Skip to content Are There Animals in Heaven? Feb 25 · 18 min ...more
12.5K followers
Kingdom Voices is your gateway to spiritual growth and inspiration. Featuring powerful teachings, heartfelt stories, helpful tips, and timeless wisdom from
12.5K followers
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
From Loss to Creation's Harmony 0:00 Welcome to this pray dot com series from w publishing. In this episode, doctor David Jeremiah answers 1 of the most common questions about heaven. Will there be animals there? If you enjoy this series,0:12 you can go deeper in doctor Jeremiah's New York Times best selling book, The Promise of Heaven.0:17 Like most of us, Melanie Epperson didn't enjoy the bustle and chaos of moving. A resident in New York near Buffalo, she'd arranged for her grandson to keep track of her little puppy, Snuggles, while she0:29 carried boxes and organized her new space. The dog was a light brown Yorkshire terrier mix who was playful and cuddly and cute, a perfect companion for a new home. Taking a0:41 moment to rest, Melanie looked over to make sure her grandson was settled, but she didn't see Snuggles. There was a moment of confusion followed by a burst of panicked searching, followed by a sad0:53 but inescapable conclusion, Snuggles had run off. He was lost. Melanie did everything she could to find her little puppy. She kept up hope for a long time. Eventually,1:04 though, certainty settled over her like a shroud, and she accepted the truth that Snuggles was gone. At least, she thought that was the truth. 11 years later, yes, 111:16 whole years after that moment of loss, Melanie received a call from her daughter telling her a dog had been dropped off at the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter. A microchip scan confirmed it1:28 wasn't just any dog. It was Snuggles. When I got that call, at first, I thought my daughter was joking, said Melanie. I thought she was playing around. Nobody knew where the pooch had1:40 been for more than a decade, but that didn't matter. The dog had been well cared for, and Melanie was soon reunited with her long lost pet. I just never thought I would ever see him again, she said,1:52 adding that she intends to make good use of the time they have left together. In her words, I have another 4 to 5 good years to snuggle snuggles. Personally, I hope Melanie Epperson gets 112:04 more years to snuggle snuggles just to make up for lost time. Eventually, though, there will be another separation between the 2 of them, a deeper and more fundamental moment of loss.2:16 What happens after that? As you might imagine, I receive a lot of questions about heaven through my work as a pastor and through our ministry at Turning Point. What you might not know is that many of those2:28 questions are about pets rather than people. The big 1 is, will I see my pet again in heaven? I understand the emotional weight behind that question, and I will answer it in the pages2:40 that follow. But I also think it's helpful to start with a broader spectrum of what scripture teaches about the relationship between humanity, the animal kingdom, and our eternal future.2:52 So let's tackle the subject of animals in heaven by looking at the 4 stages in the story of our world, creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.3:04 Animals abounding at creation. Here's something we can say with certainty right at the beginning of this conversation. God cares about animals. We know that because3:16 animals were part of his good plan for creation from the very beginning. On day 5 of the creation week, god commanded the waters of the earth to abound with an abundance of living creatures.3:29 Genesis 1 20. He also filled the sky with birds and other flying animals. Then on day 6, he commanded the earth to bring forth cattle and creeping things. Verse 24,3:40 and other beasts. God designed every animal that lives in the sea, in the air, and on land. Notice what happened at the end of day 6. Then God3:52 said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every4:04 creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God. He created them. Male and female, he created them. Then God blessed4:16 them, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves4:28 on the earth. Verses 26 through 28. From the very beginning of our experiences on this planet, human beings have been set apart as stewards over the natural world.4:40 That's what it means for Adam and Eve to have dominion over creation. And notice that God specified he intended us to be stewards over the fish and birds and cattle and creeping things4:52 and all the earth. Why does that matter? In the same way that our relationship with god was originally unstained, so was our relationship with the natural world, including with all5:04 animal life. Our interaction as part of the natural ecosystem was designed to be perfect, so much so that God originally intended for humanity to follow a vegan diet.5:16 Genesis chapter 1 29 through 30. Unfortunately, the perfect nature of that relationship did not endure for long. AnimalsThe Fall: Broken Bonds with Creation 5:27 alienated at the fall. When our earliest ancestors brought sin into the world, the bond between god and humanity was fractured. Sin separated us from our5:39 creator, which