Cloud island

Part 31 of 35 Up into heaven

For forty days after he rose, Jesus appeared to his followers and talked with them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Once he appeared to more than five hundred people at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:6). Thomas, who had doubted, saw his hands and cried, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus told him: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:28–29).

Jesus gave his followers a great task: "Go and make disciples of all nations… And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19–20). He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. "After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight" (Acts 1:9).

Imagined The island

Islands drift through the sky like boats, each with a little garden, a gazebo and a waterfall falling into the clouds below.

Real world Real clouds

A cloud is made of billions of tiny water droplets or bits of ice. A puffy cumulus cloud can hold hundreds of tons of water, yet it floats, because the droplets are so small and so widely spread that rising warm air holds them up.

Think about it

1. What task did Jesus give his followers?
2. What did Jesus promise when he said, "I am with you always"?
3. How can something as heavy as a cloud float?

Key words

Disciple

A follower and learner of Jesus.

Ascension

Jesus going up into heaven.

Cumulus

A puffy, white, heaped-up cloud.