Will our pets be in heaven? Unpacking God's heart for animals

Our 5-year-old son had requested a family meeting. As there are only three of us, it was fairly easy to assemble quickly. Before he began, he asked us to let him finish what he had to say before we asked any questions. We agreed. It was quite an impassioned speech about companionship and friends and talking and listening. His concluding line was, “So as you can see, I need a dog.” He rested his case.

Being freed up, apparently, to now comment, I said, “I’ve heard of lots of people wanting a dog, babe. Not necessarily needing a dog unless it was a service dog.”

“I need someone to talk to,” Christian explained.

“You can talk to us,” Barry answered.

“I mean about you,” he clarified.

Excellent point. We bought Belle that weekend.

It is hard to put into words the love that pets bring to us as humans. I’m constantly moved by pictures on social media of the strong bond that exists between pets and their owners and pets and each other. In fact, if you checked out who I follow on Instagram, over half of them are animals. They bring so much joy. Animals have always been part of our story. When we go right back to the beginning at creation, before God created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs, he populated Eden with all sorts of wonderful creatures.

It was God’s original plan that we would live together with the animals in peace and harmony. It’s not unreasonable to think that if that was God’s original plan in Eden, then someday we will once again enjoy these beautiful gifts from God.

In the revelation given to John, he heard Jesus say from the throne, “Look, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5).

Jesus doesn’t say I’m making new things. He says I’m making everything new. That has to include everything God created in Eden, the perfect garden where Adam was asked to give a name to every creature.

Reading in Genesis 6, we see once again the importance of animals to God’s creation. When God determined to flood the Earth because of the excessive wickedness, his instructions to Noah as he built his boat were to make sure that the animals survived as well.

Bring a pair of every kind of animal — a male and a female — into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals. (Genesis 6:19-21)

So what do we know for sure about animals in heaven? Well, we certainly know that there are horses in heaven. Elijah was taken up to heaven in a carriage of fire drawn by horses (2 Kings 2:11). In Revelation 6:2, we read, “I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory."

If animals were always part of God’s plan for us, I’m sure they will be part of our eternal lives with him. In heaven, we will be who we are now, but without sin, so animals that knew a certain beauty, grace, and strength in Eden will be perfected once again, too. (Perhaps our dog Maggie will stop barking?)

Isaiah the prophet wrote about our future home:

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly
snakes without harm.
Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. (11:6-9)

The question may remain, however, “What about my pet? Will my dog be there or just newly created dogs and cats?” I love what my friend Joni Eareckson Tada shared in one of her books as she thought about heaven.

If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn’t surprise me. It would be just like Him. It would be totally in keeping with His generous character. ... Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy — utterly, joyfully, surprisingly superfluous.

Billy Graham was once asked by a young girl if her dog would be in heaven. He asked her if that would make her happy. When she assured him that it would, he said he was sure her dog would be there. Have you ever wished that your dog or cat could talk? I know I have. I think it’s fascinating that when the serpent talked to Eve in the garden of Eden, she wasn’t surprised that he could talk.

"The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, 'Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?'” (Genesis 3:1).

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if in heaven all the animals have the ability to talk? We can’t know that now, but I’m sure that as we will live pure lives free of sin, mistrust, and fear, animals will be raised to the existence and nobility they knew in Eden before the fall.

This essay was adapted from "The Hope of Heaven" by Sheila Walsh ©2024. Used by permission of Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.