Heaven has always been a subject of great interest and fascination. It is a topic that has generated more questions than answers.
I have been asked many times if animals are part of the “new heaven and new earth” (Rev.21:1). Animals are part of God's original creation. Before the fall, God declared His creation as “good” at the end of each day. Originally, animals were never meant to be eaten. They were originally created to provide fellowship & companionship to man. That is why Adam was told to name the animals (Gen.2:19-20). God did not tell Adam to name the fruits & vegetations, because they were meant to be food for man.
Adam and Eve could communicate with the animals, which is why they didn’t find it strange when the serpent talked to Eve. (Some theologians, however, believed that it was Satan who either masqueraded as a serpent or made use of the serpent to tempt Eve). Subsequently, the serpent became accursed and reduced to a symbol of judgment. It was only after the fall that things no longer remained the same as God had originally intended.
The Bible gives a glimpse of heaven where animals are concerned. Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot pulled by horses (2Kg 2:11). In the new world, the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. Calves and lion cubs will feed together and little children will take care of them. Cows and bears will eat together, and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace. Lions will eat straw as cattle do and snakes will no longer be dangerous (Isa.11:6-7, 65:25). When Jesus returns, He will be riding on a white horse (Rev.19:11).
Personally, I cannot imagine a heaven without trees and flowers, animals and fishes, which God had once created and called "good". When God created the new heaven and new earth, it will surely be no less than the original Eden. God will restore everything back to the original…minus the tree of the knowledge of good & evil!
People have asked me if they will ever see their pets in heaven. They wanted to know what the Bible says. There is no straight answer from the Scripture. This is because the Bible was never written for animals, but for people. It was primarily written to address the problem of sin and man's need for salvation and to provide principles for Christian living.
According to the Bible, it was man who sinned against God – not the animals. In that sense, we can infer that animals are “sinless” because they do not have the knowledge of good & evil. Unlike human beings, they do not scheme, plot or commit murder. The fall simply reduced them to function by instinct - they kill for food, for survival and self-preservation. They kill when threatened, not out of vengeance!
Because of its “innocent” state, animals were fit to be used as sacrifice for sin. There was only one man who could take the place of the animals as atonement for man's sin - Jesus, the Lamb of God! Like the rest of creation, animals suffer the consequences of sin caused by man. They became collateral damage. The fall destroyed the perfect fellowship between man and animals, and brought hostility between the two worlds. The effect of sin upon animals can also be seen from the fact that they suffer abuse, hunted down & harvested for food or used as beasts of burden. Animals are part of the creation that groans with pain and looks forward to the Day when they would be set free from decay and corruption caused by sin, and share the glorious freedom of God’s children (Romans 8:19-22)
It is often pointed out that there are no animals in heaven because animals are not made in the image of God and do not have a spirit. The animals didn’t need a spirit to exist in the first Eden before the fall, why would the second Eden be different? Heaven is not a land of spirits. In heaven, we do not float around as spirit or soul without a body. The Bible tells of a new body for the saints.
In closing, here’s an extract of a poem written by John Piper, entitled “Glorified.”
And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie,
fast as she could come.
She leaped the stream--
Almost---and what a happy gleam was in her eye.
I knelt to drink, And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy…
My babies, Spunky (background) & Cookie (Dated Nov,2010)
