88. Paul in Jerusalem and Rome

Acts 21 – 28

When Jesus’ friends told others about him, some people were really happy, and they became friends with Jesus too. But some people were really annoyed, and they tried to keep Jesus’ friends quiet.

Once, when Paul was in Jerusalem telling people about Jesus, soldiers put him in prison. Paul had to go and see the most powerful person in the country – the Roman governor. He could decide whether Paul would go free or stay in prison – or even die. Paul told the governor about Jesus.

After a while there was a new governor, so Paul told him about Jesus too. This governor asked a king who lived nearby to ask Paul some questions. So Paul told him about Jesus too.

Eventually, Paul was put on a boat to go to Rome to see the emperor. Rome was the most important city in the world. On the boat, Paul told the sailors about Jesus.

When Paul reached Rome he was put in a house and not allowed to leave. So he invited lots of people to come and see him and… he told them about Jesus as well!

(We don’t know what happened when Paul went to see the emperor. But you can probably guess.)

89. Paul’s Letters

When people decided to live with Jesus as their King, they started meeting together. These groups were called churches.

Paul wrote letters to the churches. The letters reminded them about how much Jesus loved them, and taught them how to obey him. Paul answered their questions and helped them with any problems they had.

Two of Paul’s letters were to the church in Corinth. One thing Paul explained to them is that a church is like a body. Just like a body needs its eyes and fingers and toes to work together, a church needs everyone who is part of it to work together and take care of each other.

Another of Paul’s letters was to the churches in Galatia.

He reminded them that they only needed to do one thing to enjoy being with God in the life after this one. That one thing, he told them, wasn’t to be really good at obeying Jesus – it was to believe that they were forgiven by Jesus.

Paul also wrote letters to his friends, like Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. He encouraged them to keep loving their churches and to keep telling other people about King Jesus.

90. More Letters

Just like Paul wrote letters to churches, so did some of Jesus’ other friends.

One of them wrote the letter to the Hebrews. His main message was “Jesus is the best, and believing God’s promises is great.”

James was Jesus’ brother. He wrote a letter to some churches to tell them, “We show we are friends with Jesus by trying to obey Jesus. And when you don’t obey him, remember God is always kind to people who are sorry.”

Jesus’ disciple Peter wrote two letters, and another man called Jude also wrote a letter. Their message was “When life is hard, make sure you keep believing the truth about Jesus, whatever anyone says. Being friends with Jesus means we always have lots of reasons to be happy.”

Jesus’ disciple John wrote three letters to churches. Their main message was “If Jesus is your king then God really, really, really, really, really loves you, because you are his children.”

91. What Heaven Is Like

Revelation 1:9-19; 5:1-14; 7:9-17

When Jesus’ friend John was very old, King Jesus showed him what heaven was like. Jesus’ hair was white like snow, and his eyes were blazing like fire. His feet were like glowing bronze, and his face was shining like the sun.

John saw that in the middle of heaven Jesus was sitting on his throne, ruling over everything forever. The throne had a rainbow going round it, and around the throne were lots and lots and lots of people. There were so many of them that they were as hard to count as the stars in the sky or as the dust in the world. They spoke every language there was, and they came from every country.

All these people were singing, “We love praising you, God, because you made everything. We love praising you, Jesus, because you died to rescue us so that we can enjoy this place with you forever.” Then thousands and thousands and thousands of angels joined in. And so did millions of animals and sea creatures.

“Tell all my friends what you have seen,” Jesus told John. “I know that it is often hard to live with me as King. Tell them that one day they will be with me in the life after this one.”

92. I Am Coming Soon

Revelation 20:2, 10; 21 – 22

Jesus also showed John what will happen in the future, on a day that has not yet come.

John saw a snake. The snake was the devil. He saw Jesus get rid of the devil so that the devil could not make anything go wrong ever again.

John saw Jesus come back to earth and put everything right again. All the people who loved Jesus as their King were living there with him. John saw that no one was ever sad and no one ever needed to cry.

John saw that the world looked a little bit like the city of Jerusalem and a little bit like the garden God had made in the beginning. He saw God’s throne, and he saw God’s Special Tree that people could eat from to stay alive. Everyone could eat from it every day, and never die.

Everything was perfect, and everyone was perfect. Everyone enjoyed living under Jesus’ rule and everyone was happy in Jesus’ perfect world. All God’s promises had come true.

WHAT NEXT?

The Bible is ONE BIG TRUE STORY – and you can be a part of that story too! Because God sent his Son Jesus to keep all his promises, anyone who beomes Jesus’ friend can enjoy life with him forever in his perfect world in the life after this one.

When Jesus lived in this world he told people, “Because I have arrived, people can be part of God’s kingdom. You need to love and obey me as your King and believe that I make all God’s promises come true” (Mark 1:15, my paraphrase).

You could talk to him now, if you like! You could say:

“Jesus, you are the King. You make all God’s promises come true. I love you. I want to obey you. Please give me a place in your kingdom in the life after this one.”

And do you know what Jesus replies to anyone who says this to him? He says the same as he said to the thief who was hanging on a cross next to him as he died:

“I promise that you will be with me in my wonderful place”

(Luke 23:43, my paraphrase).

And, as we have seen, God always keeps his promises!