(Jesus said)
John
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Interesting that God created animals first, before man. He also said what man and beast would be eating.
Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
God did not make animals in the beginning as part of keeping the environment balanced and the disposing of dead animals--- for nothing died. The very first thing Adam was given to do was to name the animals.
God filled the earth with all manner of creatures, flying, land, and water. Then He made only 2 humans. There was no death at the beginning. The eating of animals was allowed after the flood, for there was not much else.
Again, after the earth is remade--we will have animals. And again, there will be no death. They are not needed as scavengers in any way.
Isa_11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa_65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
God loves all His creations.
Yes, We are the ones made in His image, we are the ones He died for and therefor we are of greater value then animals. But God judges the heart---and, at the end, it is only man that will be sent to the lake of fire. No animal will. Hitler will be there--not his dog. We must place the salvation of man as supreme and when facing a decision between saving an animal or a man, we must choose the man. Because we don't know the heart. When God is faced with the same choice---he may not choose the man, but protect the animal instead. For if the choice is between a child rapist who will not ever change, or the life of a sparrow---he will choose the sparrow. We just don't have the knowledg to make that kind of choice.
