{"id":573,"date":"2017-10-02T08:30:09","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T16:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/?p=573"},"modified":"2017-09-29T05:14:03","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T13:14:03","slug":"animals-pets-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/2017\/10\/animals-pets-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"What About Animals and Pets in Heaven?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

One question I\u2019m frequently asked related to my\u00a0<\/em>Heaven<\/em><\/a>\u00a0book is whether there will be animals on the New Earth, and specifically whether it\u2019s possible that our pets might be there too. (I devoted two chapters of the book to animals.) Nanci and I love animals, and especially the pets we\u2019ve had over the years, so I completely sympathize with the heart behind the question.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Maggie Grace, our Golden Retriever, who was swimming with us and two grandsons this summer in COLD water at Dodge Park in Sandy, Oregon:<\/p>\n

$\"maggie-swimming-animals-heaven-patheos\"$ <\/p>\n

And here\u2019s\u00a0a dog video<\/a>\u00a0Nanci and I watched recently and loved:<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Animals aren\u2019t humans, but they have personalities and display love and affection, and God creates a great bond between us and them. I believe this love of animals is God-given, part of the way He wired us as stewards of His creation. Scripture tells us that \u201cThe godly care for their animals\u201d (<a class=\"rtBibleRef decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/nlt\/Prov%2012.10\" target=\"_blank\" data-reference=\"Prov 12.10\" data-version=\"nlt\" data-purpose=\"bible-reference\" rel=\"nofollow\">Proverbs 12:10, NLT<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Check out\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/viewpure.com\/4ZWKb75LMUw?start=0&end=0\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">the short video<\/a>\u00a0below of a Golden Retriever being rescued from a building in Mexico. To clarify, I am including this not because dogs are as important as people, as clearly they are not. (Our prayers and hearts go out to the people of Mexico.) However, my point is that the cheering crowds are feeling a connection to this dog and were brought joy in the midst of tragedy. This is the power of our connection with pets, that hope is given to people when a pet is rescued like this:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4ZWKb75LMUw?rel=0&showinfo=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Back to animals in Heaven: I\u2019ll share links to some resources for those who\u2019d like to read and study this question more. On animals in general, I\u2019ve laid out my position, based on my study of Scripture, in the article\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.epm.org\/resources\/2010\/Feb\/3\/will-there-be-animals-heaven\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Will There Be Animals in Heaven?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Specifically related to pets in Heaven, after our Dalmatian named Moses died, I shared some thoughts in a blog post called\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.epm.org\/blog\/2011\/Dec\/9\/saying-goodbye-moses\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Saying Goodbye to Moses<\/a>. Since it was posted over five years ago, many readers have said it helped them as they grieved the deaths of their own pets.<\/p>\n<p>Also see this video, about pets in Heaven:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/179089009\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And in this 2-minute\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/22416094\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">video<\/a>, I answer the question, \u201cIs It Wrong to Grieve the Loss of Our Pets?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/22416094\" width=\"560\" height=\"382\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On a related note, some have also wondered whether it\u2019s possible that extinct animals, including dinosaurs, will be part of God\u2019s resurrected creation. It\u2019s a great question. See the article\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.epm.org\/blog\/2014\/May\/28\/extinct-animals\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Will Extinct Animals Live on the New Earth?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cFor we know that\u00a0the whole creation\u00a0has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.\u00a0And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have\u00a0the firstfruits of the Spirit,\u00a0groan inwardly as\u00a0we wait eagerly for adoption as sons,\u00a0the redemption of our bodies\u201d (<a class=\"rtBibleRef decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/esv\/Rom%208.22-23\" target=\"_blank\" data-reference=\"Rom 8.22-23\" data-version=\"esv\" data-purpose=\"bible-reference\" rel=\"nofollow\">Romans 8:22-23<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One question I\u2019m frequently asked related to my\u00a0Heaven\u00a0book is whether there will be animals on the New Earth, and specifically whether it\u2019s possible that our pets might be there too. (I devoted two chapters of the book to animals.) Nanci and I love animals, and especially the pets we\u2019ve had over the years, so I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2661,"featured_media":574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[149,14,148],"class_list":["post-573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heaven","tag-animals","tag-heaven","tag-pets"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>What About Animals and Pets in Heaven?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019m frequently asked whether there will be animals in the eternal Heaven, and specifically whether it\u2019s possible that our pets might be there too.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/2017\/10\/animals-pets-heaven\/\" \/>\n<meta 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