Recently I was talking to a new friend about the loss of his dog. I could empathize, as I have also mourned for pets who have passed, from my childhood hamster to a cat that lived over 20 years to an elderly dog.
The reality is that we become attached to our pets. Some people who are lonely or childless find them to fill voids in their lives. Even those whose lives are filled with human contact still find special joy in the unambiguous love pets provide. They do not judge us the way other people often do provide a loyalty rarely found elsewhere.
So it it makes sense that many of us believe animals will also be in Heaven.
Certainly St. Francis of Assisi thought animals had a place with God and were loved by Him. In his Canticle of the Creatures, he refers to different animals as “brother” or “sister” which are terms we use for family members. This indicates his belief that all of creation froms a family under one loving Creator.
Yet is there Biblical evidence for this?
A friend of mine with our dogs
Consider the story of the flood. Noah makes a place not just for his own family but also for all creatures in the ark. Obviously it was not God’s plan to only save humanity.
After the waters fade, God’s covenant is not simply with humans, but with all living creatures. In Genesis 9:17 it says: This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.
Isn’t it interesting that God takes much more care than we humans do to include the animals and other creatures in the plan of salvation?
Other verses that indicate how our Creator feels about all of creation are scattered throught the Bible.
In Psalms, animals as well as people are called upon to praise God. Psalm 148:10 calls upon to wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds praise the Lord along with all peoples.
My cat Opal
St. Paul refers to the longing of creation for deliverance when he writes in Romans 8:22 : We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Jesus Himself shows compassion for all of God’s creation, including animals. In Luke 14:5 He points out that if a man’s donkey or ox falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not pull him out?
According to Mark 16:15 : He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
He did not talk only of people but all of creation.
St. Francis took this literally — he believed that all of creation, from wild animals to domesticated creatures should be ministered to as they were also to be saved.
Yet do animals dwell in the heavens?
Image from Quora: https://www.quora.com/Who-rode-the-white-horse-in-Revelation
One indicator that they do — Revelation 19:11–14 tells us that Jesus will ride down from Heaven on a white horse, and that the he would be followed by the saints also upon white horses. Where did these white horses come from if they weren’t in Heaven?
Isaiah 11:6 describes a time when: the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat… and a little child will lead them.
Finally, if God created animals for the Garden of Eden, which prior to Adam and Eve’s sin, was the ideal place, then it makes sense He would include them in Heaven, which will be the perfect New Eden.
Martin Luther believed that harmony would be restored to all creation, and both Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II believed it. Pope Francis told a boy whose dog had died that he would see him again in eternity and Pope John Paul II said that animals possess a soul.
Therefore if you have a beloved pet that is growing old or has died — be comforted.
No less an authority than Scripture verifies that animals go to Heaven.
I am fighting stage IV cancer. If you can help with medical bills, I would really appreciate it. Or if you enjoy my writing and would like to buy me a cup of coffee, that’s great too. Maybe someday I can return the favor
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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Photo credit: iStock.com
Pets will go to Heaven, because without them, it wouldn’t be Heaven.