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

Part Twenty-Nine:  Animals in Heaven Brings Glory to God

When all is said and done, when all the evidence for animals inhabiting Heaven is mustered and analyzed, if earthly creatures share the new heaven and earth with redeemed humanity, it hinges totally on the selfless, astonishing, miraculous work of Jesus Christ. The reality of Christ’s resurrection guarantees the believer’s resurrection to eternal life (1 Cor. 15:20-23, 49). If animals are blessed with eternal bodies, whether resurrected or recreated,  it too will depend entirely on the redeeming work of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.

At Jesus first advent on Earth, God “rescued” believers “from the dominion of darkness and brought [us] into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” (Col 1:13). Jesus reconciled “all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross” (Col. 1:20). Jesus removed the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15) and promised eternal life in heaven for His followers (John 14:1-3). 

When Jesus returns to Earth the second time, His victory over death will encompass the whole of creation. Heaven and earth will become one, and nature’s curse will be removed forever (Rev. 22:3). This heavenly New Earth will be the old earth redeemed, renewed, and restored to its original unspoiled, uncorrupted, pristine state—as God originally created it to be. The late theologian Anthony Hoekema said it well:  “The work of Christ . . . is not just to save certain individuals, not even to save an innumerable throng of blood-bought people. The total work of Christ is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin. That purpose will not be accomplished until God has ushered in the new earth, until Paradise Lost has become Paradise Regained.” (Quoted in Randy Alcorn, Heaven, 104)

The Challenges 

I want to end this series of twenty-nine articles with four challenges for skeptics who reject animals inhabiting Heaven, especially being resurrected, to ponder.  

First, if God and humans enjoy wonderful, heartfelt relationships with animals in this life, why would God remove such blessings in Heaven? 

Second, if this “old” earth will be redeemed and renewed to become the New Earth (Heaven), why would animals not be part of this continuity?

Third, if Jesus removes the fear and “sting” of death (1 Cor. 15:54-57), and reconciles “all things” in heaven and on earth (Col 1:20) through His atoning work on the cross, why would animals not be part of these “all things?”

Fourth, Paul teaches in Romans chapter eight that all “creation waits in eager expectation” for its redemption (19). Why would animals be waiting eagerly for their redemption if they are going to be annihilated when Christ returns? 

I have yet to hear a persuasive biblical, philosophical, or scientific argument for why animals will not join God’s people in Heaven.  I’m certain that the pets we loved and enjoyed in this life, and which served us faithfully, will spend eternity with us in the redeemed New Earth. I’m certain domesticated animals, whose suffering the human race is responsible for, will be recompensed in Heaven. And I’m certain the untamed animals that make the wilderness wild will roam the forests and fields of the new heaven and earth. 

One more thought, and this is for skeptics. Throughout this series of blog articles, I occasionally received comments from readers who are very hostile to the idea of animals joining God’s people in the new heaven and earth—despite all the biblical and other evidences I’ve provided to the contrary. (Fortunately, I’ve received many more affirmations than criticisms!) These critical comments always cause me to scratch my head. Why, I wonder, are some Christians so opposed to the idea of animals dwelling in the Eternal Kingdom? Why does it bother these people, even if animals are resurrected from earthly bodies? That animals will dwell in Heaven has nothing to do with the special status humans have in God’s eyes, that only people are created in His image, and that we are vastly more valuable to God than nonhuman life. I would think everyone would look forward to a future Eden-like Paradise where all God’s beloved creation will spend eternity together—both human and animal. 

For people like me, who relish walks in the wilderness with dog companions, who are thrilled to observe nature’s wild inhabitants, who dream of the day when we can scratch between the ears of lions and wolves, nap in the shadow of grizzly bears, race across meadows with deer and antelope, and perhaps even soar into the heights with eagles and hawks—such a future Heaven is indescribably exciting to anticipate. I for one look forward to it with eager anticipation! 

Thanks to all my faithful readers, and I look forward to starting a new series in a few weeks, after a brief hiatus.

*  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 Twenty-Eight:  Will Mosquitos, Frogs, and Snakes Be in Heaven?

This second to the last article in my series, “Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven,” will be the most outlandish of all for some readers. But after twenty-seven articles on the subject, and to carry my thesis to its logical conclusion, I need to answer this question. Otherwise my task will be incomplete.  

