Will Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven? *

Part Twenty:   What Kinds of Earthly Animals Will Inhabit Heaven?

  
We saw in previous blog articles that there will be continuity between our present earth and the eschatological New Earth. We also saw that this New Earth (Heaven) will be a world purified of sin and evil, spiritually redeemed and physically transformed, and set free from nature’s curse. It will be rich in vegetation, abounding in scenic wonders, and vastly more beautiful than any wilderness or garden our most creative imaginations can conjure up. 

This sets the stage for a closer look at what kinds of animals will inhabit this amazing new Paradise. In the next few articles, we’ll see that the new heaven and earth, prophesied in both the Old and New Testaments, will be populated with the same kinds of animals that presently dwell on our present earth—with two major differences. Predation and death, as a result of the curse, will no longer exist, and, second, heavenly animals will coexist in perfect tranquilly with redeemed humans. People, angels, and animals will live together serenely with our Lord Jesus Christ in an eternal “Peaceable Kingdom.”   As theologian and Christian environmental advocate, H. Paul Santmire, put it, “The wilderness [in the New Earth] will remain, to be sure, for God also loves the alligators and the mountain lions and wills their fulfillment. But the dream of wilderness without darkness and violence and pain will come true” (p. 110). 

Depending on the interpretation of some Hebrew words, well over one hundred animals are mentioned by name in the Bible.  For example, Psalm 104 refers to a stork, cattle, wild donkeys, wild goats, coneys, and lions. Job 39 mentions a doe and fawn, wild ox, ostrich, hawk, and an eagle. Isaiah 60:6 speaks of camels; Revelation 19:11 mentions a horse. The question is will all these varieties of animals inhabit the New Earth? To answer this, the place to begin is with the account of the worldwide Flood. It gives compelling support that animals on this earth will continue to exist in the restored New Earth.

Prior to the sin-cleansing Flood, God instructed Noah to take into the Ark, at least two of every kind of animal that inhabited the earth, at that time (Gen. 7:2-3; 8:19). God didn’t recreate animals after the Flood, He preserved those that already existed to repopulate the earth: “Then God said to Noah, ‘Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it’” (Gen. 8:15-17). Would God preserved this incredible menagerie of animals from the judgment of the great Flood, and then prevent the same kinds of animals from inhabiting the New Earth, when He removes the curse and redeems creation in the eschaton? This would seem to be inconsistent with God’s great love for the animals He created, later protected on the Ark, and used to repopulate the earth.

Here’s another way to see this. The apostle Peter juxtaposes the destruction (divine judgment) of the earth during to the Noahic Flood (2 Pet. 2:5) with the future judgment of the earth prior to God establishing a “new heaven and earth” (3:3-13). If the great Flood prefigures God’s ultimate end-time judgment of evil and the redemption of saved humanity, surely the same kinds of animals that embarked from the ark will be included in creation’s future redemption on the New Earth—especially since creation’s redemption is tied directly to human redemption (Rom. 8:18-25—we’ll look at this in detail in a few weeks).

How about our pets specifically? Will there be pets in Heaven? Why not?  God allowed many animals on this earth to be our servants and helpers as well as our devoted and faithful friends. It would be consistent with God’s great love for His people that some animals will continue their role as our friends and companions in the age to come. Our Lord may include pets in Heaven for no other reason than to bless the people who loved and faithfully cared for them in this life. There is nothing in the Bible that should cause us to doubt this. 

I like the way philosophy professor Peter Kreeft answers the question of whether or not animals—and specifically  pets—will be in Heaven. In His book Everything You Every Wanted to Know about Heaven . . . But Never Dreamed of Asking, he writes:
 

Would the same animals be in Heaven as on earth? “Is my dead cat in Heaven?” Again, why not? God can raise up the very grass; why not cats? . . . We were meant from the beginning to have stewardship over the animals; we have not fulfilled that divine plan yet on earth; therefore it seems likely that the right relationship with animals will be part of Heaven: proper “pet-ship”. And what better place to begin than with already petted pets? (p. 45) 

It should be apparent by now that the continuity between this earth and the eschatological New Earth will include the same kinds of animals that now dwell on our present earth. There are three more compelling evidences, however, to support this. We’ll look at them in the next two articles.

