Will My Pet Go To Heaven

I want to talk on a something that is near and dear to mine and my wife’s heart, so I am devoting today’s topic to all the animal lovers out there. More importantly, I want to answer why I believe we will see our pet’s in heaven.

Before I do, let me preface it with this, I read a few different websites just to see what the various opinions are, and I have to admit that some of the information to me was very sad, where others gave it their best shot. I remember one site gave the impression that animals do not have feelings, therefore they do not have a soul. To me, it was very obvious this person has never owned a pet before.

We are born with a body, soul and spirit. The Bible tells we are born into sin and the spirit is not of God, this is what I believe influences our soul.  When an animal is born it has a body but what about a soul and possibly a spirit? 

 In Genesis 2:7 God breathed into man and he became a living being. In verse 19 the animals are called a living creature. Then immediately after that in verse 21 Eve is formed and not described with any of those things nor did God breathe into her.

The rabbis believe that if the Bible tells you something once it is therefore inferred the next time some of the details are dropped. Also, the words living being and living creature are identical in the Hebrew and both could be translated as a living soul. So is it very possible that God breathed into the animals and Eve, absolutely or they both would have been dead as the dirt they were made from.

If I could stop here that would be enough for me, but now we need to look at what does a soul consist of. The Hebrew word is nefesh which comes from the root meaning to breathe in and out, take a breath, or refresh oneself and is used only as a verb. The word nefesh means soul but as you will see it has many attributes and is used only as a noun.

The soul encompasses more than just a living breathing person it is also a person’s feelings, desires, inclinations, life, will, and disposition, where life is in the blood and breath. Does an animal possess all of these? Yes.

So it seems the main reason people say an animal will not go to heaven is the fact the Bible never mentions it. Well first off all, the Bible was not written for them but for us and is to be used as a guide for our life not theirs. I can see it now a pet owner talking to their dog, “Now Spot in order to receive Jesus you must pray this prayer with me or you will not go to heaven.” And yes I have seen the videos where people have dogs that pray before eating.

So in close, if animals do not exist in heaven, then why is Jesus seen on a white horse in heaven, and why does John see Jesus as a lamb in the book of revelation? What about the 4 living creatures?

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