Animals In The World To Come

[SeanTom]

I hope I don’t get critisized for printing this, but this is my personal reflection concerning animals and may be of some comfort to animal lovers who are very attached to their pets.

ANIMALS IN THE WORLD TO COME

Rev. 21:1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…”

As for”animals in the world to come”, we know that after the 2nd Coming, and after the Resurrection and the Judgment, there will be “a new heaven and a new earth, and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more“, (Rev 21:1). Some Theologians believe they will be restored to what they were originally before the fall of man. Animals were included in the original creation, and it is believed, therefore, that when the new earth is re-created (restored), animals will again be present as God originally intended them to be before the Fall of Man (Gen. 1:24).

I quote Isaiah 11:6-9: “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The suckling child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

I believe the above is pertaining to the “New Earth”, referenced in Revelation, where all animals will live in peace with each other and with people. You will notice that children are mentioned along with the animals…

My personal opinion is as follows:

What I get from the above is that YES, in my opinion, I do believe there will be animals in the world to come, the new earth, as they were on the first earth. Perhaps not the pets that we have now, but nevertheless animals that can comfort us and serve us as they do here on this earth.

Also, my opinion is that since animals do not have human souls, they do not “go to Heaven” when they die as human Christians do. However, I do believe that in the world to come, God will not withhold any good thing from us; and if there was a pet that we were particularly fond of on earth, we may very well be given that pet in Heaven. If, however, we are not given our “favorite” pet in Heaven, it is probably because God, in all His wisdom, feels that our “pet” is not required for us to have full happiness in His Kingdom. But not to worry, God’s “Will” for our happiness will never result in sadness.

As for the new earth and the new Heaven, it is believed that ultimately, the new earth and the new Heaven will become one, as the dwelling place of God. Rev 21:3: “and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them….”

 

[stbruno]

As long as God is there and everyone I hope to take with me is there, everyone I have met, taught, impacted or shown through example the glory and the mercy of God…it really doesn’t matter to me if there are other creatures. That to me is just an added gift.

 

[Joel_Tunnah]

It’s hard for me to imagine that a dog doesn’t have some sort of soul. Could a creature with such a remarkable relationship to humanity, unique among animals, be consigned to oblivion by God?

It just intuitively feels wrong, regardless of what any theologian may tell me.

 

[SeanTom]

It’s hard for me to imagine that a dog doesn’t have some sort of soul. Could a creature with such a remarkable relationship to humanity, unique among animals, be consigned to oblivion by God?

It just intuitively feels wrong, regardless of what any theologian may tell me.

Joel, I really don’t believe that animals have a soul. But that is no reason why God can’t use them to give comfort to those who loved them here on earth. All things are possible with God.

 

[Sinke]

As far as I remember, and maybe I will have to sharpen my info on the subject, Catholic Church teaches that animals have different kind of soul then humans. This was written by Saint Thomas Aquenias.

Animals, because of this difference, can’t have eternal life. After their death, they disappear.

However, there is no room for radical interpretations. Bible teaches on every page that God is omnipotent and can do whatever He desires. Paul echoes the Old Testament in Romans 9:15 where God states that He will give mercy to whoever He pleases- and that our salvation is in Lord’s Hands, not ours.

Knowing that, there is absolutely no reason to doubt animals won’t reach Heaven- their salvation is in His hands as well as ours. You must pray for the salvation of mankind and understand that the worst sinner in the world has more value then all animals in the world since he was made in God’s image. But when you understand that, you can turn to “children’s faith” in your heart and make a limited- but true and honest- prayer for your pet’s place in Heaven.

Stand firm in accepting humans are more valuable then animals. Some people have tendency to build huge marble graves for their pets. It is better to give this money to the poor then to make such things. Humans are more important then living animals, not to mention their dead bodies.

But also, know that everything is possible to God. He can save whoever He wants.

Nobody will stand in front of God if He desires to do His Will. That is the faith which was passed to us.

 

[iamscifimike]

I thought St Thomas Aquinas believed that there were 3 types of souls. These are Vegetable, Animal and Rational. A Rational soul would belong only to man ( on this planet ) and there is a distinction between a soul and a spirit here.