*  The blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not  be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in print, without my written permission. But feel free to send links to these articles, with a brief introduction, to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or other people who may enjoy them. Or post a link on your own website. If you would like to be added to my personal blog email list (people who receive an email notice whenever I post a new blog article), contact me through my website: www.danstory.net.

Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven? *

Part Nineteen:   Is the “Millennial Kingdom” the New Heaven and Earth Prophesied in the Old Testament?

 Last week we saw that there is continuity between our present earth and the eschatological New Earth. The Jewish prophetic vision of a “new heaven and earth” (Isa 65:17; 66:22), and the New Testament fulfillment in Revelation, appear to be referring to the same glorious eternal Kingdom of God: Heaven. But is it? Harmonizing Old Testament prophecies concerning a future restored Israel with the new heaven and earth described in Revelation chapter 21 raises an intriguing question: Is the new heaven and earth prophesied in the Old Testament actually the Millennial Kingdom described in Revelation 20?

There are events and descriptions in Old Testament prophesies concerning Israel’s restoration that seem contrary to the new heaven and earth revealed in Revelation, such as people having children, growing old, and dying (Isa. 65:20-30). On the other hand, there are also clear parallels between the two: the apparent absence of the sun and moon (Isa. 60:19; cf. Rev. 21:23; 22:5); healing of sight, deafness, and other physical disabilities (Isa. 35:5-6; cf. Rev. 21:4); everlasting joy (Isa. 35:10; cf. Rev. 21:4); a New Jerusalem; and a permanent end to weeping and crying (Isa. 65:18-19; cf. Rev. 7:17; 21:4).  These Old Testament prophecies clearly describe a kingdom with characteristics unlike anything imaginable on this present earth.  Moreover, the prophesied Jewish Messiah who would usher in the restoration of Israel was clearly more than just human. Among His other traits, Daniel speaks of him as having “authority, glory and sovereign power,” being “worshiped” by all people, and having a kingdom “that will never end.”  Only Jesus fulfills the prophecies of this future Messiah (Daniel 7:13-14; also Isa. 9:6-7).

How should these dissimilar characteristics of the new heaven and earth described in the Old and New Testaments be harmonized? For some interpreters, prophecies such as Isaiah 35:1-10; 65:17-25; and Ezekiel 36:22-38 refer to the return of Jewish exiles from Babylonia captivity—they don’t describe the future eternal kingdom revealed in Revelation 21 and 22. Other interpreters believe that Isaiah, Ezekiel, and other Old Testament prophets were inadvertently referring to Jews who would be saved throughout church history (see Rom. 11:25-31). In this latter view, many Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel’s future have a spiritual fulfillment in the church rather than literal fulfillment for the nation of Israel. This view is supported by Paul in Romans 2:28-29, 9:6, and Phil. 3:3, which speak of true Jews as being followers of Christ, and by the fact that the New Testament writers considered many Old Testament prophecies to have direct application to the established church and New Testament times. If this is the case, the Old Testament prophets may have had in mind a perfectly restored earthly kingdom under the rule of a messiah who would deliver the Jews from foreign domination—but they unwittingly predicted a future eternal Kingdom when the true Davidic messiah, Jesus Christ, returns to establish the eternal new heaven and earth in the “last days.”  

 A case can also be made that Old Testament prophecies referring to a future restored Israel (Ezek.36: 24-30) have a dual fulfillment—a primary and secondary application. On the one hand, they do predict a future new heaven and earth when Jesus returns to establish His eternal Kingdom. But the same prophesies may also refer to an initial Millennium or a Millennial Kingdom—a thousand-year reign of Jesus here on earth prior to the eternal new heaven and earth described in Revelation 21. During the Millennium, God will bring about a literal fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of a restored Israel. Satan will be imprisoned and the world will enjoy an unparalleled period of joy and prosperity under Christ’s’ rule. After this thousand-year period, Satan will be released for a short time to spearhead a final rebellion against God, after which he and his underlings, along with unsaved humans, will be cast into the Lake of Fire (hell) forever (see Rev. 20: 7-15). At that point in eschatological history, heaven and (new) earth will unite to become Heaven, and all believers will enjoy eternal bliss with our Lord Jesus Christ forever.

