The movie "Paul, Apostle of Christ" was released in 2018. The plot of the movie is the last days of the Apostle Paul. Paul is in prison in Rome. Emperor Nero blames Christians for the fire that broke out in Rome. With an indictment that Paul was involved in plotting, he is whipped brutally. Learning that Paul is imprisoned in Rome, his best disciple Luke secretly arrives in the city. Luke influences the prisoner to get to Paul. Killing Christians, burning them at street corners, become the emperor's pastime. Luke becomes a regular visitor to the prison. With insistence Luke makes Paul narrate the details of his conversion and discipleship. He also scribed the letter to Timothy that Paul dictated to him.

In the end, Luke follows the one who was an Apostle to him to the point of execution.

There aren't many subplots or twists in the movie. Yet it captivates us. One of the main reasons for this impact is the acting excellence of James Faulkner, who lived as Paul on the screen. Two things touched me in the movie. I have read that during the early Church, when Christians were persecuted within the borders of Rome, when they were hunted down, at least some of them abandoned their faith or avoided the persecution by lying that they were not believers. However, it has always amazed me how at least some of them, even while professing to be believers, did not turn to violence and counterattack. The first thing I liked is the realism that in 'Paul, Apostle of Christ' we see some of the youth who could not take it anymore taking up arms, departing from the passivism of the elders to free Paul and Luke.

Paul's entry into heaven is the highlight that impressed me the most in the movie. We have seen beautiful depictions of entering heaven in so many films, such as Gladiator, Titanic, etc. However, this depiction of Paul's entry into heaven seemed to have more depth than all the previous ones I have seen. Paul, gratefully says good bye to everyone, including Mauritius, the perfect of the prison, and lays his head on the wooden stake set up for beheading. As the executioner's sword rises in the air, the camera gaze rises to the heavens. In the next shot, we see Paul, anxious and surprised, and a group of people including children with joyful smiles come to receive him. Paul recognizes each one. The little girl who runs up to him and hugs him, and Stephen the deacon and the others who follow: all Christians who were killed in the religious persecution unleashed by Saul of Tarsus! What a powerful scene entry into heaven that is! As his eyes still searching, a figure can be seen hastening from a distance - Jesus, the one whom Saul persecuted!