Has anyone told you that your pet would be with you in heaven? As a kid I hoped my cat would go there. But do pets go to heaven?
Randy Alcorn, in his book titled "Heaven," allows that they could. Evangelist Jack van Impe stated, "I have proof that you will see your furry or feathered friends again -- in heaven!" Many other well-known leaders now say our pets will go to heaven.
But do they? Let's start with Genesis 1:25-26 and verse 28 and try to get a Biblical base.
"And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.... And God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
These verses inform us that God made humans distinct from animals.
Animals can think, rationalize and plan. They all have their own languages and can converse with their own kind. At least fifteen kinds of birds can mimic human languages. My grandmother's parrot could sing duets with her -- the bird sang melody while grandma sang harmony. But outside of human involvement, no animal in the wild has changed its manner of living in the past 6,000 years, while man has changed his environment -- and, to some degree, changed the planet.
Animals are not made in the image of God. They were not made to have dominion. They were not made to be creative in the sense that man is creative. They weren't created to worship anything. But man was created to worship God and to have dominion over the world -- including over animals.
Romans 10:9-10 declares, "If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
Repenting of sin, accepting Jesus as our savior and living for Christ here on earth are decisions we make, and the result is that we go to heaven to live with and cooperate with the Lord to fulfill His plan. However, although I've seen some mean critters, I've never seen an animal that can pray to God, repent for its meanness and accept the gift of salvation.
Jesus told His followers in John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Jesus didn't say that to animals.
Something else we need to understand: Heaven is not for our enjoyment. It isn't a cosmic retirement or recreation village. Yes, there will be peace, security and close fellowship with the Lord, but those who go to heaven will be busy assisting God with His original plan.
Will animals be part of the plan? Do our pets go to heaven? The Bible doesn't say. And we must think of the alternative. If animals have the option of going to heaven, they should also have the option of going to hell.
Therefore, since the Bible doesn't mention anything about that, we are free to speculate. Also, since the Bible is silent on the issue, there is no reason to argue about it.
No matter what my personal view is on the topic, seeing pets or animals in heaven is not my concern. I am looking forward to seeing my parents, the Apostle Paul and many others.
But my strongest desire is: I want to see my Lord, my Savior. I want to see Jesus!
-- S. Eugene Linzey is an author, mentor and speaker. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. Visit his web site at www.genelinzey.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.