What Will happen to our pets when the rapture happens?

[Mountain_Girl406]

Seems like since only a small percentage will be raptued, just ask a friend who is either the wrong kind of Christian, a sinner, the wrong religion entirely, or not religious at all if they'd take care of your animals if the rapture occurs.
In general, it's a good idea to have someone in mind anyway in case of an accident, etc.

 

[Willie T]

I guess not having to worry about this is a happy result of not believing in the rapture.

Absolutely.

 

[Gary the Kid]

2011, Maybe the dog is now dead. So much for the Rapture.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

I didn't get a chance to read all the replies but I don't think our pets go to heaven. Theres no verse on the subject either way. But only we have souls. Sure our animals have personalities, but that is not a soul. Its still just an animal.

Now when the rapture happens I believe the rapture is for us, not animals. So with no one around they will pass away. Obviously we know what that means they may go through. But its just how things are really. The downside to being an animal lover (like myself) is realizing that will happen to them. The upside to not liking animals (like my wife, well not understanding them as a pet) is they don't think about those things. Now there is always hope that maybe someone will break into your house and your animal will leave and survive on its own. That would be great. My cat passed away last year and even now at times I cry when I see pictures of her. We have one cat left and I'd rather it pass away before the rapture then after if possible. In the end though I can't live my life worried about my pets future when my future and saving others is more important.

 

[Mystisch]

Indeed it is a question that plagues many of us. For starters you need to be praying to God about this fear you have. It should always be pour knee jerk reflex to run to God with any and all things that concern us, especially anything spiritual in nature.

God knows our hearts and He counts our tears. He loves us and wants what is best for us. Given that I personally believe that God will answer my prayers concerning this very issue and all my animals that are still alive when the moment comes are going to be taken quickly out of this world too. Make sure in your daily prayers that you include your beloved pets and ask God to have mercy on them all and take them swiftly and painlessly so they will not be left behind. You made a commitment to these animals and God understands that as well as our love for the pets He chose for us. Let us not forget how often He mentions animals in the bible and His commands to care for them. He loves them too.

There are different feelings among Christians about "the rapture" (gathering of believers in the clouds with the Lord) You will need to decide for yourself what exactly you personally believe concerning that. Some believe we will taken right before the 7 years starts, some believe we will be left here until the midway point and some believe we will not be leaving until the very end when Jesus comes back to throw the anti-christ into the lake of fire.
No matter what you believe we still all need to "be ready" so just make sure you are praying every day.

I personally was told by my gram as a child that Christian's will be taken out of the world before any of it begins. I read scriptures though that made me seriously question grams teaching.... I believe we will have more "warning" that His return is eminent than others had led me to believe when I was young in the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 2- Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.- He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

 

[Mystisch]

When you start talking about the Rapture, you can make a lot of people upset right off the bat, because of their lack of knowledge of God’s word. Their belief was past down through the generations to them and even taught in their churches all of their lives. So, it is hard for them to let go of their conviction about the rapture. They don’t want to believe that they will have to go through the great tribulation. Even as Noah was protected during the great flood and Daniel was protected in the lions den and as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were protected in the fiery furnace. God will protect us during the tribulation. So many of God’s children do not study God’s word, the Bible, but depend on their pastors for knowledge. This can be very dangerous, because if you don’t study the Word of God and research certain words in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, to go back to the original word used and what it means, then you don’t know if the pastor is telling you the truth or not. Jesus warns us about those that come as Christian leaders. Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
E.W. Bullinger, Bible scholar; in his Introductory to "How to Enjoy the Bible", on page 6 writes:
"When we come to ask ourselves, and say, 'Where did I learn this?' 'How did I get this?' 'Who taught this to me?' it is astonishing to find out how much we have imbibed from man, and from tradition; and not directly and for ourselves, from the Word of God.
"All that we have learned from our youth up must be tested and proved by the Word of God.[bless and do not curse] Where we find it is true we must learn it over again, from God. And where it will not stand the test of His Word we must be not only content, but thankful to give it up; and receive Divine revelation in the place of man's imagination."
Even though the Rapture Theory started back in 1830 by Margaret Mac Donald from Glasgow, Scotland, a mentally ill woman who had a vision about how the Lord descends in the clouds and calls his saints to rise up and meet him in the air. You can research this in any library. Over the last 20 or 30 years the Rapture Theory has really accelerated in a great number of the churches, by people wanting to exploit this and to have financial gain through books, tapes and movies (the any moment doctrine). The rapturists teach the any moment doctrine of Jesus’ return, but the any moment really is sudden death through natural causes or accidents. What is most amazing about the Rapture theory is that the Bible is not unclear at all about when Jesus Christ returns? Jesus returns at the 7th trump, the last trump, after the Antichrist has been standing in Jerusalem claiming that he is God here to rescue you; there is no secret rapture.
[bless and do not curse]
Let’s see what the Word of God says, as Paul teaches.
You see the Sadducees were going around telling everyone that there was no resurrection and that there was no life after death. This was becoming a concern for the Christian people, because they had some loved ones that have died and it has been several years since Jesus left this earth. So, Paul tries to comfort the Thessalonians and us.
[bless and do not curse]
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (KJV)

