Do Pets Go to Heaven? What the Bible Really Says 🐾

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey my friends, welcome toBehind the Mike Podcast,

(00:02):
I'm Mike Stone.
Today's episodemight tug at your heart
a little bit,because we're talking
about somethingthat almost all of us
have wondered at some point,do pets go to heaven?
I'll be honest with you,this isn't a
theological question.
It's more of anemotional question.
If you've ever hadto say goodbye to a dog, a cat,

(00:23):
or even a hamsterthat your kids loved, you know
the heartachethat it leaves behind.
So I think about most recently,two Dobermans that we had.
Dobermans tend to have thisbad rap for being,
junkyard dogs and an evil angryterrier face off kind of dogs,

(00:47):
but they're not that way.
In fact, our dogs,to my surprise, were big babies.
They love to cuddle.
They wanted attentionall the time.
So two years ago, we lost ourbiggest, oldest Doberman, Rocky.
Rocky was, he was kind of the,stubborn dog

(01:12):
who got what he wanted,or he was going to pout.
He was not a good dog,but we loved him
more than life itself.
A couple of years later, we gotLucy, who was another
rescue Doberman,and the two of them, they were
the center of the family.
And, two years ago,we had to put Rocky down.

(01:36):
He was sufferingfrom a lot of stuff.
And then almost a yearto the day later, Lucy had,
a heart condition and, you know,after we lost her,
I really felt like.
God. Do.
Do these dogs go to heaven?
And over the years,I've always said, no,

(01:58):
they don't have souls.
They're just animals.
But after losing bothof our dogs, I began to search
and really wanted to knowwhat the answer really was.
So today I want to wrestlewith this. Honestly.
I want to I want to searchfor what the scriptures say.

(02:18):
What doesn't it say?
And what kind ofhope can we have when it comes
to seeing our pets again?
Let's start off by looking atwhat the Bible says now.
First, let's acknowledge this.
The Bible doesn't have a versethat says, yes, Fluffy.

(02:39):
The cat willbe waiting at heaven's
gates when you arrive.
But what it does give usare some important truths
that help us think aboutthis question.
Let's start with creationand the value of animals.
In Genesis 1, God createsthe animals, land, animals, sea
creatures, birds.

(03:02):
And he looks at themand he says, it is good.
Not it's okaynot, it's disposable.
But good.
In Genesis 2Adam names the animals.
That's not justa biological assignment.
It's a relationship.
Stewardship, partnership.
How about God'scare for animals?
Psalm 50 says, every beastof the forest is mine.

(03:27):
The cattle on a thousand hills.
God doesn't treat animalsas an afterthought.
They belong to him.
Let's go to the New Testament.
Jesus said

in Matthew 10 (03:39):
29, not even a sparrow
falls to the ground without yourfather knowing.
Think about that.
If God notices a sparrow,surely he notices the loss
of your golden retriever.

Jonah 4 (03:55):
11 says, When God showed
compassion on Nineveh,he specifically mentions
the many animals.
Now let's talkabout the question
of their soul.
Ecclesiastes 3 raisesthis interesting question,
and it says, who knowsif the spirit of man goes upward

(04:17):
and the spirit of the beastgoes down into the earth.
In other words, maybe there isa difference.
Maybe not.
Humanity is clearly unique.
Genesis says we are madein God's image
and that sets us apartfrom animals.
But that doesn't meananimals are excluded

(04:38):
from God's eternal plan.
Let's look at propheticand redemptive hints
in Scripture.
Isaiah 11 gives us thatbeautiful picture
of the kingdom of God.
Wolves and lambs together.
Lions eating straw like oxen.

(04:59):
Children playing with snakeswithout harm.
It's poetic, yes, but it paintsa picture of animals
being a part ofGod's restored creation.
Back to the New Testament.
Romans 8 says, all creationgroans, waiting for redemption.

(05:20):
It doesn't sound likeGod is only concerned
with people.
It's cosmic in scope.
Revelation 21 promisesa new heaven and a new earth.
Not just souls floating intothe clouds,
but a renewed creation.
That sure seems toinclude animals.

