Chapter 44

“You Will Be with Me in Paradise”

DO YOU like animals?⁠— Would you like to be able to play with a lion? Or would you like to have a bear for a pet?⁠—

The time is coming when you will be able to do that. Get your Bible and let’s read about it together.

The scripture is in the book of Isaiah, chapter 11, verse 6. It says: “And the wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the maned young lion and the well-fed animal all together; and a mere little boy will be leader over them.”

What would happen today if a wolf could get at a lamb?⁠— It would eat it up, wouldn’t it? And what would happen if a leopard were with a little goat?⁠— That little goat would become dinner for the leopard.

But the Bible says that is going to change. God is going to make those animals eat straw, instead of eating one another. When the animals are all friendly, it will be fun to have a lion for a pet, won’t it?⁠— That is going to happen in Paradise.

Do you know what Paradise is?⁠— A Paradise  is a beautiful garden or park. It is a place of peace and pleasure.

God gave the first man, Adam, and his wife a Paradise in which to live. It was called the Garden of Eden. There were animals in that garden. But none of them hurt the others. There were also trees with lots of delicious fruit on them. And there was a river. It was a wonderful place to live.

But Adam and Eve lost that Paradise. They disobeyed God, so they could not live in Paradise anymore. There is no Garden of Eden now. So, what chance do we have to live in Paradise?⁠—

Well, before he died on the torture stake, the Great Teacher talked about a new Paradise. A man had just said to him: “Jesus, remember me when you get into your kingdom.” Jesus answered: “Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.”​—Luke 23:42, 43.

Jesus did not say that they were going to be in Paradise that very same day. Both of them died and were buried on that day. But Jesus was talking about what would happen after he ‘got into his kingdom.’ Then there will be a Paradise again. The new Paradise will last forever.

Where will that Paradise be?⁠— The first Paradise was right here on earth, wasn’t it? So the new Paradise will be here on earth too. That is why Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth. When that time comes, the whole earth will become a Paradise.

 In Paradise there will be big changes made. The air will be clean and fresh and good to breathe. Water in the rivers will be clear and good. The land will grow plenty of food so that no one goes hungry. The whole earth will become like a park. It will be alive with birds and animals, trees and flowers of every kind.

But the biggest changes will be in the people. It is people who make a mess of the earth, isn’t it?⁠— Some of them live in messy homes. And they throw trash everywhere they go. But Paradise won’t be like that. It will be a clean and pleasant place to live. So, if we want to live in Paradise, wouldn’t you say that now is the time to learn to keep things neat and clean?⁠— That’s one way to show that we really want the earth to be a Paradise, isn’t it?⁠—

People will change in other ways too. Paradise  will be a place of peace. But not everyone today is peaceful. Some people scream at others. They hit and hurt other people. They act just like wild animals. They need to learn to live in peace. In Paradise, they “will not do any harm or cause any ruin.”​—Isaiah 11:9.

Are you always peaceful with others?⁠— If we are going to live in Paradise, we need to learn to be peaceful, don’t we?⁠—

It will be a wonderful thing to live in Paradise. God promises that he will do marvelous things for us then. Open your Bible to Revelation chapter 21, verses 3 and 4, and let’s read what it says: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away.”

Just think about that! God will watch over us. We will never have to cry because we are unhappy. No one will have pain because he is sick. And no one will have to die. That is what it will be like in Paradise.

Do you really want to live in Paradise?⁠— I do. What we do every day now has an effect on whether we will be there. If we want to live in Paradise, now is the time to prepare for it.

(This earth will last forever and God will make it a wonderful place to live. Read more about this at Psalms 104:5 [103:5, Dy]; Ps 37:10, 11 [36:10, 11, Dy]; Proverbs 2:21, 22; Isaiah 35:5, 6; Micah 4:3, 4.)