Find Comfort in Beliefs About Animals in Heaven

Many years ago, I remember reading a catalog book summary written by a Seventh-Day Adventist who did some research on the topic after the loss of a beloved pet. His conclusion, based on the book summary, surprised him greatly. It implied that, through some extensive Biblical study, he discovered proof that there would be animals in heaven. I never read the book (I don’t even

remember the author’s name now) and I can’t say I ever did his specific research, but I can report on what I have seen about animals in the Bible and about their intricate relationship to Biblical prophecy.

Over the years, I’ve been asked by pet owners if they will see their deceased pets again. My answer: yes. Exploring this issue involves Biblical research as well as context and understanding to various passages. In gratitude, we can all take comfort in the belief that our pets will live again – and why.

Why the question?

The belief that animals will not be a part of the eternal resurrection or found in heaven, as many commonly would say, dates back to an old Catholic teaching. They believed that because an animal doesn’t have what they call a “mortal soul” means they can’t be resurrected, live eternally, or dwell in heaven. Catholics believe that for a being to come into eternal life, they must have a soul, or spiritual part of their being, able to transcend that eternal barrier. Within this understanding, only human beings have this soul enabling them to live into eternity. That means animals are ineligible to live into eternity or to receive physical resurrection. Such was to designate human beings as the highest life form on earth, distinct from animals and plants. It also gives greater spiritual relevance to human beings over other life forms.

Why those conclusions?

When this doctrine was first formulated, human beings had different interactions with animals than we do today. There was no such thing as “animal rights.” People regarded animals as inexpensive labor forces and food supplies rather than companions and pets. People weren’t as interested, nor as concerned, with what happened to their animals when they died. I won’t say that nobody ever thought about it or was curious about where animals spent the afterlife (as there must have been some question since the church to formulated doctrine about it), but as a general rule, it wasn’t something that would have troubled people enough to cause any deep inquisition into the issue.

Animals were there to serve and to be used, and that was how ancient societies interacted with them. The death of an animal was part of the cycle of life, and that was either considered the end of that animal’s life or considered the end of its incarnation in its present experience.

In our present day, particularly in developed countries, animals are much more than a labor force. They are pets, companions, friends, and often cherished family members. They are loved dearly by those who care for them. When a pet dies, it is a terrible loss to a pet’s owners. With this shift in understanding, it is understandable to ask, “What happens to my animal – and will I ever see them again?”

Biblical perspectives

The Bible doesn’t say if animals “go to heaven” or if they are “saved” as we understand it for humans. There are a few passages, however, that do give insight into the fact that there
must be animals in the heavenly realms, and that we will see animals after the resurrection of the dead. This indicates there must be resurrection for some animals, as well, because the animals
too will be transformed to an eternal or spiritual nature, just as humans will too be transformed:

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ 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 cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9, KJV)

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 65:25, KJV)

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (Revelation 19:11, NASB)

Restoration of all things

In a more theological answer, the Bible speaks in Romans 8:19-21 of all creation awaiting final liberation, or redemption.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (NIV)

The idea that all of the cosmos awaits final redemption includes animal life. Just as humans experience sin, so do all life forms, including animals. Animals also age and die, and experience the frailty of human life caused by human sin. Scripture tells us there is promise for final redemption, and this includes animal life at the end of time.

A promise to come

I don’t have specifics on how animals go to heaven or where they will be in prophetic eras to come. We don’t have a great deal of theological insight into those times, nor to the specifics on animal transformation. (For that matter, we don’t have all the details on human transformation, either.) We can know that there are animals in heaven, and there will be animals present with us into eternal life. Much as humans will be transformed, animals will be, too. Outside these specifications, the rest, as they say, is up to God – and will be history. Rest assured – there is enough to suggest we will be with our pets who crossed the rainbow bridge in eternity.