Posted on 08/20/2006 5:44:49 AM PDT by Gamecock
Edited on 08/21/2006 10:36:56 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Some years ago, my family adopted a kitten. He was so gray—even his eyes—that we named him Charcoal. We took to him right away, and he became our faithful companion and friend, living with us for years, moving with us three times. Like one of the family, he loved us and we loved him.
One sunny morning, we let Charcoal out to romp in our yard, one of his favorite pastimes. Later, when we called him, he was nowhere to be found. We searched the neighborhood, calling his name. We made signs and posted them. We advertised in the newspaper. Finally, someone answered our ad and explained that Charcoal had been hit by a car not far from our home. Not knowing who the owner was, the person who found him had kindly disposed of his body. And that was the end of poor Charcoal.
Or was it? Do you ever wonder if animals have an afterlife? Have you ever had a beloved pet die? Will you see your pet in heaven?
People generally assume not. The Bible certainly doesn't teach it. But the Bible doesn't deny it either. And the Bible does teach some other things that might bear on the question.
For one thing, the Bible teaches that animals aren't guilty of sin. It was human sin, not theirs, that caused God to place a curse on creation, subjecting all living things to frustration and eventual death.[1] That's because God created the first human, Adam, in a position of responsibility over the world. When Adam disobeyed God, he did so as head of humanity and the world. This is why the consequences of sin—including death—came not just upon Adam, but upon his descendants and the whole earth.
But the good news is that God has sent a "second Adam." The Bible says that just as sin and death came into the world through the first Adam, forgiveness and eternal life come into the world through the "last Adam," the God-man, Jesus Christ.[2] The Bible says that all things continue to hold together in Christ.[3] And according to his eternal plan, God will gather together all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.[4] God's covenant promise to Noah embraced even the animal kingdom.[5] Ultimately, Jesus Christ is the One who fulfills that promise. Through him, the whole creation itself will share in the glorious liberty of the children of God.[6]
Will that include our specific animal friends, like Charcoal? Will our pets go to heaven? I'd like to hope so. But the fact is, I don't know. I do know this, though. You definitely will not see your pet in heaven unless you go there yourself!
Are you going to heaven? That's the real question! And you don't have forever to answer it. "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment."[7] Are you ready? Are you going to heaven? Now is the time for you to make sure!
[1] Romans 8:20—"For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope...."
[2] 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 45—"For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.... Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit."
[3] Colossians 1:16-17—"For by him [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
[4] Ephesians 1:9-10—"...making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."
[5] Genesis 9:8-17—"Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 'Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.' And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.' God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.' "
[6] Romans 8:18-22—"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now."
[7] Hebrews 9:27—"...it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment...."
I was kinda' hoping that heaven would be BJC free, however reuniting with my beloved Tinker, Snoopy, Sitka, and Bear is enticing.
If there are no animals in heaven, then heaven can not possibly be heaven.
And here I though Heaven was about God.
All I know is that if there are animals in heaven, my wife will be in charge of the squirrels.
True, but Scripture makes it clear that God isn't the only person in Heaven. Angels are there, for instance, and saints. In Heaven, we will be perfectly happy; only God knows what we need to be perfectly happy. Pets on earth serve as a substitute for the love we don't receive from other people, and the love we don't feel we receive from God. Obviously that won't be a problem in Heaven, where we will all be perfected in love, like our Lord.
Ultimately, at the end of time, there will be "new heavens and a new earth," where God will dwell among men. Will there be animals? I don't know, but the fact that God created animals for man at the beginning suggests that they'd be included in the renewal of creation at the end. He must have believed that the animals would be of benefit to man, and it wasn't as food or labor, at least before the Fall.
Of course, it says Revelation 22:15 that dogs will be outside the Heavenly Jerusalem, and that's fine with me. They poop all over the place, and bark when you're trying to sleep, or just walking by on the sidewalk. My cat never went into a frenzy because someone wanted to go to their own mailbox!
It would be downright blasphemous to think otherwise. ; )
Thank you for the ping FRiend
One of those "by and by" questions (as in "We'll understand it better, by and by").
If "lion will lie down with the lamb" is not metaphorical, then animals will be in the Kingdom.
However, we do know this: Heaven will be complete, and there will be no regrets nor unhappiness.
"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (I Cor 2:9b (ESV)
And my dog wishes to register a protest. She is so modest that she backs under a bush before she poops (I always pick it up anyway.) She only barks when the doorbell rings (just to let me know somebody's there), and she sleeps peacefully on the foot of the bed until the alarm clock goes off. She does raid the garbage can occasionally, but she is always sincerely repentant afterwards.
I've also read that the word rendered in English as "dog" in a couple of places actually means "homosexual prostitute."
I can only assume that there will be no untoward barking in heaven, or it wouldn't be heaven to me! (My cat was known to piddle on the bathroom floor when in a bad mood, and she walked on the kitchen counters at night.)
I don't know the context of the passage, and I doubt if the passage expands on this but my gut feelings are that the context of the passage is that ox's would by nature not gore a person to death unless they extremely felt threatened and were boxed into a corner which I don't think the context of the passage is talking about, but I wouldn't even really know about that. My gut feelings are that if the ox were to gore someone there probably was something seriously wrong with the ox medically. Kind of like a family pet dog, if your family pet dog starts attacking even the humans that it lives with something serious is wrong with the animal like rabbies.
Since the bible is silent on this, Lewis' speculations, a lot like Roman Catholic arguments from natural law, are interesting--and may well shed light on the issue. Lewis reasons that it is in the nature of love to love what is loved by your beloved. If you really love a woman who likes the color red for example, you too will soon become fond of red also--even if you never were before--for it reminds you of your beloved. In the same way if we love a creature especially--appreciating what the Creator put in that creature, than our Father the Creator will also have a special love for that particular creature. This means that a bear in the middle of the woods who dies a brutal death in the wilderness may well not have any eternal existance, but a beloved pet of a believer will...
Interesting speculation--if taken that way (as Lewis intended)--in any event.
This is the first genuine reformed reflection I've seen on that, and I'm glad it comes from the OPC. I agree too that no animal can commit a sin, since they never had any choice in the matter. As far as R.C. Sproul's speculation that killing a killer animal proves some sort of guilt--that's a silly argument. It's simply a practical matter that an animal that has killed is very much at risk of killing again--hence must be eliminated.
*That's a joke guys, Lewis--at least on predestination--was anything but reformed--on other issues though, coming from the Anglican church, I think he did show reformed instincts.
Obviously. Pets are what Heaven is about. As Boethius put it,the complete possession all at once of illimitable life, is incomplete without my goldfish, Gil.
When I think of all of the people I will be reunited with in Heaven, my kitties of the past are with them, waiting for me.
Ping.
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