Pets in Heaven

Archivist said:

So, were Luther and Pope Paul correct? Will our pets be with us in Heaven?

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I'm not sure if our pets will be with us in heaven, but there should be plenty of animals and plants to keep us interested and have fun with. I think it would be what Adam and Eve had in the beginning, but end up much better.

Archivist said:

Martin Luther, referring to his dog Tolpel, once said the following about dogs and other animals being in Heaven:

"Certainly there will be, for Peter calls that day the time of the restitution of all things. Then, as clearly said elsewhere, he will create new Tolpels with skin of gold and hair of pearls. There and then God will be all in all. No animal will eat any other. Snakes and toads and other beasts which are poisonous on account of original sin will then be not only innocuous but even pleasing and nice to play with. Why is it that we cannot believe all things will happen as the Bible says, even in this article of resurrection? Original sin is at fault."

More recently Pope Paul VI said, “One day we will see our pets in the eternity of Christ.”

I know that this is a matter of dispute, that some Christians do not believe that pets will be in Heaven. I certainly believe that my beloved kitties will be waiting for me at Rainbow Bridge.

So, were Luther and Pope Paul correct? Will our pets be with us in Heaven?

I originally posted this in the Lutheran Forum, but wanted to get more input, plus I thought it would be nice to discuss something that wasn't election related.

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Gordon Clark (taught philosophy at Butler University in Indianapolis) said: In one way this is reminiscent of Genesis 2:7. As God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath or spirit of life, so too God sent forth his spirit into the animals.

Some people are afraid to say that animals have souls. They not only have souls, they are souls. Some people are afraid to say that animals have spirit. But Genesis 6:17 and 7:15, and Psalm 104:29, as well as Ecclesiastes 3:21 ascribe spirit to animals. Animals are souls. They are not just clay.

Archivist said:

Martin Luther, referring to his dog Tolpel, once said the following about dogs and other animals being in Heaven:

"Certainly there will be, for Peter calls that day the time of the restitution of all things. Then, as clearly said elsewhere, he will create new Tolpels with skin of gold and hair of pearls. There and then God will be all in all. No animal will eat any other. Snakes and toads and other beasts which are poisonous on account of original sin will then be not only innocuous but even pleasing and nice to play with. Why is it that we cannot believe all things will happen as the Bible says, even in this article of resurrection? Original sin is at fault."

More recently Pope Paul VI said, “One day we will see our pets in the eternity of Christ.”

I know that this is a matter of dispute, that some Christians do not believe that pets will be in Heaven. I certainly believe that my beloved kitties will be waiting for me at Rainbow Bridge.

So, were Luther and Pope Paul correct? Will our pets be with us in Heaven?

I originally posted this in the Lutheran Forum, but wanted to get more input, plus I thought it would be nice to discuss something that wasn't election related.

Click to expand...

Are you concerned about your pets ? Are not your pets God’s creations ? Yes, all pets are God’s creation ; this is what we have heard about God’s creations :

that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of THE CHILDREN OF GOD. -Romans 8:21

The question is : are you God’s children who have received the glory ?

Are you wondering whether pets that are tamed or beast that are not tamed will be SAVED ? This is what we have heard:

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; MAN AND BEAST YOU SAVE, O LORD. -Psalms 36:6

When the Lord have saved man and beast ? Remember when the Lord saved Noah and his family and the animals with them.

How about dogs ? This is what we have heard:
But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways. The Lord said, "I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your DOGS may have their portion from the foe." -Psalms 68:21-23

The question is : are you God’s enemies or God’s children ? You know whose dogs will have their portion from the foe.

Will pets be in heavens ?well, since the heavens belong to the Lord Jesus Christ ; the question is whether you are worthy of the Lord, as we have heard:

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. -Matthew 10:38

Archivist said:

I agree. When I look into my kitties eyes I can see a soul looking back at me.

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I have many neighborhood squirrels. And each has a different personality. Some more so than others.

I admit I like to think pets will get into heaven. But then there's the other animals. We had part of an unfortunate chicken for dinner tonight.

I wonder if that chicken will be in heaven, along with a whole bunch of other animals we've killed by proxy and eaten. They might have something to say to us, particularly if we were cruel to them.

We had a Silky Terrier called Charlie for about 15 years. The night after we had him put down (complicated diabetes) in 2010 I seemed to have this brief vision. Charlie was sitting down, looking around with a perplexed expression, when someone turned up with a very kind expression and said "Hello, Charlie!". Then the vision disappeared.

But I don't know how much stock, if any, to put on that particular episode.

As someone else pointed out, we won't know until we get to heaven.

The writer of Revelation certainly used animal imagery in his essay -

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,
‘Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.’

