Beginning to End: How God is Rescuing the World (The Bible Story of Creation & Revelation for Kids)

In the beginning, there was God. Nothing else. No trees, no seas. No whales or snails. Or bats or cats. No puppies or guppies. Right. No stars or Mars. No human beings. Not anything. Just God. But wasn't he kind of lonely? I sure would have been. Me too. But God wasn't alone in all that nothingness. You see, God is like us in some ways. God thinks and feels and acts. But in other ways, he is very different. What do you mean, different? Well, for one thing, God is everywhere, all the time. Everywhere? Here, there, everywhere. All at the same time. Wow. That is different. And he knows everything. Everything? Every single thing. Wowee. He sure is smart. Yes, he is. And he is never, ever wrong. Oh. He sure is. Not like me or anyone I know. You're right. And there's one other thing that makes God absolutely different than anyone else. And this one's kind of tricky. What's that? God is more than one. There is one God and there are three persons in God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons, one God. Wait, what? There is one God, but there are three persons in God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Three persons, one God. Um, that's a little... Hard to understand? I know. I told you it was tricky. But that is why God wasn't lonely. Because he wasn't alone. There is love within God. There is friendship within God. There is family within God. That is amazing. He is amazing. And one day this amazing God decided... It's time to begin. So he started making stuff. And boom! All of a sudden there were... Stars! Planets! Galaxies! Wow! And God said... Very good. Then he picked one particular planet and said... Watch this. He made the oceans, mountains, plants, and trees that grow. Tiny little leafy ones smaller than a pebble. And big giant ones that climb toward the sun. God said... Very good. But he wasn't done. Next he made all kinds of... Swimmy creatures. Crawly creatures. Birds. And whales. Gentle sloths. And woolly mammoths. All the creatures God made were amazing. Some so very short. And others so very tall. But something was missing. Really? What could possibly be missing? None of the creatures were like God. They couldn't think the way God thought. Feel the way God felt. Act the way God acted. And these creatures couldn't join the friendship that God had within himself. So what did God do? He said... Watch this. And then God made something super special. A creature that could think and feel and act just like he could think and feel and act. A creature that could join God's family. What was it? What did he make? He made a man. And a woman. God made us. Then he looked at everything he had made and God said... Very good. God named the man... Adam. And the woman he named... Eve. Now the earth was a pretty wild place. So God planted a garden for Adam and Eve to live in. Wow! How cool is that? God called the garden Eden. And inside the garden Adam and Eve had everything they needed. And best of all... We are friends with God. But friendship only works if there is something very important. Trust. If Adam and Eve wanted to continue to be God's friends, they needed to trust him. They needed to listen to God. Trusting God should be easy since he loves us so much. And he knows everything. And it was easy. For a while. Just a while? You see, there was this one tree. I thought there were lots of trees in the garden. Oh, there were. But there was this one particular tree in the garden that was different. God said... Don't eat from that tree. So they had a gazillion trees with all the fruit they could want. And just one they couldn't touch? Yup. Just that one? Uh-huh. Easy peasy. It should have been. And Adam and Eve were just fine doing as God had told them up until a new voice showed up in the garden. A new voice? Who was it? It was the voice of the enemy of God. And it was coming from a sneaky, tricky snake that said... Are you sure, God said, you can't eat the fruit from that tree? Oh, we're sure. God said that if we eat that fruit, we will die. And then the snake did something that no one had ever done before in God's beautiful world. The snake lied. You will surely not die. Huh? No. If you eat of that tree, you'll become wise and smart like God. That doesn't sound right. So for sure they stopped listening to the sneaky snake and walked away, right? No. What? No way! They thought about what the snake said. It would be great to be as wise as God. Then we'd know everything too. Hmm. What to do? What did they do? Adam and Eve decided to trust the snake and go their own way. They did what God told them not to do. They ate the fruit. Oh, no, no, no, no, no! At that moment, sin entered God's wonderful world. You see, sin is when we ignore God and choose our own way just like Adam and Eve did. That sneaky snake! He lied to Adam and Eve and they listened to him instead of God? This is a terrible story. Yes, that snake was terribly sneaky. And since Adam and Eve sinned, they had to leave the garden. Adam and Eve decided to trust the sneaky snake instead of God. And because of that, something really, really bad happened. Yes, sin entered the world. Sin is when we turn away from God and say, I don't care what you say, God. I'm going to do things my way. See, we can't be close to God. When we turn away from him. Right. The sneaky snake knew that if he could get Adam and Eve to sin, then they couldn't be close to God. What a sneaky thing to do. Sneaky and bad. Because sin gets us into trouble. Hmm, this sign says God's way, but that