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Animal lovers believe that heaven
wi
ll reunite them with beloved pets.
Many passages in the Bible confirm
God's love and concern for all of His cre-
ation. Genesis 1:25 "God made the wild
animals of the earth of every kind, and
the cattle of every kind, and everything
that creeps upon the ground of every
kind. And God saw that it was good."
God included every living creature in
His covenant with Noah after the fl ood,
Genesis 9:16. God told Jonah of His
concern for the people and animals in
Nineveh, Jonah 4:11. God delighted in
telling Job of the beauty and majesty of
His creatures and how He cares for them,
Job 38:39 39:30. Nathan used an ex-
ample of a pet lamb to show David that
he had sinned. 2 Samuel 12: 3, "but the
poor man had nothing but one little ewe
lamb, which he had bought. He brought
it up, and it grew up with him and with
his children; it used to eat of his meager
fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in
his bosom, and it was like a daughter to
him." There are two witnesses recorded
in the Bible who saw animals in heaven.
Peter, in Acts 10:10-12 and John in Rev-
elation 5:13.
King Solomon, known for his great
wisdom, wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I
know that whatever God does endures
forever; nothing can be added to it, nor
anything taken from it; God has done
this, so that all should stand in awe be-
fore Him." Verses 19-20, "For the fate
of humans and the fate of animals is the
same; as one dies, so dies the other. They
all have the same breath, and humans
have no advantage over the animals; for
all is vanity. All go to one place; all are
from the dust, and all turn to dust again."
He wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:7, "and the
dust returns to the earth as it was, and
the breath returns to God who gave it."
Isaiah was given a glimpse of the new
heavens and new earth to come. Isaiah
65: 25, "The wolf and the lamb shall feed
together, the lion shall eat straw like the
ox; but the serpent its food shall be
dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on
all my holy mountain."
The Psalms are full of references to
God deserving praise from all living
creatures because he created and cares
for them. In Psalm 50:10-11, God said,
"For every wild animal of the forest is
mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I
know all the birds of the air, and all that
moves in the fi eld is mine." Psalm 100:
1 "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all
the earth." Psalm 104:24&30, "O Lord,
how manifold are your works! In wis-
dom you have made them all; the earth
is full of your creatures...30When you
send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
and You renew the face of the ground."
King David wrote in Psalm 145:9 "The
Lord is good to all, and His compassion
is over all that he has made." Psalms
148:5 "Let them praise the name of the
Lord, for he commanded and they were
created." Psalm 150:6 "Let everything
that breathes praise the Lord!"
Many of the events in Jesus' life were
shared with animals: His birth, Luke 2:
7, "And she gave birth to her fi rstborn
son and wrapped him in bands of cloth
and laid Him in a manger, because there
was no place for them I the inn"; after
His baptism, Mark 1: 12-13, "And the
Spirit immediately drove Him out into
the wilderness. He was in the wilderness
for forty days, tempted by Satan; and He
was with the wild beasts; and the angels
waited on Him"; and on Palm Sunday
when he rode into town on a donkey,
Matthew 21: 5, "Tell the daughter of
Zion, Look, your King is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey, and
on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Throughout the Bible animals have
been included in God's plans for His
creation. This includes the life to come.
Co-Authored by Karen Conklin,
Layperson, Zion Lutheran Church,
Hamilton, OH
The Reverend Craig F. Lewis, St.
Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church,
Marion, OH
Are There Animals In Heaven?
(All Biblical quotations in this article are from the New Revised Standard Version.)