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Meantime I'll just wait. I've got a lot of other questions to go with this one, and I think I won't get an answer until the next life.

jamesbond007 said:

I'm not sure if our pets will be with us in heaven, but there should be plenty of animals and plants to keep us interested and have fun with. I think it would be what Adam and Eve had in the beginning, but end up much better.

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If there are animals in heaven then there should be no reason why our pets can't be there as well.

ImAllLikeOkWaitWat said:

Well the biggest problem with a pet being in heaven is they have to be a pet forever. Would you want to be a cat forever? I don't think anyone would.

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Another way of saying this is what would my pet cat/s do for eternity, what mental processes would they have or physical needs. Would they have appetites and what would they eat, what would motivate them?.
I might be able to envision (just) my pet cat catching a grasshopper and eating it in heaven but not really a bird. I can't see heavenly cats killing heavenly birds.
I have 2 cats, the younger one (6yrs) loves going out on a warm night and catching grasshoppers, and small insects, etc, birds and mice too if she can. The older one (12yrs) has been there & done that & doesn't bother with insects, though will still catch the other stuff if he can (he's great with rats).

If the younger one ends up losing interest in insects as i suspect she will then don't know what they'd do in heaven. The things that amuse her, used to amuse him but don't now.

I can imagine them running around & exploring the fields & pastures of heaven, ie new Earth, interacting with all sorts of other animals etc, they'd be in no danger, the could go on months\years long adventures and explorations, I'd always now where they were & be able to go to them quickly, if not with the click of my fingers.
They would sleep for hours (but would they??) and explore but yeah, after a couple of thousand years, would they still be okay mentally and have that curiosity etc.
Its hard for us to imagine what we would do after a few hundred years of living in heaven, even harder to think what pets would do.

Dave L said:

Gordon Clark (taught philosophy at Butler University in Indianapolis) said: In one way this is reminiscent of Genesis 2:7. As God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath or spirit of life, so too God sent forth his spirit into the animals.

Some people are afraid to say that animals have souls. They not only have souls, they are souls. Some people are afraid to say that animals have spirit. But Genesis 6:17 and 7:15, and Psalm 104:29, as well as Ecclesiastes 3:21 ascribe spirit to animals. Animals are souls. They are not just clay.

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The important bit here is that an animal still exists after its died, its soul is somewhere.
Otherwise a resurrected animal would just be a clone of the original, with a few improvements to be able to live in Heaven / new Earth and not die etc. This may be okay for animals, i may be able to accept (still undecided) a clone of my pet cats in heaven as the cats won't know any different.
However, obviously this would not be okay for people. If you are a clone in heaven its not really you, just a copy of you and you'd know it.

jamesbond007 said:

I'm not sure if our pets will be with us in heaven, but there should be plenty of animals and plants to keep us interested and have fun with. I think it would be what Adam and Eve had in the beginning, but end up much better.

Click to expand...

What about if i have a favorite plant? Will it be in Heaven??

Archivist said:

Martin Luther, referring to his dog Tolpel, once said the following about dogs and other animals being in Heaven:

"Certainly there will be, for Peter calls that day the time of the restitution of all things. Then, as clearly said elsewhere, he will create new Tolpels with skin of gold and hair of pearls. There and then God will be all in all. No animal will eat any other. Snakes and toads and other beasts which are poisonous on account of original sin will then be not only innocuous but even pleasing and nice to play with. Why is it that we cannot believe all things will happen as the Bible says, even in this article of resurrection? Original sin is at fault."

More recently Pope Paul VI said, “One day we will see our pets in the eternity of Christ.”

I know that this is a matter of dispute, that some Christians do not believe that pets will be in Heaven. I certainly believe that my beloved kitties will be waiting for me at Rainbow Bridge.

So, were Luther and Pope Paul correct? Will our pets be with us in Heaven?

I originally posted this in the Lutheran Forum, but wanted to get more input, plus I thought it would be nice to discuss something that wasn't election related.

Click to expand...

There isn't a shread of Biblical evidence for the view espoused by Luther or Bishop of Rome Paul VI. Their views are nothing short of superstition.

Archivist said:

Not a shread? Really?

I presume you meant to say "shred."

There isn't much, but there is Psalm 36. This is from the RSV: "Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God, thy judgments are like the great deep; man and beast thou savest, O LORD."

You are, of course, free to have your own interpretation of scripture. However, please don't say that those of us who believe otherwise are relying on nothing but superstition.

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Yes, shred. Spelling is for my secretary.

The King James Version does not say that God saves man and beast. Rather it says "Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast." The psalm does not imply salvation for animals, rather it speaks to God's righteousness and his lovingkindness for his elect.

I really hope there is.. but there isn't any clear scriptural confirmation on this. It's all based on hope.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

I hope they are in heaven and I wouldn't think God would create new personalities and new creatures when so many beautiful and unique animals have already existed. It makes sense that its those animals which come back.