Do Pets Go to Heaven?

Why put the question of do pets go to heaven in a book (from which this is an excerpt)? Think about the fact that for some people, pets are considered family. For many people, families, the elderly and others, who are often times alone or their children have gone or they may have never even had children, their pets are exactly the same as a valued and cherished member of the family. In fact they may even treat them better than one of their own. And the treat them as their own child. They baby them, cuddle, rub, feed, and care for their beloved pet as one of their very own, much like a parent loves and esteems their own child. So to these people, this is an important question and since God takes notice when even a sparrow falls to the ground, I have chose to address it. Losing a pet, after years of endearment, affection and companionship, can be an extremely difficult grieving period.

If the answer is in the Bible, I could not find it. Scripture seems to be silent on this subject. It does not exclusively tell us whether our beloved pets will make it to heaven or whether they are gone forever. The Bible does describe an age when the wolf and lamb will lye together in the presence of a little child (Is. 11:6-8). These verses show that animals will be existing in the Kingdom after the return of Christ. Based upon scripture, we know that animals will inhabit the new heaven and the new earth. But what about your pets? Could you also join them in heaven some day?

The Garden of Eden was populated by animals, thus there is a precedent for believing that Eden restored will also be populated by animals. Both man and animals have spirits (Ecles. 3:21). Man's spirit will live on for eternity in one place or another. Man has no advantage over animals in regards to death and having a spirit (Ecls. 3:19 ). They both die. While spirit is eternal, there is no mention about animals having an eternal spirit. But they certainly have a spirit, but the Bible does not say that they will live on forever (Ecles. 3:21).

Throughout the history of the Christian church, the classic understanding by many was that "living things", animals included, have souls. Even Christian writers and thinkers believed this. Even though we cannot say with certainty that the pets we have lost or enjoy today will be resurrected in eternity, I am not willing to preclude the possibility. And neither are some of the keenest thinkers in the world, from C.S. Lewis to Peter Kreeft. These men and others are not only convinced that animals in general, but that pets in particular, will be restored in the resurrection that they stated so in their writings.

Dr. Kreeft, for example, is convinced that animals will exist throughout eternity. "Are there animals in Heaven? The simplest answer is: Why not? How irrational is the prejudice that would allow plants (green fields and flowers), but not animals into Heaven." Regarding pets, he writes: "Would the same animals be in Heaven as on earth? 'Is my dead cat in Heaven?' Again, why not? God can raise up the very stones to worship Himself! Though the blessed have better things to do than to play with pets, the greater does not exclude the lesser." God did make certain that animals survived the flood.

Isaiah 11:6-9 provides a particularly stirring image. The wolf and the lamb will lie down or dwell [live] together, suggests to the reader a specific wolf and lamb. Using the wolf and the lamb seems to indicate one in particular. Using a wolf or a lamb could mean any wolf or lamb as in the case of..."a little child will lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). By the way, it doesn't say the child, but a child, indicating that any of the children then living could lead them. Therefore, animals must still exist after Christ's return in order for this prophecy to be fulfilled. However, we can not fit this into the context that our pets will be in heaven, since that is not the real purpose or meaning of this portion of scripture. That would be a stretch indeed, since if we take text out of context, we can make it a (false) pretext.

There is one thing we can say with certainty. Scripture does provides us with a sufficient precedent for suggesting that animals will continue to exist after the return of our Lord. He will in fact be riding a white horse at His return. And what is to prohibit God from resurrecting our beloved, family-member pets? The real question is are we saved? Seeing our pets in heaven is only great if we ourselves have received Christ and been born again. That is my desire for you and something you can achieve. [see Chapter Eight] But specifically, the Bible is not clear about if pets go to heaven or not. But neither does it completely exclude the possibility.

* This is an excerpt from chapter two of the book, "Do Babies Go To Heaven?, Why Does God Allow Suffering?" by Jack Wellman. Copyright 2009

For More on whether Pets Go To Heaven or Not, read Do Animals or Pets Go To Heaven? A Biblical Analysis