 In my opinion, this last view is the simplest and least problematic and complicated end-time scenario for harmonizing Old Testament prophecy of restored Israel with Revelation. Without this perspective, the huge amount of details given in Old Testament prophecies concerning the anticipated Davidic kingdom would be reduced to merely figurative language and symbolism—spiritualizing what clearly reads as predictive history. It’s hard to imagine that God would give so much information and description of restored Israel if it did not have a literal fulfillment. 

For the purposes of this study, however, whether or not Heaven uniting with a renewed earth occurs at the return of Christ or a thousand years later at the end of a Millennial Kingdom is not important. (In the latter case, the Millennium would be a transitional phase between the old earth and the New Earth.) What is important is the continuity between the two, so that many of the features in the Old Testament vision of the redeemed earth will become essential features in Heaven.  For example, the Peaceable Kingdom in Isaiah eleven, where humans and animals peacefully coexistence, is an accurate depiction of the relationship that will exist in Heaven among redeemed and restored nature, animals, and humans. 

This brings us back, after a several week detour, to the central purpose of this series of blog articles. Will Heaven be inhabited by our pets and other sentient animals? Certainly if heaven is united with a redeemed and restored planet Earth, as described in Revelation 21:1-4  (cf. Rom. 8:19-23)—rather than Heaven being someplace “far off in space”—it is easier to envision soul-bearing animals now inhabiting the earth joining God’s redeemed people in the eternal Peaceable Kingdom. In next couple blog articles we’ll see what the creatures dwelling in Heaven will be like.

*  The blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not  be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in print, without my written permission. But feel free to send links to these articles, with a brief introduction, to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or other people who may enjoy them. Or post a link on your own website. If you would like to be added to my personal blog email list (people who receive an email notice whenever I post a new blog article), contact me through my website: www.danstory.net.

Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven? *

Dan Story Photograph

 Part Eighteen:  How Do Old Testament Prophesies of a “New Heaven and Earth” fit in Revelation?

           

In my last blog article, we glimpsed what the physical environment of the redeemed and restored New Earth may look like. In particular, we saw that it will not only embrace Garden of Eden-like conditions, but it will surpass them. This article will look more closely at the continuity between our present earth and the eschatological New Earth.

Some interpreters hold that the new heaven and earth prophesied by Isaiah and other Old Testament prophets actually refers to events in post-exile Israel, that is, after the Jews were permitted to return to their homeland following release from captivity in Babylon (e.g. Isa. Chapters 35, 60-66; Ezek. Chapters 36-37). Although the Kingdom of God described in the Old Testament is best understood through the filter of New Testament eschatology, some prophecies could (at least in part) refer to Israel after their captivity. Nevertheless, there are many difficulties with this interpretation.

It’s highly unlikely that Old Testament prophecies concerning the future “new heaven and earth” (Isa. 65:17; 66:22) are limited to just the return of Israel from exile to its homeland.  In particular, the historical circumstances surrounding their return from Babylonian Captivity—and the physical environment of their homeland itself—do not match many Old Testament descriptions of the restored New Earth. For example, according to Isaiah the future kingdom will see an end to violence, and the sun “will never set” and the moon “will wane no more” because God will be their “everlasting light“(60:18, 20). Peace and harmony will exist between the animal kingdom and humans (11:6-9), and the Israelites will “possess the land forever” (60: 20-21).

None of these features or events took place after the exiles returned to their homeland—nor have they happened since that day. Instead, the Jews faced economic and other hardships, hostile neighbors, and were eventually suppressed by Rome—a far cry from prophetic expectations of an everlasting kingdom ushered in by a Davidic messiah (e.g. Dan. 7:13-14). The best interpretation of the prophetic passages referring to Israel’s restoration are eschatological—descriptions of the future New Earth that will be inhabited by believers from all nations, races, and ethnicities—not just spiritually renewed Jews (Rev. 7:9). This becomes clear when Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel’s future restoration are seen through the New Testament’s vision of the new heaven and earth, ushered in with glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 21-22).

