Do Pets Go To Heaven?
A Question For Above
Those of us who have had a special animal companion sometimes wonder if we will ever spend time with our beloved pet again. To find a true answer to a question such as this, we must go to someone who is a qualified teacher. Not only was Jesus himself resurrected back to life three days after he died, but he also explained that he is the one with the ability to raise back to life:
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live
John 11:25No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44
Jesus teachings are found in the bible: so what does the bible say regarding our pets being brought back to life?
Let’s look at what the bible says about animals.
God made animals along with Adam and Eve about 6,000 years ago on the 5th and 6th days of creation week:
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 1
(If you’re surprised to learn that animals were created only about 6,000 years old, please see our article on evolution)
As can be read above, God created animals and they originally all ate plants, even animals such as lions, wolves and dinosaurs. This is because God created a good world with no death nor suffering at all. No animal would have killed another animal for food back in those days. The bible tells us that death entered the world only after mankind rebelled against God:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned
Romans 5:12
So we can see that God created animals with the intention they would have eternal life and would not die nor suffer. Since mankind rebelled and brought death and suffering into the world, in the future God will create a new earth where again there will be no more suffering:
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 65:25
Will God Create New Animals or Bring Our Pets Back To Life?
In this new earth, will God create completely new animals, or will God bring our same pets back to life? To answer this, let’s read what the bible says about our relationships with animals:
3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Luke 15
In this parable Jesus compares the joy of a shepherd finding a lost sheep to the joy in heaven when a person comes to faith in God. So our relationship with animals is a picture of God’s relationship to us. Since Jesus (the Shepherd) will resurrect those who believe in him (the sheep), it makes sense that God will also resurrect the actual sheep of an actual shepherd. So in this way it makes sense that God will resurrect our pets. But can we find a more certain answer?
Can Pets Sin?
We can also learn about whether God resurrects pets by looking at the topic of sin. The bible says “sin is the transgression of the law” in 1 John 3:4. Sometimes people wonder if pets are able to sin. If pets are not able to sin, then it would make sense that God would resurrect sinless pets like how sinless Jesus was resurrected:
Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Acts 13:35
However if pets are able to sin, we can still find an answer. The bible says there will never again be sin or rebellion in the new earth:
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
Nahum 1:9
If God created new animals to fill the new earth, there would be a possibility those new animals would sin. So instead of creating new animals, God would have to fill the new earth by resurrecting pets and animals which had either repented of sin, or had not sinned when tested. This is similar to how some of the angels fell into sin but others did not as described in Revelation 12:7-9.
So whether pets are able to sin or not, the answer seems to be the same that God will resurrect pets to have eternal life with Jesus and his disciples in the new earth. We can be assured of God’s goodness and his care for us:
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Psalms 84:11
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