Will Our Pets Be In Heaven
- M.A., English Composition, Illinois State University
- B.S., English Literature, Illinois State University
One of lifes greatest joys is having a pet. They bring so much happiness, companionship, and enjoyment that we cant imagine life without them. When we do lose a beloved pet, it is not unusual to grieve the loss just as deeply as we would for a human companion. Thus, many Christians wonder, “Do animals have souls? Will our pets be in heaven?”
We Still Have Animals Living With Us Even After The Fall
As we all know, Adam and Eve ended up blowing the perfect paradise that God had set up for them to live in. After they had disobeyed God by eating off the one forbidden tree He told them to stay away from, they were then cast out of the Garden of Eden and our entire earth then fell under a curse.
However, even though Adam and Eve and everyone to follow after them lost this original perfect paradise that God had set up for them, God still keeps all of these living creatures on our earth. And today, we still have many of these same living creatures living among us, both in the waters, in the air, and on the land.
Again, if all these animals and living creatures were not important to God in the big-picture, eternal scheme of things, He could have easily taken all of them away from Adam and Eve after He had cast them out of the Garden of Eden. But He didnt.
And not only did God not take these animals away from us, but He also did not take them away from us when He decided that He was going to wipe out all of mankind with a flood with the exception of Noah and his family.
As we all know, God had Noah put all of these animals by way of two of a kind on his ark so they would all be perfectly preserved when He unleashed this big flood upon our earth.
What The Bible Says About Animals
Lets take a look at the scriptures that relate to animals and what is said of them:
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21: As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?
Job 12:10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Genesis 9:9-10 I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with youthe birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with youevery living creature on earth.
Genesis 9:16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.
Genesis 1:30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the groundeverything that has the breath of life in itI give every green plant for food.
Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
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Would It Be Heaven Without Fido
Would heaven be a wonderful place — would it truly be “paradise” — if our pets weren’t there? For many, the answer is “no” — and obviously, God knows this! Placing restrictions on what can or can’t be in heaven is a fruitless exercise, much like debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin no one has brought back a report, and sooner or later we’re all going to find out anyway. In the interim, we are free to imagine whatever we choose.
However, there are many who feel that it is important to be “right” about everything, especially everything spiritual — that there is no room for spiritual “error.” These are the folks, I suspect, who argue most loudly and angrily against the concept of pets in heaven. And there are certainly many issues on which, for a Christian, there is no “wiggle room” for debate. Where the answer matters, the answer is given. If the answer is not given, then it is quite possible that the answer doesn’t really matter — i.e., there is no penalty for being “wrong.”
Heaven Is Better Than We Know
When you picture heaven, what is it that you see? Do you think of streets of gold and of beholding Jesus face to face? Do you think of seeing loved ones that have passed on? Or maybe the promises of Revelation 21:4 come to mind, There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.
No matter the picture you see, it is limited to the abilities of the human mind to imagine something that is entirely of God. Even our best guess of the kinds of joy heaven holds cant come close to what it will really be like.
1 Corinthians 13:12 puts it this way, For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror then we shall see face to face. Seeing the reflection of your children in the mirror is nothing in comparison to picking them up, swirling them around and holding them close to your chest. In the same way, our experience of heaven will be infinitely better than our small thoughts of what it may be like.
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Will There Be Any Animals In Heaven
While I dont believe animals that die on earth go to heaven , there is reason to believe that there will be animals in heaven. Let me give you my reason why.
In Genesis 2 we see that God took Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden to work the garden. Not only were there trees in the garden that were good for food, there were also animals in the garden.
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name .
Since Adam existed in the garden it is safe to say that the animals existed there with him.
When you go to Revelation 22, John sees a picture of God restoring Eden where we now have access to the tree of life, which existed in the original Garden of Eden. If God is restoring Eden, then I would say that there is a good possibility that animals will exist in heaven because God is restoring things back to perfection, like when he first created them. If animals existed in the old Eden, then I believe they will exist in heaven as well. To be clear this is my best educated deduction from Scripture, and you may see things differently and that is ok if you do.
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There Were Definitely Animals In The Garden Of Eden
The first thing to grab a hold of on this question is that there were definitely animals and various types of living creatures in the first environment that God had created for Adam and Eve. In fact, God had literally created the animals before He had created Adam and Eve.
I believe God did this so Adam and Eve would have everything they would need to be happy and fulfilled in the new life that He was going to give them.
If animals were not going to be fully enjoyed by Adam and Eve and everyone to follow after them, then God would have never created them in the first place. The fact that God had created animals and all of these living creatures in the first type of environment He had set up for us tells me that He felt they were very important in the big-picture, eternal scheme of things. Otherwise He would have never bothered to create any of them in the first place.
Here are the first set of verses showing how God had created all of the living creatures that have ever been on our earth:
So on the 4th and 5th days of creation, God created all of the living creatures, both in the waters, in the air, and on the ground. And not only did God personally create all of these living creatures, but He also gave man complete dominion over all of them.
