Do Our Pets and Animals go to Heaven?
This is a question which is asked more frequently as people today seem to be treating their beasts more like humans, and humans more like beasts. Everyone can understand that when a beloved animal dies it is a natural reaction to feel some sorrow and anguish because of the loss. But we must not confuse emotion and human feelings, with biblical principles.
On this earth, we know only in part, and so we often neglect to address the question in light of the Bible, and fail to comprehend that all living things in this world (besides man), are temporal. That includes organisms, insects, plants, reptiles, and animals. These things are a part of God’s magnificent creation, but they do not have an immortal soul. It is only the spirits of men which are immortal spirits.
Emotionalism notwithstanding, the spirits of men are the only spirits which partake in the resurrection to life after death. Many professing Christians judge truth by what ‘seems’ right for God to do (in their own eyes), even forging such bonds between themselves and their beasts that they cannot even fathom a heaven which would not include their beloved animals.
To hear them speak, it is almost as if they will look upon God as unrighteous if He won’t save their pet animals. It’s just part and parcel of the same arrogant ‘me mentality’ which is sweeping over most of our Churches today, and degrading the historical Church. The rebellious attitude that life is all about how I feel, or about what I want, or about how I see things. Man’s spiritual eyes should never be focused on his pets (indeed, upon himself) where he loves the creation more than the creator. His eyes should be squarely on the great Shepherd, and the commission we have been given to feed His Sheep. That should be our hope, and that is what is lacking in our Churches today.
The thought of spending eternity along with our beloved pets may be a temporal comfort as we are in the flesh, but we are losing sight of where our real joy and comfort should come from. It doesn’t come from me and my relationship to my pet in heaven, or even my loved ones in heaven, but my relationship with Christ.