[13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Paul gets right to the point, the subject is “Where Are The Dead”, those which are asleep in the Lord.
[bless and do not curse]
[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him.
Paul says that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we should also believe that God will bring with him our Christians friends and relatives that are already changed into the spiritual body. Jesus will bring them with him, because they are already in heaven see 2 Cor. 5:6&8 and Ecclesiastes 12:6&7.
[bless and do not curse]
[15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
We can’t prevent or precede those who have died and are present with the Lord, because they are already there.
[bless and do not curse]
[16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
You ask anybody in church where are the dead and they will say that they are with the Lord. So, why in the world would God have to raise them from the graves? They are already with him. We sure don’t want this flesh body back again. Let’s look in the Strong’s Concordance at the word rise.
Rise in Strong’s Concordance G450 ἀνίστημι[bless and do not curse] anistēmi[bless and do not curse] an-is'-tay-mee
From G303 and G2476; to stand up (literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively): - arise, lift up, raise up (again), rise (again), stand up (-right).
G2476[bless and do not curse] ἵστημι[bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] histēmi[bless and do not curse] his'-tay-mee
A prolonged form of a primary word στάω staō (of the same meaning, and used for it in certain tenses); to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively): - abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up, lay, present, set (up), stanch, stand (by, forth, still, up).
It means to stand-up or present. So the “dead in Christ”, those who have died believing in the Lord, who are with Him now, will present themselves or stand-up first when Christ returns.
[bless and do not curse]
[17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
This is a key verse that the Rapture Doctrine comes from. Let’s look at the word clouds; Paul uses the same colloquial Greek in Hebrews 12:1 when he refers to a great cloud of witnesses, meaning a group of witnesses. “In the clouds” is an expression that means “in a group”. Christ is returning to the Mount of Olives where He will stand. That is where we will gather to Him, not in the clouds. There are many figures of speech, analogies, metaphors, etc. that the Holy Spirit uses in the Bible as tools of communication to better teach us.
In 1 Cor. 15th chapter Paul showed us that there are two bodies; the flesh body and the spiritual body. Paul also showed us a mystery that we would not all die before Christ comes back and a secret that we who are alive would be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye into our spiritual bodies.
Let’s look at the word “air” in verse 17. This verse really sounds like we are going to fly into the clouds, up, up and away into the air.
Air[bless and do not curse] Strong’s #G109[bless and do not curse] ἀήρ[bless and do not curse] aēr[bless and do not curse] ah-ayr'
From ἄημι aēmi (to breathe unconsciously, that is, respire; by analogy to blow); “air” (as naturally circumambient): - air. Compare G5594.
The Greek word translated “air” is aer, which also means to breathe or respire. It refers to our spiritual body, our “breath” of life body. Remember the secret? We gather back to Christ, along side our Christian friends and relatives who have since passed away and are coming with Jesus, in our spiritual bodies.
[bless and do not curse]
[18] Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
John 8:32[bless and do not curse]And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
[bless and do not curse]
Paul wants to clarify his previous letter 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Thessalonians were beginning to worry about Christ’s return.
[bless and do not curse]
2 Thess. 2:1-8 (KJV)
[1] Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,
The subject is "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering unto Him".
[bless and do not curse]
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Paul is saying; don’t let false teachers confuse you about when our Lord returns or be confused by our first letter in 1 Thess. 4:13-18. Paul is about to tell them (us) what to look for before our Lord returns.
[bless and do not curse]
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Paul says, the great apostasy (falling away) will come first and that man of sin is revealed. Satan himself; the instead-of-christ will be revealed. The falling away is not from church meetings, but from the truth being taught in God’s house; False prophets, teaching false doctrines, to God’s people. In Amos 8:11[bless and do not curse] "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land-- not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
[bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as god sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Let’s look at the word Anti-Christ in the Strong’s Concordance:
Anti- Christ G500 ἀντίχριστος antichristos an-tee'-khris-tos
From G473 and G5547; an opponent of the Messiah: - antichrist.
Let’s Look at the word Anti in the Strong’s Concordance:
Anti G473 ἀντί anti an-tee'
A primary particle; opposite, that is, instead or because of (rarely in addition to): - for, in the room of.
Satan himself will come as the instead of Christ claiming to be God and setting in the temple of God; deceiving a lot of God’s people. Satan is going to claim to be Jesus and that he has come to rescue God’s people.
[bless and do not curse]
In Ezekiel 13:20-23
[20] Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.
[21] Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
[22] Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
[23] Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Let’s look at the word pillows
In the Strong’s concordance the word comes from:
Pillows H3680 כּסה kâsâh kaw-saw'
A primitive root; properly to plump, that is, fill up hollows; by implication to cover (for clothing or secrecy): - clad self, close, clothe, conceal, cover (self), (flee to) hide, overwhelm.
God is saying that he is against you covering up Jesus’ outstretch arms that welcome his people to him, with your lies; to hunt the souls to make them fly. It makes God mad for people to teach that his people will fly out of here. The Antichrist, Satan, will have all the credentials necessary to convince the world that he is in fact the Messiah that has come. This will happen at the sixth trump, BEFORE Christ returns.
[bless and do not curse]
[5] Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
Paul is reminding them that he covered all this when he was with them, but false teachers had been up to "no good".
[bless and do not curse]
[6] And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. [7] For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
The word what is the same Greek word that is translated as who in verse 7 and it should be who also. Some teach that the church is restraining satan from coming and some teach that the Holy Spirit is restraining satan. That the Holy Spirit will be removed when the church is raptured out and satan will come. This is not documented in our Lord’s Word. The he who now restrains satan is Michael The Archangel. See Rev. 12:7-9 below:
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Where is satan now? In Rev. 12:7 it says there was a war in heaven, why? Because satan is there. He’s in heaven behind Jesus, where Jesus commanded him to be.
Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. The word high as in “high places” in the Strong’s concordance means heavenly places.
You see satan is in heaven making accusation against us Rev. 12:10. His spirit is here on earth just like Jesus Christ’s Holy Spirit is here on earth.[bless and do not curse]
Rev 12:10[bless and do not curse] And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
[bless and do not curse]
Now you know satan is in heaven and he will be cast out by Michael The Archangel. Satan was here in person in the Garden of Eden and was around until he tempted Christ and Christ put him behind Him. Satan’s evil spirit roams this earth seeking whom it can devour, but thank God that Christ’s Holy Spirit is here to comfort us. When satan and his angels are cast out of heaven by Michael, then will that wicked one be revealed.
[bless and do not curse]
Rest assured that the day of our gathering back to Christ will not come until after satan himself shows up claiming to be God. The anti-christ will set himself up in the temple of God, saying that he is here

