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Interesting question, and one that is often asked, especially by children who want their pets in heaven. Well, we can’t be 100% sure, but it seems as if the answer is yes! If you follow the logic of the passages of Scripture below, it looks as if animals will be part of heaven, which is sort of what we expect.
In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, God put the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and also filled it with animals. If we now look at the promise given in Revelation 2: 7, “it says that those who get to heaven will eat of the tree of life, which is in the middle of the Paradise of God.” And then again in Revelation 22, in describing Heaven, it mentions the tree of life. It seems therefore as if God transplanted the Garden of Eden into Heaven, or at least created something very similar there. It doesn’t mention animals specifically, but animals were definitely part of Paradise, so should be part of the new Paradise.
Genesis 2: 8 “The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.”
Revelation 2: 7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
Revelation 22: 1 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
And then we also have Isaiah’s vision of what would happen in Heaven, where he mentions a large group of animals. Of course, it is possible that he is talking here about the New Earth, in which case you would be correct. But my personal belief is that Heaven without animals seems a pretty boring place, especially for children.
Isaiah 11: 6 “ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, ?The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; ?Their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ? 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, ?And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.”
So, all in all, I would say that the evidence supports animals being part of the Heavenly home which is waiting for us. Exiting! All we have to do now is accept Jesus’ invitation and be there, in the place He has prepared for us.
John 14: 1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
I hope to see you in heaven, playing with the animals. God bless!
