Name: Stephen T Ferrari
Question: Brandon, I am almost embarrassed to ask this question, but searching the internet gives me answers all over the place and I trust your understanding of scripture much more than any other. I am about to lose one more of my fur babies today. While I thank God for every day I have been blessed with being allowed to love and care for all of our many animals, this is always hard and very heartbreaking.
My question is, do the animals go to be with God when they leave us? I believe scripture supports them having a soul but not an immortal soul. Sorry for such a trivial question given all that is going on these days.
Answer: Thanks for the question Stephen.
I’m sorry to hear about your pet and don’t be embarrassed, it’s a great question. Those fury critters become so close to our hearts, “fur babies” is such a fitting phrase.
I can tell you, that animals are souls, and I’ll share some Bible verses that prove animals are in Heaven. Now, specifically, do our pets go to Heaven when they pass away?
We cannot be certain.
However, since there are animals in Heaven, I believe we’ll be reunited with our pets in Heaven.
All right, let’s get started, and I’ll detail all of this for you.
Pets Are Souls
Genesis 1:20
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
We’re reading about the animals that were created on the Fifth Day of Genesis.
Make note, “life” is Hebrew word H5315 in the Strong’s Concordance.
Genesis 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.
“Life,” that’s the same Hebrew word that we had in verse 20.
One more verse and I’ll explain.
Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
The word “life” used in this verse is a different Hebrew word.
However, the words “soul” and “life” are the same Hebrew words that we found in Genesis 1:20, 30.
So, what do the Hebrew words “soul” and “life” mean?
Many things, but primarily,
“A breathing creature, soul,” etc.
So this unequivocally tells us, all animals are “souls.”
That means, they have a spirit.
It sounds like you already understand that, but I wanted to spell it out for you and everyone else. By the way, a soul can be defined as a spirit connected with a body, whether it’s an earthly body or a Heavenly body like the Angels, (see: What’s The Difference Between The Body, Soul, And Spirit?).
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All right, so this tells us there are a lot of animal spirits.
Think of all the animals in existence today, and all of those throughout history.
That begs the question, will animals be with us in Heaven?
There Are Animals In Heaven
Turn your Bible with me to,
Isaiah 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.
This verse makes it abundantly clear, one day, animals will live at peace with each other.
- There will be no carnivores.
- The wolf will not hunt the lamb.
- The lion will not seek cattle for prey.
This speaks of a future time on earth, a time when Jesus Christ reigns on earth.
Let’s continue reading.
Isaiah 11:7
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
This even tells us, God will change the internal structure of the animals to dwell perfectly within His everlasting Kingdom. Today, without meat, an animal like a lion cannot survive, but in God’s future Kingdom, they will.
Isaiah 11:8-9
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
This will take place in the future, no doubt starting with the Millennium. The time when the entire world will understand that God is real, and they’ll be able to see His Son dwell with us.
Now, to the topic at hand…
Will these animals be new souls, or are they animals from the past?
Unfortunately, we don’t have those details, so we cannot be certain.
However, I can tell you this…
As you very well know, each of our animals have their very own personality, it’s their individual self, their spirit. Their personality is not made up of flesh and bone, it’s their spirit that makes them who they are, just like you and I.
Therefore, I can envision that God will restore our beloved animals.
Perhaps, our lost pets are waiting for us today.
After all, God created all things for His pleasure, (Revelation 4:11). It brings our Heavenly Father great joy and happiness to see His children happy, including His many creatures. Our Father made Heaven, earth, and everything within it.
I know for a fact, He’s more than capable of reuniting us with our lost loved pets.