(05:40):
So the Biblegives us some hints.
No direct guarantees,but definitely strong reasons
to believe that animals area part of God's eternal picture.
Let's look at sometheological reflections.
Early church perspectives.

(06:01):
Some some early thinkers likeAugustine and Aquinas,
focused on humanity alone,having eternal souls.
They lean towardsno pets in heaven, but others,
especially EasternChristianity, saw the renewal
of all creationas including animals.

(06:23):
One of my favorite authors, C.S.
Lewis, in his bookThe Problem of Pain, suggested
something fascinating.
Maybe pets live on throughtheir relationship
with redeemed humans.
In other words,they're caught up
in our redemptionbecause of the love and the bond

(06:45):
that we shared.
Now, I don't knowif that's how it works,
but after losing our dogs,it's a beautiful thought.
I'm sure a lot of you out therecan relate as well.
Some modern voices in this.
Randy Alcorn in his book Heavenmakes a strong Biblical case

(07:05):
for animals being a partof eternity.
He points out that God doesn'tscrap his creation.
He restores it.
If God's going to makeall things new, why wouldn't
he create animals to be there?
Now?
Back to having souls again,but this time with humans.

(07:29):
To be clear,humans are distinct.
We bear the image of God.
Our salvation is tied toJesus death and resurrection.
But let's not make the mistakeof shrinking God's plan.
Redemption is biggerthan just people.
It's about all creationbeing made new.

(07:50):
So let's look at the pastoraland the emotional application
of this.
This is where it gets personal.
When you lose a pet, it's notsilly to grieve.
Don't let anyone tell youit's just a dog.

(08:10):
Get over it.
Now that was a gift from God,a companion, a source of joy.
And the grief is real.
I probably will never forgetthe loss of those two dogs.
God cares about that grief.
If he notices the sparrow,he notices your tears.

(08:32):
When you bury your catin the backyard.
And here's the hope.

Romans 8 (08:39):
32 says, he who did not spare
his own son, but gave him upfor us all, how would he not
also graciouslygive up all things?
If God was willingto give His Son for you?
Don't you thinkhis eternal kingdom

(09:00):
will be even richerand more joyful, more complete
than we can imagine?
Now, do I have a Bibleverse that says, yes, Rocky
will meet you atthe Pearly gates? No, but I
do believe God is good enough.
He's loving enough,and he's creative enough

(09:21):
to restore everythingthat is good.
I do think of it this way.
Nothing trulygood is lost in Christ,
and our pets are good gifts.
Let's take a lookat a broader worldview.
So let's zoom out for a second.

(09:44):
Why do we love our pets so much?
Because they reflect somethingof God's character.
Many of you can attestto that loyalty, joy, comfort,
companionship.
Creation itself points backto the creator.

(10:07):
So when we ask if petswill be in heaven,
we're really asking,what kind of a god
do we believe in?
A stingy God who says,I only care about saving
human souls,or a God of abundance
who says, behold,I make all things new.
The Bible paintsthe second picture

(10:30):
a God of overflowing goodness.
That's my take.
After researchingDo pets Go to Heaven?
We don't know.
And I don't havea definite answer.
So do pets go to heaven?
We don't have a versethat says it directly,

(10:52):
but we do have a Godwho created animals.
Who cares for them.
Who promises to redeem creation.
And it was far more generousthan we can imagine.
So if you've lost a pet.
Take comfort.
Grieve. Yes.
But also hope.

(11:14):
Because God sees you.
He loves you.
And his eternal plan is biggerthan any of us can imagine.
At the end of the day,our ultimate hope isn't whether
Fido will be there.
Our ultimate hope is in the Godwho promises.

(11:37):
Behold, I am makingall things new.
That's a God worth trusting.
Hopefully this helped you.
Thank you for joining me todayon Behind the Mike Podcast.
Look, if this encouraged you,do me a favor.
Share it with a friendwho may be grieving
the loss of a pet.

(11:57):
Click the subscribe button.
That helps so much.
And as always,keep seeking Jesus.
Keep living with hopeand keep looking forward
to the day when everything sadbecomes untrue.

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Do Pets Go to Heaven? What the Bible Really Says 🐾

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