Do animals go to heaven?

What happens to our pets after they die?

A modern question

For many people, their relationship and attachment to their pets can be more serious than even their relationship with their closest friends. But will our pets be raised from the dead when Jesus returns?

It not the easiest question to answer, because the Bible doesn’t speak directly about it. In biblical times, animals were seen mainly as either wild animals, as being useful for work, or as useful for food.

So, the question of whether animals go to heaven isn’t really dealt with in the Bible. We, of course, now live in a time when these sorts of questions occur to us, because we have pets who mean a great deal to us.

A good God

Since the Bible doesn’t answer the question directly, we need to look at what we know about God, and work from there.

The first thing we see in the bible is that as the Creator, God loves and enjoys all he created. It was good (Genesis 1:31) and He cares and provides for it (Psalm 104).

The Bible also tells us that God is good and that he always does what’s right. Psalm 119 verse 68 is one place where we are told that:

You are good and do good.

And we see this all through the Bible - it’s one of the major themes of the Bible.

God's primary concern is people

Finally we see in the Bible that the thrust of God’s activity in the world is directed at saving humanity from their sin. He has a special plan for humanity that is above and beyond the rest of creation (just as humanity is the crowning achievement of his creative process). So, all he does in creation is directed towards this end.

So bringing this all together we can see that while God’s focus is on humanity, he does love and care for all creation. Unfortunately, we can't be sure of what the future holds for our pets, but we know what God wants for us, our friends, and family - that is, to turn and folllow him, and trust him to look after the animals in whatever way he thinks is best.

Original article from our Q&A section, kindly provided by http://www.christianity.com.au.