 After sharing my belief in a home Bible study that pets will be in Heaven, someone asked me if mosquitos would also be there? This wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked this kind of question: will lower orders of animals be in Heaven? Although asked in jest, it was actually a good question. Where do we draw the line? Will just pets be in Heaven? Will only mammals be resurrected? What about birds and reptiles? And the most unlikely candidates of all, what about the trillions of insects and spiders that have already lived and died on earth? Will they be in Heaven?” Even Christians who firmly believe their pets will be resurrected have a hard time getting their minds around the image of insects and snakes lurking in Heaven.  

Simple creatures overwhelmingly comprise the vast majority of animals that have lived on earth, so the question of whether or not they will be in Heaven--either actually resurrected from Earth or recreated for Heaven--deserves an honest answer. 

C. S. Lewis would respond to this question by pointing out that lower forms of animals (insects, spiders, amphibians, and so on) would not be resurrected because “immortality has almost no meaning for a creature which is not ‘conscious,’’’ and only higher animals possess “selfhood.” In other words, only animals which are sentient (can perceive and feel things) possess selfhood. Thus, simple forms of animals will not be resurrected. I have three responses to this. 

First, as we saw in blog articles 13 and 14, during the past few decades a tremendous amount of new data on animal mental states has been discovered. These studies have revealed that animal emotions and cognitive abilities are far more sophisticated than previously assumed. If he were alive today, C. S. Lewis (who died in 1963) may have broadened his category of what kinds of animals are “conscious” and therefore will be in resurrected. Today, it’s well-known that even some simple creatures possess surprising “mental” abilities. 

My second response is to challenge the assumption that only complex animals will inhabit Heaven because it’s based entirely on human conjecture. It assumes that the eternal destiny of non-human life is in accord with our personal feelings and subjective opinions—not on what may or may not be God’s decision. Who knows if God allows simple organism to inhabit Heaven except God?

Although the evidence we’ve examined throughout this series of blog articles justly concludes that at least sentient animals will enjoy Heaven in resurrected bodies, only God knows if lower classifications of animals will dwell there. Skeptics need to understand that the fate of insects, spiders, amphibians, and other barely sentient creatures is not determined by people’s opinions but by God. He can certainly grant even the simplest animals’ eternal life in the age to come, if He chooses to do so. No one can justify denying this. But regardless of whether or not less complex animals are in Heaven, it has nothing to do with the fact that sentient animals will be resurrected.  

Having said this, I believe there is good reason to believe that even simply creatures will dwell in Heaven. The only “qualification” for animal resurrection seems to be (since animals are not “fallen”) that God gives creatures immaterial, eternal souls so that they can survive physical death.  The Bible doesn’t restrict what kinds of animals possess souls; it simply teaches that animals have souls (see blog articles 7-10). “All living animals have souls if they have organic life,” explains J. P. Moreland, “regardless of the degree to which they are conscious.” (The Soul; How We Know It’s Real and Why It Matters, 142) This doesn’t mean all animals have “a conscious life,” as Moreland points out, but they still have souls. Since possessing a soul is essential for resurrection, and all animals possess souls, I see no biblical reason why all animals, including non-sentient creatures, wouldn’t be resurrected. The prophet Hosea speaks of a future covenant God will make with restored Israel, in the eschatological “new heavens and a new earth” (Isa. 65:17), which will include “beasts of the field” and “birds of the sky” and “the creeping things of the ground“ (Hos. 2:18; NASV). Animals creeping on the ground are mostly snakes, lizards, insects, and bugs! 

This brings me to my third response for why I believe non-sentient animals may dwell in Heaven. God may grant lower life forms eternal life for His own good pleasure—and for the pleasure they will bring to His people. It’s hard to image a redeemed and renewed earth without butterflies gracing flowers, frogs bellowing from ponds, lizards basking placidly on sun-soaked rocks, and the countless other simple animals that add beauty to nature and delight humans of all ages. If the New Earth is more glorious and beautiful than the present earth, surely the creatures that contribute so much to the beauty, wonder, ecological harmony, and magnificence of wild nature will inhabit the renewed New Earth. Even if not actually resurrected from Earth but recreated for Heaven.

Perhaps the ultimate answer to the question of whether or not simple varieties of animals will inhabit Heaven is—why wouldn’t they? I know of no biblical reason or persuasive argument why they won’t. 

Well, we’re almost at the end of this (longer than I thought when I first started out) series on “Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven.”  I hope by now you are as assured as I am that they probably will. But there is one more reason why I believe this, and I’ll end this series with these last thoughts next week.

*  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 Twenty-Seven:  How Does Human Redemption Initiate Animal Resurrection 

 We saw in a previous blog article that the eschatological New Earth will include similarities to the Garden of Eden—only more wonderful. What ushers in this renewed creation? The Bible tells us it will come about with the future redemption of God’s people. Our redemption initiates nature’s redemption; it provides the framework by which the curse is removed and nature is restored to its pre-Fall state. The Apostle Paul speaks to this in Romans chapter eight:

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he [God] will give us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us (8:18–23 nlt).

