service that when the time comes, we can say with quiet confidence:
I came. I served. I am going home.
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
— 2 Timothy 4:6–7
This was Paul. This was TB Joshua. And this is the standard God has set for every servant.
✅ Practical Application: How to Live as a Spirit on Assignment
TB Joshua’s final words are not merely a tribute to a great prophet. They are a prophetic instruction for every believer.
Know your assignment. You are not on earth by accident. Ask God: “What is the specific service You sent me here to fulfill?” Pray, fast, seek, and be still until He answers clearly.
Do not settle in the tent. Do not allow the temporary comforts of this world to make you forget that you are a pilgrim. Build for eternity, not merely for earth.
Number your days. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) A person who knows their time is limited lives deliberately.
Watch and pray — daily. Spiritual alertness is not a crisis response; it is a lifestyle. When you pray, you maintain your heavenly connection. When you watch, you live with awareness of eternity.
Complete your service with dignity. The goal of the Christian life is not to live forever on earth. It is to complete your assignment and hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)
Prepare for the return. How you prepare for a journey home tells you everything about how much you believe home is real. If heaven is real, live like it. Give like it. Love like it. Serve like it.
🙏 Prayer
Heavenly Father, open my eyes to see what Prophet TB Joshua understood — that I am a spirit on a divine assignment. This world is not my home. My body is a tent, and my spirit belongs to You. Help me to live fully aware of eternity. Help me to fulfill my assignment with faithfulness, passion, and love. May I never settle in the temporary. May I always watch and pray. And when my time of service is complete, may I return home to You with the testimony: “I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Good Morning 🌄 and PROSPER ✨ today!
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