 

[Mystisch]

I had a complete DUH Moment - Praise God for what you and the other person (Maremma) wrote!! -- I came here to give myself some relief from worrying especially about what might happen to my 3 (Little kid's - Chi's) who are always inside the house and to our very large Child (Lab) once we are Raptured...

You quoted and said: A) 1 Cor. 15th chapter Paul showed us that there are two bodies; the flesh body and the spiritual body. Paul also showed us a mystery that we would not all die before Christ comes back and a secret that we who are alive would be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye into our spiritual bodies.
and B) "Now you know satan is in heaven and he will be cast out by Michael The Archangel. Satan was here in person in the Garden of Eden and was around until he tempted Christ and Christ put him behind Him. Satan’s evil spirit roams this earth seeking whom it can devour, but thank God that Christ’s Holy Spirit is here to comfort us."

Stupidly (to some people) I just now understand (I think) What the "Holy Spirit" truly is, and I am going to post what you said on my Facebook wall, in hopes that it might help someone else understand it too!!

 

[tatteredsoul]

I've been thinking about this a LOT since I became a christian almost 10 yrs ago. Finally, I'm not as afraid of the rapture as I used to be, but, i keep thinking about my dog, Sunshine whom I love very much. I know the rapture may not happen while my dog is still alive but, i will most likely adopt another dog so, basically its the same issue.

Part of me over the years has been like, i don't want my dog to suffer if it happens n she's stuck inside then she'll suffer a horrible death since she won't be able to get out of the house. I'm worried about her and this has bothered me for a very long time.

I've even prayed about it telling God that I don't want Sunshine (or whatever dog I may be owning) to suffer to to have a bad death but to die in peace. Another part of me is like, I don't want to be taken when the rapture happens just so that I can take care of Sunshine.

I kno this may sound like an odd question, but, I'm VERY close w/ my dog - she's my very best friend - she's not like a person that can help herself n go into hiding or what not, she cannot take care of herself if she's locked up. I love that dog soooooooo very much.