In my quick google, I came across something where Pope John Paul II discussed the animal soul and because of the neture of it, they are worthy of our respect and compassion. Getting back to the difference between a rational soul and a human spirit, I believe that this is what is created in the image and likeness of God. Or something like that, I have to get back to work, but this interests me, I’ll be back

 

[SeanTom]

Michaael,

You are correct. I should have brought that out in my original posting. I do have a writing on those souls somewhere but have to find it. If I do, I will post it.

 

[Clovis]

There is some hopeful things mentioned about animals in a sense. For one thing I don’t thing you would need to worry about animals, if it is unjust for them not to live forever, then God wouldn’t allow it. Besides there is no proof that God doesn’t have a special place for animals, as the Holy Bible deals vastly more with mankind in relation to God.

I know that the one who posted this thread is probably very knowledgeable of the innocents of animals. I believe that why people are so distressed about the suffering of animals is because animals don’t have the mental capacity to understand there dilemma the way people can.

In The Book of Job, it mentions that after Job has searched for death more than the search for fine treasure, the beast of the field have respect for him. This seems to suggest that animals know something we don’t, and must deal with it throughout there lives, unlike humans. This seems to echo in one of Christ speeches, though I have forgotten the exact wording, it is something like this, “Father I am glad you have kept this in the mouth of babes, but kept from wise and prudent men.” This thing kept from wise and prudent men, may not be kept from the animals, hence their respect for Job after his tribulation.

 

[iamscifimike]

Clovis make a good point.

There is some hopeful things mentioned about animals in a sense. For one thing I don’t thing you would need to worry about animals, if it is unjust for them not to live forever, then God wouldn’t allow it. Besides there is no proof that God doesn’t have a special place for animals, as the Holy Bible deals vastly more with mankind in relation to God.

and in his defence of a bit more modern testimony

St. Francis tamed a wolf that was tormenting a villiage by preaching to it the Good News of Jesus Christ.

and St. Anthony showed us that a starved donkey can deny itself and his hunger to pay respect to our Lord in the form of the Holy Eucharist.

 

[thistle]

It’s hard for me to imagine that a dog doesn’t have some sort of soul. Could a creature with such a remarkable relationship to humanity, unique among animals, be consigned to oblivion by God?

It just intuitively feels wrong, regardless of what any theologian may tell me.

All living things have souls but only humans have immortal souls. The souls of animals die when the animals die so there will be no animals in Heaven.

 

[porthos11]

All living things have souls but only humans have immortal souls. The souls of animals die when the animals die so there will be no animals in Heaven.

You are correct of course, but Scripture tells us that at the end, there will be new heavens and a new earth. This does not preclude God from re-creating our furry friends one day.

Of course, the real theological answer is that when we are in the beatific vision, we will enjoy full supernatural happiness in God, we will need nothing else.

 

[thistle]

You are correct of course, but Scripture tells us that at the end, there will be new heavens and a new earth. This does not preclude God from re-creating our furry friends one day.

Of course, the real theological answer is that when we are in the beatific vision, we will enjoy full supernatural happiness in God, we will need nothing else.

 

[Jaypeeto4]

Well, as I obviously do not enjoy the Beatific Vision yet,
I have to say that in my present state,
I certainly hope there will be cute lil’ doggies in the Kingdom…

Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+

 

[Jaypeeto4]

…but then again,
what would we feed them, and where would they poo ??

 

[KathleenElsie]

There are many humans that have had animals that they dearly loved and that dearly loved them. There have been many humans that have had experiences with people that make them shy away from other humans in fear. Their animal friends have given them comfort in this world here on earth.

We love God with all our hearts and soul. Yet to relate to people is hard. So IMHO I believe that God will have animals in the eternal design. NO not the beloved ones that have passed on, they are gone forever. But, new and other wonderful animals for the enjoyment of everyone.

 

[SeanTom]

There are many humans that have had animals that they dearly loved and that dearly loved them. There have been many humans that have had experiences with people that make them shy away from other humans in fear. Their animal friends have given them comfort in this world here on earth.

We love God with all our hearts and soul. Yet to relate to people is hard. So IMHO I believe that God will have animals in the eternal design. NO not the beloved ones that have passed on, they are gone forever. But, new and other wonderful animals for the enjoyment of everyone.