Heaven and Earth Will Be United

 One of the most significant end-times prophesies in Revelation is the “new Jerusalem” that will descend onto the earth (Rev. 21: 2; cf. Isa. 65:18). There is disagreement on whether this Holy City is an actual city (21:2, 10) or represents the perfected eternal church. However, with so much detailed description in Revelation, it seems likely the  new Jerusalem is a literal city (Rev. 21:10-17). Either way, the new Jerusalem descending onto the earth will be the merging of Heaven with redeemed and restored earth. Heaven will encompass the renewed earth, and God will dwell there with His people forever. The late theologian Anthony Hoekema put it well:

The “new Jerusalem” stands for the entire glorified church of God. This church . . . does not remain in a “heaven” far off in space, but it comes down to the renewed earth; there [the] redeemed will spend eternity in resurrection bodies. So heaven and earth, now separated, will then be merged: the new earth will also be heaven, since God will dwell there with his people. Glorified believers, in other words, will continue to be in heaven while they are inhabiting the new earth. (“Heaven: Not Just an Eternal Day Off," Christianity Today; June 6, 2003)

 In light of this, the Jewish prophetic vision of a new heaven and earth, and the New Testament fulfillment, are ultimately speaking of the same glorious eternal Kingdom of God, where all resurrected believers—include Jews who have accepted Jesus as their prophesied Messiah—will live forever in Heaven on (new) earth!

As I pointed out previously, my recent blog articles may seem to drift away from the goal of this series: “Will our pets and other animals greet us in heaven?” But hang in there; I have a reason for this parenthetical detour. It’s to demonstrate that there is continuity between our present earth and the eternal (“peaceable”) kingdom, which God’s people will share with sentient animals. If Heaven is united with a renewed earth in the eschaton, rather than being someplace “far off in space” (Rev. 21:1-4; cf. Rom. 8:19-23), it is easier to envision that soul-bearing animals now inhabiting our present earth will  join God’s redeemed people in Heaven.

Now, this raises a controversy among Christians. Is there a literal Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20)? And if so, how does it fit with the Old Testament’s vision of restored Israel? Could the Millennial Kingdom actually be restored Israel? More important, can the Millennium be harmonize with the united Heaven and New Earth described in Revelation 21 and 22? And, finally, what does all this have to do with earthly animals inhabiting Heaven? These questions will be the subject of next two blog articles.

*  The blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not  be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in print, without my written permission. But feel free to send links to these articles, with a brief introduction, to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or other people who may enjoy them. Or post a link on your own website. If you would like to be added to my personal blog email list (people who receive an email notice whenever I post a new blog article), contact me through my website: www.danstory.net.

Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven? *

 Al Hochrein photograph

Part Seventeen:   What Will the Physical Environment in Heaven

 Be Like?

In my last blog article, we saw that at the end of this present age the earth will not be obliterated but restored and redeemed as a “New Earth.” God does not create another earth from scratch; He will renew this earth.  Isaiah, Ezekiel, and other Old Testament prophets clearly foretold this, and it’s confirmed by Romans 8:19-23. So, what will this transformed earth be like? Here’s what we can glean from Scriptures.

The New Testament (i.e. Revelation) does not describe the natural environment in the prophesied New Earth. On the other hand, the Old Testament does give tantalizing glimpses of what the New Earth’s physical environment may look like. The Jews understood that the future kingdom of God would be on this earth; spiritually restored Israel would be an earthly abode. For example, the prophet Ezekiel wrote that on the renewed earth the Dead Sea will be purified with fresh water and inhabited by “swarms of living creatures (47:8-9). Indeed, the Old Testament prophets foresaw the new earth as being similar, in many respects, to the Garden of Eden. 

The New Earth Will Resemble the Garden of Eden 

Speaking about the prophesied future kingdom of God, Isaiah told the Israelites that “The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing” (51:3). The Prophet Ezekiel made a similar statement: “They [the Israelites] will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden ‘”(36:35). 

What did the Garden of Eden look like? Since God was its Creator, it would have been unspoiled, pristine, and indescribably beautiful. There was no death in Eden since it was created before the Fall and nature’s subsequent curse (Gen 2-3). Thus, natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and tsunamis, would have been unknown. Furthermore, there could not have been predators or other dangerous animals in Eden, and poisonous and harmful plants would have been absent.  Adam and Eve, and all the animal inhabitants of the Garden, were vegetarians (Gen. 1:29–30). Clothes for warmth and protection were unnecessary for the first couple (2:25), and food was bountiful and available merely by harvesting it (2:16). Adam and Eve’s only responsibility was to tend and care for the Garden (2:15). They didn’t even have to water it (2:10). In short, the Garden of Eden was a paradise, a place where humans lived in harmony with other living creatures and in friendship with God. 