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Is There An Eternal Future For Animals
One last thought needs to be added here though. Is there a proper focus that needs to be stressed when asking about animals in heaven? While as finite humans we naturally seek things that bring us comfort and we joyously await our resurrection bodies , what is our hope of heaven supposed to be rooted in? Is it not being with Christ and seeing him face to face and being in his presence ? There is nothing wrong with wanting to walk the streets of gold or of finally meeting Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or of seeing and eating from the Tree of Life , but these are not to become what we pin our hope and expectation on. The same is true with the topic at hand. Animals should not be the focus of our hope and joy in heaven: Christ should be . And when we get there, everything else will pale in comparison.
Oh, that will be glory for me,Glory for me, glory for me,When by His grace I shall look on His face,That will be glory, be glory for me.
Will I See My Dog In Heaven Animals Are Listed Among The Residents Of The New Heaven
In two separate descriptions of the New Heaven and New Earth, the Bible mentions that animals will be present. Isaiah 11:11 says, The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together and a little child shall lead them.
This description of peaceful relations between species of animal continues for three more verses and a similar passage is found in Isaiah 65:25. There are no household pets mentioned in either place, but the fact that animals at all are mentioned means it is completely possible that we could see dogs and cats as well.
This is where all of our digging into what the Bible literally says about heaven meets the very first point we made head on. Heaven is better than we know. Therefore, it is entirely possible, that because of the joy and happiness animals bring, God will bring them into eternity with us.
We wont know until we get there whether or not our animals will be with us in heaven, but we can be assured that whether they are or not, we arent going to feel any lack or longing! Gods presence will be enough!
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God Created Man In His Image
The earth, sky, sun, stars, moon and animals were all created by the words of God. He spoke them into existence. But when God says that he is going to make man in his image in Genesis 1:26, he takes an approach to creation that he doesnt take with any other thing on the earth.
He scoops dust and forms a man and later forms the woman from the man. And he breathes his breath of life directly into them. God made them to reflect him, he made them with spiritual qualities that no other being has. You and I have the breath of God in us and we are image bearers of the Lord in the way that no animal ever could be.
Is My Pet In Heaven
I petted the white, silky fur of my American Eskimo for the last time. She lay peacefullyher body still warm, although her heart had quit beating minutes earlier. The vet had listened for a heartbeat with his stethoscope but had found silence. The medicine he had injected had done its job, and my Laika was no longer in pain.
Her 15-year-old body was here with me, but where was she? Where was the essence of Laika?
Was she in heaven? Do dogs and other pets go to heaven? Is there really a “Rainbow Bridge”? Or do animals just cease to exist?
The author’s American Eskimo, Laika.
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Will There Be Animals In The The New Heaven And New Earth
And this now brings us to the real heart of this question.
As we all know, the final ending for us as Christians will be God the Father forming out a New Heaven and a New Earth after the 1000 year millennial reign of Jesus has ended. After that 1000 millennial reign has ended, God will then be forming out a New Heaven and New Earth, where He Himself will then be coming down upon our earth.
And when God the Father then comes down upon our earth, He will be bringing with Himself the city of the New Jerusalem which is up in heaven right now. And once He comes down upon our earth with both Himself and this new holy city, both He and Jesus will then rule our entire earth forever and ever from this New Jerusalem.
Bible Verses About Do Animals Go To Heaven
Bible verses related to Do Animals Go To Heaven from the King James Version by Relevance
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Famous Christians Who Believe Pets Go To Heaven
Randy Alcorn in his book called Heaven believes that animals will be present in the Kingdom of Heaven. Famous Christian authors who believe that pets go to heaven include: C. S. Lewis, Peter Kreeft, Niki Behrikis Shanahan, James Herriot, and dozens and dozens of others the list of Christian pastors, theologians, and clergy is too long to list here. Suffice it to say that a lot of Christians believe that pets do go to heaven and that there will be animals in heaven.
Several Bible Verses Depict Animals In Heaven:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobras den, and the young child will put its hand into the vipers nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
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The Bible Tells Us That Gods Covenant Is With All Of His Creation:
And God said, This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. So God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.
So if all animals praise the Lordand thus believe in Himand if whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life, it stands to reason that one beloved verse, John 3:16, tells us that animals will also be with their Creator in heaven.
God Created Dogs And All Animals For A Good Purpose
The creation of all animals happened on days five and six of creation. Sea animals and birds were created on day five and God said they were good. Land animals were created on day six, the same day that humans were created. Maybe this was symbolic of the special relationship people would have with the animals that walk the same ground they do? We cant be sure, but its possible.
Ultimately, God created animals to be ruled over by humans. Animals are a gift and responsibility for men to steward, they arent equals to men in the eyes of God.
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Many Passages Tell Us That Animals Have Souls:
I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?