Hmmm, we may all be in for a surprise when we reach Heaven. We may all be right, in our own minds, or we may all be wrong. Whatever the outcome, we will all be happy and will not miss anything that we think NOW will be necessary to make us truly happy. God has His plan all worked out for us and His plan will cover everything we would hope for, and more.

We should be doing everthing we can to gain entrance into Heaven, and let the rest up to God. He knows what is best for us. Happiness here on earth won’t even come close to the happiness we will experience in Heaven.

 

[Sinke]

We love God with all our hearts and soul. Yet to relate to people is hard. So IMHO I believe that God will have animals in the eternal design. NO not the beloved ones that have passed on, they are gone forever. But, new and other wonderful animals for the enjoyment of everyone.

I’ve heard this argument before, but I found a few -in my opinion- contradictions. The theory would suggest that these new animals- beings much lower then Humans- would have a straight ticket to Heaven. This is problematic since a large number of ( more precious ) Humans would end in hell.

So I find this problematic: that lower beings are just created in Heaven while beings which were created in God’s image, yet they denied Him, are doomed.

I believe and trust the Bible that Heaven is Place and State of complete and full happiness. As such, I put my trust in Christ and only ask for Kingdom of God- everything else will be added, and God can, if He desires, add whatever He wishes. I hope that one day I will be in Heaven, and my heart of a child believes my pets will be there too.

 

[bobzills]

I hope that there will not be any dogs in heaven. I have a job and I have to get a good nights sleep. But with the dogs barking and howling all night long, this is very difficult. Further, as soon as I get home, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet, the dogs next door begin their barking, snarling and howling endlessly. i can’t get any peace and quiet around here with these vicious dogs. i have called the humane society, but they don;t do anything at all about it, and neither do the police. When I called the police about a dog getting ready to attack me and chasing me to my car, they did nothing except to tell me that this vbicious dog was “just a pup” and that I was out of order to call the police.
Well, I had hoped that when I pass, I would possibly be able to get some peace and quiet from these vicious animals, but now you people are telling me that I have to put up with them in heaven? What kind of heaven will it be with attack dogs ready to bite and kill at any moment?

 

[SeanTom]

I hope that there will not be any dogs in heaven. I have a job and I have to get a good nights sleep. But with the dogs barking and howling all night long, this is very difficult. Further, as soon as I get home, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet, the dogs next door begin their barking, snarling and howling endlessly. i can’t get any peace and quiet around here with these vicious dogs. i have called the humane society, but they don;t do anything at all about it, and neither do the police. When I called the police about a dog getting ready to attack me and chasing me to my car, they did nothing except to tell me that this vbicious dog was “just a pup” and that I was out of order to call the police.
Well, I had hoped that when I pass, I would possibly be able to get some peace and quiet from these vicious animals, but now you people are telling me that I have to put up with them in heaven? What kind of heaven will it be with attack dogs ready to bite and kill at any moment?

Bobzills,

I really don’t believe that God will do anything that will make one happy at the expense of making another person unhappy. Don’t worry, God is big enough to work all that out. I wouldn’t lose any “sleep” over it if I were you.

 

[Joel_Tunnah]

I hope that there will not be any dogs in heaven. I have a job and I have to get a good nights sleep. But with the dogs barking and howling all night long, this is very difficult. Further, as soon as I get home, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet, the dogs next door begin their barking, snarling and howling endlessly. i can’t get any peace and quiet around here with these vicious dogs. i have called the humane society, but they don;t do anything at all about it, and neither do the police. When I called the police about a dog getting ready to attack me and chasing me to my car, they did nothing except to tell me that this vbicious dog was “just a pup” and that I was out of order to call the police.
Well, I had hoped that when I pass, I would possibly be able to get some peace and quiet from these vicious animals, but now you people are telling me that I have to put up with them in heaven? What kind of heaven will it be with attack dogs ready to bite and kill at any moment?

Yes, you’re right Bob - heaven is full of attack dogs.

And to the people who are claiming that pets do not go to heaven, but yet there are other animals there - or even better, that they have temp souls that die… uh, what?