The Bible further describes the natural environment in which God placed the first couple as having “all kinds of trees . . . that were pleasing to the eye and good for food” (Gen. 2:9). Perhaps these trees resembled the great forests of Lebanon, which God planted (Ps. 104:16). Ezekiel parabolically compares the ancient cedars of Lebanon, whose magnificence was widely proclaimed in the ancient world, with the trees in the Garden of Eden (Ezek. 31:8-9 cf. Isa. 35:2). In any case, Eden would not have been a manicured garden in the sense of what we think of as a garden today. (It’s probably referred to as a “garden” because God planted it—Gen. 2:8.) Yet certainly the Garden of Eden would have included an abundance of flourishing, edible green plants to feed and shelter both humans and animals (Gen. 1:29-30), as well wild, stunning, natural forests embracing a variety of exotic, colorful vegetation. 

Other prophetic passages that refer to the New Earth provide similar parallels with the Garden of Eden. For example, the Holy City (new Jerusalem), which will descend onto the earth from Heaven (Rev. 21:10), will have, like Eden, a flowing river and tree of life (cf. Gen. 2:8-10; Rev. 22:1-2). Isaiah declares that the new earth will have no deserts or wastelands (51:3; cf. 35:1, 7).  In chapter eleven Isaiah further reveals that the future kingdom of God will have no predators or dangerous animals: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together. . . . The cow will feed with the bear . . . and the lion will eat straw like the ox. . . . [T]he young child [will] put his hand into the viper’s nest” (6-8).  So although wolves, leopards, and lions will inhabit the New Earth, they will no longer be carnivorous or dangerous to humans and each other. In fact carnivores will become herbivores (v. 7), and wild nature and humanity will peacefully co-exist. What an amazing and wonderful world! 

Notice that all of the prophetic passages I’ve quoted or referenced, which illustrate parallels between the Garden of Eden and the New Earth, were made within an historical context that anticipates an eschatological Kingdom. Even Old Testament passages that seem to focus primarily on the spiritual restoration of Israel forecast the future New Earth as an eternal Peaceable Kingdom (more on this later). We can be certain that the renewed ecological balance, restored habitats, transformed predators, and peaceful relationship between humans and animals will be a literal reality in the New Earth. 

The New Earth Will Surpass the Garden of Eden 

 Although the Garden of Eden may be its prototype, the future New Earth will be far more magnificent. It will surpass even Eden in grandeur, wonder, splendor, beauty, and enchantment. In other words, it will be more than a reinvigorated Garden of Eden. It will be Heaven itself!  As such, it will have many astonishing features that differ radically from what we experience on our present earth. For example, there will be no oceans in the new earth (Rev. 21:1). Nor will light be derived entirely from the sun and moon (Isa. 60:19-20; Rev. 21:23). Unlike Eden, the New Earth will encompass more than nature. There will be civilizations, including nations, rulers, and cultures (5:9-10). Indeed, the metaphorical language used to describe the new Jerusalem (precious minerals, pearls, golden streets, etc.—Rev. 21:18-21) indicates a world that humans words cannot adequately describe. 

Best of all “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” in the new Heaven on earth (21:4). Nor will the human population include “the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murders, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (21:8). In a word, there will be no evil or sin or the possibility of a second Fall in the redeemed and restored new earth because Satan and his minions would have been cast into hell “for ever and ever (20:10). But what makes this New Earth truly Heaven—and distinct from the Garden of Eden—is that God will dwell there with His people (Rev. 21:3).  While God occasionally visited the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8,) He will actually live in the new heaven and earth (Rev. 21:3)! Saved, resurrected humans will see the Lord Jesus Christ face-to-face and live with Him forever (1 Thess. 4:16-18; Rev. 22:3-4). 

Next week’s blog article will explore the meaning of Old Testament prophesies concerning the eschatological restoration of Israel in the future “new heaven and earth.” As I said previously, my recent blog articles may seem to drift away from the central focus of this series, that is, to demonstrate that soul-bearing animals will inhabit Heaven.  But there is a reason for apparent “rabbit trail,” and it will be clear shortly.

*  The blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not  be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in print, without my written permission. But feel free to send links to these articles, with a brief introduction, to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or other people who may enjoy them. Or post a link on your own website. If you would like to be added to my personal blog email list (people who receive an email notice whenever I post a new blog article), contact me through my website: www.danstory.net.