way looks better. I'm going to go my own way! That must have hurt. And sin brings hurt too. Because of their sin, Adam and Eve had to leave the garden. They couldn't be God's friends anymore. They had to live in the wild world all by themselves. The wonder of God's garden was no longer a part of their lives. We shouldn't have eaten that fruit. Oh, now you tell me. Where were you when I was being tempted? I was right there. Exactly. Just as I planned. God was very sad to see Adam and Eve living apart from him because of their sin, and to eventually see sin spread to their kids, and then their kids, and then their kids. Sin wrecked everything. It did. But guess what? God had a plan for us. Oh good, oh triple good. What was it? A rescue plan. God had a plan to make things right. You mean by sending Jesus? Yes, to save Adam and Eve and their kids, and their kids' kids, and their kids' kids' kids, all the way down to us. Yippee! God's plan saves us from three things. The stain of sin, the power of sin, and the presence of sin. What does that even mean? First, he wants to save us from the stain of sin. When we choose to sin and turn away from God, we have the stain of sin on us. But Jesus washes away our stain of sin and changes us into people who want to be close to him. Right. Second, God wants to save us from the power of sin. The more we sin, the easier it is to keep on sinning, and soon sin takes over our lives. But Jesus gives us the power to ignore the whispers of sin and live with peace and joy and love. That's way better than sin. It sure is. And third, even though God saves us from the stain of sin and the power of sin, we still live with the presence of sin. The presence of sin means we still live in a world where sin is all around us. Tears and hurt, selfishness and meanness. God wants to save us from the presence of sin. Uh, how? When the time is right, God will make it so his family can live in the wonderful world the way he meant it to be. What a great story! Yes, it is. But how does it end? Now that's a big question. And it's also the question John was asking before he wrote the book of Revelation. Oh, that's the last book of the Bible. Right. John was one of Jesus' friends. After Jesus left, John traveled and preached for many, many years in many, many places, which meant that... More and more people started following Jesus. John was happy. The new Christians were happy. But... Uh-oh, someone else wasn't happy? The leaders of the Roman Empire didn't like what John was doing, so they arrested him and sent him away. Where am I? Patmos. It's an island. But, um, it's tiny and, well, there's nobody here. Right. Bye. So they left John on that teeny tiny island? For a long time. Time he spent thinking and praying. Then, one day, John asked God a question. How does it end? How does all of this end? Hmm. He was asking that question when all of a sudden... Let me show you. What did God say? Oh, God did more than say. He showed. God showed John what was going to happen in the end. Ooh. What did God show? Amazing, awesome, surprising things that had amazing, awesome, surprising meaning. There were lamps on stands and lions and a lamb and strange creatures with wings and a dragon. Whoa. That sure doesn't look like a friendly one. It wasn't. And what else did God show? Stars that fell down from the sky, giant hailstones, and big rumbling earthquakes. And if that wasn't enough, God showed John visions of... Crazy creatures. Locusts with long hair. Look at those teeth. God's answer to John was full of symbols. What's a symbol? A symbol is something that represents something else, like a lamb is a symbol for Jesus. God was giving John pictures that told a story of all that would happen before God makes everything right for all time. Okay, but I have a question. Go right ahead. Well, why didn't God just tell John what was going to happen? Why did God use all those strange pictures? Well, God's message was like... A treasure map? Yes. In the end, God's enemies will be defeated. In the meantime, God tells his people what signs or symbols to watch for. So, like a treasure map... Hmm, let's see. Where am I? Ah, that cliff has the same shape as this one on the map. I'm close to the treasure, and... I'm on the right track. Yahoo! As we get closer to the end, this vision will make more sense. Okay, but... Yes? Some of those things look a little scary. Yes, they do. But remember, God is always with us. And someday he will destroy everything that is evil and make things right again. That sneaky snake Satan will try and hurt God's friends. But that snake has already lost. He's been beaten by... Jesus! Yes, the Lamb of God. Wowee! In the very, very end, everything will be made right. In John's vision, he saw a new heaven and a new earth. God will make a new city where everything will be restored, and we will live with him. And in the center of the city will be the Tree of Life. Whoa, the Tree of Life? Yes. And the Tree of Life will bring healing to all God's friends. You see, the story that started in a garden ends in a garden city, the City of God, where there is no sickness, no tears, no bullies, and no death. The Kingdom of God in full bloom. So the end of the story is like the beginning of another. The beginning of forever. Wow, I can hardly wait. Neither can I. But in the meantime, do you know what we can do? What? We can tell others about Jesus and invite them to join us in a world without sin and evil, where we will live, work, eat yummy food, play, sing, and dance with the God who made us and loves us so much. Don't you want to come along? I sure do.