I don't believe in a rapture. But, I don't think pets/animals will suffer like we think. For one they were under our dominion, and we gave that up to satan. So, animals suffer now before the rapture. After the rapture (I am entertaining the idea without agreeing,) likely the animals with whom you have connections will be fine spiritually. Depending on how awesome you are your pet may actually be a help for others during tribulation.

I had a cat who I called david because he was like David in the bible. He was found in the cold rain as a kitten, we nursed him back to health, didn't neuter him and treated him well. I trained him like I train with my sparring partners: we would Spar and afterward I would massage his muscles, and my mom would comfort him afterward. I even walked my cat way before it was considered something important. He marked territory and found mates. We moved and couldn't find him, and we came back several months later to find him beaten and full of ticks with a gouged out eye. Could you imagine what he would be like if I hadn't trained him? He recognized us, but he felt so embarrassed about his condition, he initially ran to embrace us, then stopped and move away. We gave him food, and he walked away with his head down. To him, I guess he thought we abandoned him and he was cognizant of his condition and didn't want us around (truly heartbreaking.)

I think animals like that will be fine if a rapture happens. That is assuming that it happens and that animals won't be inclided. In the end we will likely see our animal family. I refuse to think an animal that showed emberrassment is devoid of a soul.

 

[Razare]

I've been thinking about this a LOT since I became a christian almost 10 yrs ago. Finally, I'm not as afraid of the rapture as I used to be, but, i keep thinking about my dog, Sunshine whom I love very much. I know the rapture may not happen while my dog is still alive but, i will most likely adopt another dog so, basically its the same issue.

Part of me over the years has been like, i don't want my dog to suffer if it happens n she's stuck inside then she'll suffer a horrible death since she won't be able to get out of the house. I'm worried about her and this has bothered me for a very long time.

I've even prayed about it telling God that I don't want Sunshine (or whatever dog I may be owning) to suffer to to have a bad death but to die in peace. Another part of me is like, I don't want to be taken when the rapture happens just so that I can take care of Sunshine.

I kno this may sound like an odd question, but, I'm VERY close w/ my dog - she's my very best friend - she's not like a person that can help herself n go into hiding or what not, she cannot take care of herself if she's locked up. I love that dog soooooooo very much.

God loves your dog more than you do, it's how God is. When I don't have everything figured out in scripture, I have faith in God's love to be greater than my own. So God doesn't want your dog to suffer either.

So if the dog has to stay here, God will do something for your dog so it does not suffer. Maybe God has someone come by and save your dog and take care of it while you're in heaven. Maybe God sends angels to care for it. Maybe you can take it with you? I don't know everything out of scripture where I could answer details like this.

But I do know out of scripture God loves animals, and he loves your dog and wants it taken care of. And since you are a Christian, God is able to take care of your animal because you allow God to help you in your life. Other animals might suffer that don't belong to you because they are not your animals... but if it is your animal, then your spiritual authority applies to your dog and God gave you that so as to help others such as your pet.

 

[Razare]

Also, concerning the rapture and the marriage supper of the lamb, every wedding I have ever attended, the bride was permitted to invite whomever she desired. It's something important to keep in mind concerning what the church has available to us. I don't fully understand how that works, but if you want your dog at that point (or in heaven), God will provide it and much more. It's hard to fully understand how all this works in scripture, but I believe it is there.

 

[Radagast]

I'm VERY close w/ my dog - she's my very best friend

I find that kind of sad.

 

[Shiner]

I've been thinking about this a LOT since I became a christian almost 10 yrs ago. Finally, I'm not as afraid of the rapture as I used to be, but, i keep thinking about my dog, Sunshine whom I love very much. I know the rapture may not happen while my dog is still alive but, i will most likely adopt another dog so, basically its the same issue.

Part of me over the years has been like, i don't want my dog to suffer if it happens n she's stuck inside then she'll suffer a horrible death since she won't be able to get out of the house. I'm worried about her and this has bothered me for a very long time.

I've even prayed about it telling God that I don't want Sunshine (or whatever dog I may be owning) to suffer to to have a bad death but to die in peace. Another part of me is like, I don't want to be taken when the rapture happens just so that I can take care of Sunshine.

I kno this may sound like an odd question, but, I'm VERY close w/ my dog - she's my very best friend - she's not like a person that can help herself n go into hiding or what not, she cannot take care of herself if she's locked up. I love that dog soooooooo very much.

 

[Shiner]

Zephaniah Chapter 1.

 

[Sketcher]

Edit: I have just noticed the date on this thread. No good reason to bump it if the OP didn't.