           

Biblical theology and church tradition—taken as a whole—agree that saved humanity’s redemption will include the whole of creation. This is the great hope expressed by Paul in the passage above, as well as a major theme in Old Testament prophecies. Such a belief is also expressed in the writings of early church Fathers (e.g. Justin, Irenaeus, and Lactantius) as well as recent theologians and scholars, as we saw in blog articles 24 and 25. The question is how exactly will creation’s redemption—the removal of the curse and restoration to Eden-like conditions—be linked to human redemption, as the apostle Paul expresses above? In particular, for the purpose of this series of articles, how will human redemption in the eschaton play out in the resurrection of animals? 

The answer is simple but incredibly wonderful. As with humans, animal redemption depends on the work of Christ. When Jesus died for the sins of the world (John 1:29; Rom. 5:8), it paved the way for the redemption of all who receive Him as Lord and Savior (John 1:12). The Bible also teaches, as Paul explained in Romans eight, that the damage wrought on creation by fallen humanity (the curse) will be removed as part of the same redemptive process (21).  All creation, Paul declares, “is waiting eagerly ” for its redemption alongside of saved humanity, when it will finally “join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay” (Rom. 8: 19, 21—NLT).  

Other passages confirm this. Colossians chapter one tells us that God reconciled “to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his [Jesus’] blood, shed on the cross” (1:20, emphasis added). In Revelation God said, “I am making everything new” (21:5) and “no longer will there be any curse” (22:3). All things mean all things. Not just Christ’s followers, but the entire earth and cosmos cursed by human sin will be made new. Every animal and plant and every natural feature despoiled and polluted by the human race will be restored. Ecological theologian H. Paul Santmire said it this way: “Christ is the royal minister God sends to redeem creation, . . . [and] the royal minister God sends to inaugurate the new creation.”   

It makes perfect theological sense that God will redeem creation through human redemption. Remember, animals did not sin and nature did not fall when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were banished from the Garden of Eden. Nature was cursed because of the first couple’s sinful rebellion—and to this day it continues to suffer because of human sin. In the case of people, those who accept salvation offered by Jesus Christ are granted forgiveness of sins and promised eternal life in a renewed new heaven and earth. Because the curse is tied directly to human sin and is removed by human redemption, it follows naturally that animals will share in that redemption. Why would God give humans such glorious grace and not the animals whose curse people are responsible for? There is no biblical reason why animals will not be redeemed alongside humanity; and if redeemed, resurrected as well.

Does this mean animals will be “saved” in the same sense as humans, that is, did Jesus’ atoning death for human sin cover animals too? “Certainly not in the way he died for mankind,” explains theologian Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven. “People are made in God’s image, animals aren’t. People sinned, animals didn’t. Because animals didn’t sin, they don’t need a redeemer in the same way.” But, Alcorn continues,

in another sense, Christ died for animals indirectly because his death for humanity purchased redemption for what was brought down by humanity’s sin, including animals. . . .

As goes mankind, so go the animals. If we take to its logical conclusions the parallel Paul makes between humans’ and animals’ groaning [in Romans 8], then at least some of those animals who suffered on the old Earth must be made whole on the New Earth. . . .

The creatures that groan and cry out for their resurrection are specific suffering people and specific animals. . . .I believe this suggests that God may remake certain animals that live on the old Earth. (383-384)

Notice Alcorn included animals along with humans who “cry out for their resurrection.” If humans receive resurrected bodies as part of their redemption, as Paul taught in Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 15, and elsewhere, it’s reasonable to assume that animals, which share in creation’s redemption, will likewise receive resurrected bodies. In other words, since creation anticipates freedom from bondage to the curse through the redemption of God’s people, there is good theological reason to believe that animals participating in that redemption will receive imperishable, resurrected bodies along with redeemed humanity. Thus, animals that have lived and died on this earth will be resurrected to dwell in the New Earth (Heaven). 

But does this mean all animals will be resurrected? What about non-sentient animals? Will mosquitoes, toads, and snakes also receive resurrected bodies? This will be the topic of next week’s blog article. 

