Do Animals Go to Heaven?

Do Animals Go to Heaven?
Many people today have pets they care about very dearly, but will this companionship be eternal in Heaven? It is a tough question for we do not get an obvious answer as during the time of the biblical authors, most did not have pets, so there was really no reason to address the question. Even so, we do have some evidence that may help us answer this question. 

In many places in the Bible, we read of a "New Earth and New Heaven", as the prophet Isaiah writes: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind," (Isaiah 65:17 NASB1995). Isaiah also tells us: "And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them," (Isaiah 11:6 NASB1995). A time will come when we will live with animals in a great harmony. Some believe the animals of this world will be sent to the one to come just as we will, but there is no certainty in these passages of that concept.

As an argument against animal suffering, some argue that the animals of this world may be there as to reward their suffering, but this concept simply is speculation.

There is also an argument by Dr. Piper that as animals have a different sort of soul then we do, they likely do not have any sort of afterlife. As he says, "They don’t have it. Animals are unlike man in that they simply perish. There is no thought of them being in the realm of the dead — in Sheol, like humans — with some future. There was always the sense in the Old Testament — even though it didn’t have the clearest vision of eternal life — there was always the impulse in biblical faith, Old and New Testament, that man would not merely perish, but would have a future beyond life here. But beasts simply perish (Psalm 49:12)," (Piper).

Another thing to consider is the visions people have. During near-death experiences or dreams, some will see their pets in Heaven so they will conclude they must be in Heaven. There are of course obvious reasons to not be certain of these claims, such as them simply being made by the brain for comfort or having some sort of symbolic meaning to it. Even so, it is something to consider.

Works Cited:

Image by Patrick Slade on Unsplash

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Piper, J. (2015) Do Pets Go to Heaven?, Desiring God. Available at: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/do-pets-go-to-heaven (Accessed: 08 December 2023).