sent shock waves through human history. In that same moment, the bond between animals and humanity was also broken. Sin not only separated us from our5:51 creator, but also from the rest of creation, which continues to send shock waves through the natural world and the animal kingdom. We know Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden as a6:03 consequence for their sin, Genesis chapter 3 22 through 24. But did you know scripture lists another consequence that occurred before Adam and Eve left the garden?6:14 Here it is. Also for Adam and his wife, the lord god made tunics of skin and clothed them. Genesis 3 21. Remember at the end of Genesis 1,6:26 God gave plants to both humanity and the animal world as a source of food, and he declared his creation to be very good. Verse 31. Now at the end of Genesis 3,6:39 the connection between humanity and animals has devolved so far and so quickly that animals were killed so that their skins could partly cover the shame of human failure. As you6:50 know, the fallout of sin has spread far beyond that garden and far beyond Adam and Eve. What was once very good became dysfunctional. People hunted animals for food. Animals7:02 hunted animals for food. Spiders began to bite. Wasps and scorpions began to sting. Mosquitoes and ticks developed a taste for blood. All of creation descended into7:14 disarray. Recent centuries have not been kind to our fellow residents of this planet as the human population has exploded across the globe and as industrialization continues7:26 to gobble up natural resources, we have disrupted animal populations, food chains, and entire ecosystems. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature,7:38 there are currently more than 47000 species under threat of extinction. That includes 26 percent of all mammals, 26 percent of freshwater fish, 12 percent of7:50 birds, and a whopping 38 percent of all trees. According to scripture, things are going to get worse, much worse. The 7 years known as the tribulation will be a8:01 horrifying period of time on earth, a time of judgment and chaos and terror. During that period, our planet will suffer cataclysmic events that will potentially end the lives of8:13 billions of people. Those events will be equally unkind to animal life. Here's what we know from the book of Revelation. The third seal judgment will unleash food8:25 scarcity across our planet, which will affect animals as well as people, 6 5 through 6. The first trumpet judgment will destroy a third of the trees on earth, 8 7.8:37 The second trumpet judgment will kill a third of all life in the sea, 8 8 through 9. During the second bowl judgment, every living creature in the sea will die, 168:49 3. During the sixth bowl judgment, the great Euphrates River will dry up, which will devastate huge ecosystems across thousands of miles, 16 12.9:01 In short, human sinfulness has decimated the animal population on earth. That devastation will only increase until the return of Christ, our savior.Creation's Groan: Aching for Redemption 9:14 Animals aching for redemption. 1 Sunday, after I preached about the return of Jesus, a little girl came up to me with a big smile on her face. I know there will be animals in9:26 heaven, she said confidently. I smiled back and asked, you do? Well, how do you know that? She didn't even pause. Easy. You told us that when Jesus comes back at the end of9:37 the tribulation, he'll be riding a white horse. Right? I nodded. That's right. Well, she said, where do you think he got the horse? From heaven, of course.9:50 I think she made a pretty good point. So let's get to the elephant in the room. Pun intended. Let's tackle the question I mentioned earlier. Will our pets join us in heaven?10:02 The Bible doesn't address that question directly. We are never told that specific animals will rejoin us in eternity, nor are we told they won't. Therefore, we need to do a little digging to look for10:14 principles that can help us make an educated guess. Let's start with a fascinating passage from the book of Romans. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,10:26 but because of him who subjected it in hope. Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that10:38 the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan10:49 within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 8 20 through 23. Jesus redeemed humanity through his11:01 blood shed on the cross. He purchased forgiveness for our sins, setting us free both now and in eternity. Likewise, according to Paul, creation itself also11:13 will be delivered from the bondage of corruption. And in the same way that you and I inwardly long and ache to escape the corruption of sin, the created world, including animals, groans11:25 and labors with birth pangs and longing for redemption. That being the case, there does seem to be a distinction made in Genesis 1 between human beings and the rest of creation.11:37 Humanity was created in the image of God. Moreover, human beings were designed to demonstrate dominion over the rest of creation. That means a person is not the same as a monkey or a11:49 spider or a whale or even a beloved pet. We are stewards of those animals set above them for the purpose of managing them well here on planet Earth. Does that12:01 mean all