Will We See Animals and Our Pets in Heaven?

The Bible does not specifically answer this question, but it does suggest that there will be animals in Heaven. In the apostle John’s vision of Heaven, for example, he saw Jesus Christ sitting on a white horse, followed by the armies of Heaven, also on white horses.

Revelation 19:11-16
“11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war…14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses…”

Animals have always played an important role in our earthly experience. When God first created them, He declared that they were good (Genesis 1:21,25). Before the great Flood, God directed Noah to take every species – male and female – into the ark so they could be preserved to repopulate the earth again.

God gave mankind dominion over the animals (Genesis 1), and even today animals serve many purposes. Dogs supply companionship and protection. Sheep provide wool. Horses provide recreation and labor. Cattle, pigs, and fish are a source of food. A donkey’s colt carried Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem.

We do know that there will be animals in the future messianic kingdom. They will live peaceably together under the reign of King Jesus.

Isaiah 11:6
“And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them.”

Isaiah 65:25
“The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.

In light of the importance of animals on our present earth, it is probable that there will be animals on the new earth as well (Revelation 21:1).

Do animals go to Heaven when they die? Do they have a “soul” that lives forever? The Bible does not specifically answer this question for us, but it does describe a fundamental difference between animals and man.

Genesis 1:25-28
“25 God made the beasts of the earth…and God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…”

A primary difference between animals and humans is that God created humans in His image. This means that when we die, there is a spirit-soul part of us that will live forever. Believers will go to live with God forever in Heaven, while unbelievers will be separated from God forever, in hell. Animals were not created in God’s image. This suggests that there is not a spirit-soul part of them that lives forever.

Whatever God’s plan is for our pets, we know that He is perfectly good and just. We can trust Him to do what is best. And when we get to Heaven, we will be in perfect agreement with Him in everything.

What Do You Think?

So what do you think?

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