*  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 Twenty-Six:  Why We Can Believe Pets and Other Animals Will Be Resurrected—the First Evidence  

We saw in the previous blog articles that the Bible reveals both wild and domesticated animals will inhabit the prophesied New Earth (Heaven). In this and the concluding three articles in this series, we’ll investigate the evidence that these animals will be the same animals that lived and died on this present earth. This means that animals, like humans, will someday be resurrected!  This is made possible, as these remaining articles will demonstrate, because the redemption of all creation is tied directly to the redemption “of the children of God” (Rom.  8:21-23). That is, to people who have received the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

To fully understand this, we must begin at the beginning of the Bible, where Scripture reveals that in the Garden of Eden animals—like humans—were created to live forever.   

Before the Fall 

God’s created home for Adam and later Eve, as well as their animal companions, was the Garden of Eden. It was a perfect environment, a literal paradise—unspoiled, undefiled, and uncontaminated. Humans and animals lived peacefully together and both were vegetarians. Food was bountiful and readily available.  Most wonderful of all, there was no death in the Garden of Eden and no curse on creation. Humans and animals had the potential to live forever (see Gen. 1 & 2). 

The Fall and Curse of Nature  

Sadly, the idyllic garden paradise was lost. This tragic event was set in motion when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and were subsequently banished from the Garden. This is referred to as the “Fall,” and it impacted all creation: nature was “cursed” and evil, suffering, pain, and sin entered the world (see Gen. 3). From that dreadful day onward, a great gulf emerged and steadily widen between God’s original creation and what it has become today. Hardship and toil became a way of life. Human dominion over animals was no longer peaceful coexistence (see my book Should Christians Be Environmentalists?).  After the Fall the entire human race and all animal life were condemned to live out their lives in a marred, hostile environment plagued by weeds and poisonous plants, diseases and parasites, droughts and famines, dangerous animals and natural disasters. 

What’s important to see here is that nature itself was not sinful, it did not fall. Nature was cursed due to Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God (3:17; cf. Rom. 8:19-21), and to this day it’s the victim of bad human choices. As theologian Hanlee Barnette put it, “Man’s sin against God pulled nature down along with man.” (The Church and the Ecological Crisis, 40).  The great Reformation theologian John Calvin agrees. In his Commentary on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans he wrote, “All created things, both on earth and in the invisible heavens, which are in themselves blameless, undergo punishment for our sins; for it has come about that they are liable to corruption not through their own fault. Thus the condemnation of mankind is imprinted on the heaven, and on the earth, and on all creatures.”   

Down through the ages, numerous other Christian theologians have commented on how the Fall affected animal life. Fifteenth century reformer Martin Luther pointed out that along with “thorns, thistles, vermin, flies, [and] toads . . . the savagery of wild animals were part of the punishment for human sin.”  Eighteenth century English theologian John Wesley taught that animals were innocent victims of the Fall. Their vulnerability to predation, disease, parasites, plagues, starvation, crippling accidents, and other calamities were directly linked to the rebellion and iniquity of Adam and Eve. Creatures “could not sin,” wrote Wesley, “for they were not moral agents. Yet how severe do they suffer!—yea, many of them, beasts of burden in particular, almost the whole time of their abode on earth.”  

Divine Justice  

Since animals experience pain and suffering due to human sin, some theologians argue that it “seems to require that some animals who lived, suffered, and died on the old Earth must be made whole on the New Earth.” (Heaven, 386)  John Wesley, for example, expressed hope in a “general deliverance” of animals where they will be compensated after death for the suffering they endured on this earth. “Many Christian thinkers,” writes philosopher Michael Murray, “have argued that animal immortality plays an important role in explaining the reality of animal pain and suffering in the earthy life. Perhaps there is a connection between the earthly life of animals, filled as it is with pain and suffering, and a blissful, eternal existence [‘as resurrected beings’] for those animals in the divine presence.” (Nature Red in Tooth & Claw 122)  In other words, God will grant animals’ eternal existence in resurrected bodies to compensate for the suffering they endured in this life, for no fault of their own, due to creation’s curse brought on by sinful humanity. 

The argument that divine justice will include animal resurrection is a legitimate biblical position. Christian theologian and author of many books and articles on animals and Christianity, Professor Andrew Linzey, sums it like this:  “The issue of suffering and evil endured by animals makes the question central to theodicy [justifying divine goodness in light of evil]. However we may construe the origins of evil in the world, a just and loving God must in the last analysis be able to offer recompense and redemption commensurate with the evil that has been endured.” (Animals on the Agenda, 118)  

Because nature’s curse and the consequent plight of its non-human inhabitants is tied directly to human sin, its release from the curse, and the ultimate resurrection of at least sentient animals, is wholly dependent upon mankind’s redemption. The link between human redemption and the animal kingdom is crucial to understand, if we are to substantiate animal resurrection. This will be the subject of next week’s blog article

*  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.