hope is lost for Melanie Epperson enjoying snuggles from snuggles in God's heaven kingdom? No. Not at all, as we'll see later.12:13 Animals aplenty at the restoration. So far, most of what we've discussed applies to the past and the present. But what about the future? What does scripture tellRestoration: Animals in Eternity's Glory 12:25 us about the fate of animals after our current age? Well, for starters, we know there will be animals on earth with us during the millennium. More than that, we know the relationship between12:37 humans and the animal kingdom will be completely repaired during that time. According to the prophet Hosea, in that day, God will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the12:49 air, and with the creeping things of the ground. Hosea 2 18. God will restore our link to the animal world so that it resembles his original intention in the Garden of13:00 Eden. Prophesying about that new reality, Isaiah painted these startling pictures about what life will look like during the thousand year reign of Christ. The wolf13:12 also shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and the little child shall lead them. The cow and13:24 the bear shall graze. Their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the13:36 weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover13:48 the sea. Isaiah chapter 11 6 through 9. Can you imagine a toddler playing with a cobra as if it were a kitten? What a strange and wonderful14:00 time the millennium will be. What about after those thousand years? Will animals be with us in the eternal state? I think so, and I explained why in the coming golden age.14:12 If God loves animals so much that he created them with all their diverse beauty, Genesis chapter 1 20 through 25. If he saved them from the flood, 6 19. If he was14:24 so concerned for the cattle of Nineveh that he withheld judgment, Jonah 4 11. If he showed Job his glory by taking him on a zoological tour of the world, Job chapter14:36 39 1 through 30. If he cares for the sparrows and knows when even 1 of them falls to the ground, Matthew 10 29. If he so delights in animals on14:48 earth, don't you think there will be lots of animals, not just during the millennium, but in the new heaven and new earth? I think so too. Remember, there were14:59 animals in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. Genesis 2 20.15:12 As we've seen in these pages, the new heavens and new earth will be more than a replica of God's original vision for creation. They will be a glorious expansion of that vision. So is15:24 it possible that God's expanded creation in the new heavens and new earth could include specific unique animals such as Snuggles, such as your own beloved pet? Yes.15:36 The Bible suggests that such an outcome could happen. Of course, I'm not guaranteeing that Snuggles or your specific pet will be waiting for us in the eternal state. I simply believe God recognizes15:48 genuine love in many forms and that with God, all things are possible. Matthew 19 26. Speaking of possible and impossible,16:00 a young woman named Marjorie Courtney Latimer made an unlikely scientific discovery back in 19 38. She was a museum curator in South Africa, and 1 of her duties was to visit16:12 the local fish markets and inspect any specimens thought to be unusual. On a particular day in December, she found something unusual indeed. In her own words, I picked16:24 away at a layer of slime to reveal the most beautiful fish I had ever seen. It was pale mauvey blue with faint flecks of whitish spots. It had an iridescent silver16:35 blue green sheen all over. It was covered in hard scales, and it had 4 limb like fins and a strange puppy dog tail. Latimer didn't know it16:47 yet, but she'd found a coelacanth, a type of bony fish believed to have gone extinct. So this was almost like discovering a dinosaur in the middle of a local market.16:59 Latimer was determined to identify her specimen, so she convinced a taxi driver to load the 127 pound beast in the back of his cab, then attempted to store it at the local morgue.17:11 She was denied, but she pressed forward by having the fish preserved through taxidermy. Then she began the arduous process of gaining the attention of a renowned ichthyologist named17:23 J. L. B. Smith. It took some perseverance on Latimer's part, but when Smith finally came to see the specimen, he was overwhelmed. That first sight of the fish hit me17:35 like a white hot blast and made me feel shaky and queer. My body tingled. I stood as if stricken to stone. Yes. There was not a shadow of doubt, scale by17:46 scale, bone by bone, fin by fin. It was a true coelacanth. Marjorie Courtney Latimer was a good steward of her responsibilities as a museum curator and as17:58 someone who loved nature. Humanity as a whole will receive another opportunity to fulfill our role as stewards over creation when we reach our final home in heaven. And this18:10 time, we will fulfill that role to the glory of god.In this video 0:00 From Loss to Creation's Harmony5:27 The Fall: Broken Bonds with Creation9:14 Creation's Groan: Aching for Redemption12:13 Restoration: Animals in Eternity's Glory2:28
Day 5: I’m Too Hopeless for God to Help Kingdom Voices
Kingdom Voices
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.