Christian views on whether animals go to heaven after death

[Ipsevenenabibas]

After an online conversation today, it's got me thinking...
What do you believe happens to animals when they die?
It's one of those questions the Bible doesn't seem to answer directly, yet so many of us have loved pets or simply wonder about God's creation.
Do you think animals will go to heaven? Do you think we'll see our beloved pets again? I'm not looking to start an argument—I know there are different views within Christianity. I'm just genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts, whether they're based on Scripture, Church teaching, or your own reflections.
Let's discuss! *looks over to @thegreatestoftheseislove 😂

You can have a more literal view of the Bible in places and be not an Evangelical Christian. You can be a Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and see the Bible in places or all of it as literal.
I stand corrected.

I actually prefer the literal approach (not for every last thing in the Bible, some things are clearly symbolic and some books of the Bible use a different literary style you need to take into account). My church uses a literal, historical, grammatical hermeneutic to understand the Bible overall. Especially with Genesis, honestly I think you will end up with many 'plot holes' if you try to interpret Genesis in another way. I can give a couple of examples if you like but I might need to wake up a bit more.

Also, Justmerach is right, it's not about evangelicals vs non-evangelicals in this matter.

I think if you put what different Christians believe under a microscope there'll be so many differences and it's important we all stay as united as we can, after all we share many core beliefs and faith in Jesus Christ as our saviour.

The thread you mention @Justmerach was started by a poster who is always trying to prove Christians wrong and cause arguments. Whether someone believes in the young Earth creation or not isn't a matter of salvation. Believing one way or another, although there are issues that can be pointed out, really isn't worth having huge arguments and debates over, but that person aims to cause disruption. However belief in, say, the resurrection of Jesus would be a different matter as it's central to our faith.

I'm still not awake, I need coffee! 😅

I've never claimed pets or any other animals will be in heaven. I do understand your point though and recognise some farm animals are treated cruelly.

I agree with you that these things are not a matter of salvation and many denominations allow their members to have diverse thoughts on this. On that topic I myself take the Bible as it is 6 days, but don't see it as a very rigorous scientific account the Holy Bible creation story. I like the Orthodox views on this that God created the world ex nihlo and there is mystery around that we do not know. May be there should another thread on this.

Btw, in the art thread I posted a video of a log I was given by a church member and one day soon after I was given a print appeared on it. It stayed before I picked it up in a church. The Holy Spirit put on it a picture like the story of my life as it was. It has animals on it which reminds me of animals may be in God's kingdom. I showed it to a church member and they identified the animals and I never mentioned it to them.. A neighbour came into to see it in person and commented on it what they could see. This is just a side thing and doesn't need a comment. It just had animals on it to.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/christian-mumsnetters/5265833-christian-art-thread?page=3&reply=149976942&utm_campaign=reply&utm_medium=share&utm_source=copylink

I kinda think that if you want animals to be in heaven, they'll be there. And if you want to sit on a beach and drink tea all day, you can do that. Or if you want to spend eternity reading, you can. 'Heaven' means so many things to many poeple, that maybe all of them are true - it is heaven, after all. Maybe we'll all get what we want.
I don't believe in an 'up there in the clouds' heaven, and I don't believe I'll consciously know I'm there (or not!). I think of it more as my soul returning to the God who created me, and it won't care whether my pets /relatives/friends are there or not.

We do know a few things about what Heaven, or the Eternal Kingdom, will be like from Revelation 21:1-225. It's not a huge amount but it's something.

We know there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth, which means the old order passes away. There will no longer be oceans. A new city, the new Jerusalem, will descend out of heaven from God, having been built ready for the Bride. This city will be the eternal home for the Triune God, the entire angelic host, the church saints and the spirits of men made perfect (i.e. the old testament saints).

We also know there will be no more death, crying, pain or mourning. God will dwell amongst us. The new Jerusalem will be incredibly beautiful, with precious stones everywhere, because it's where the Shechinah glory will reside. The size of this city is immense - some 1500 miles long, wide and high, with 12 pearly gates. There will be no Sun or Moon, the light coming from God himself.

The River of Life flows from God's throne through the middle of New Jerusalem, on either side is the Tree of Life that existed in Eden, which will now return, and gives health to the nations, ie. it prevents all illness.

I imagine being able to meet saints from all eras of humanity! Pursue all kinds of creative interests. Fellowship with the saints and praise God. So much that we can't even imagine.

It's lovely to hear your thoughts, and i find the passages in Revelations about the new Jerusalem very moving, especially the leaves of the trees being for the healing of nations.
We are so lucky to have this tradition to feed from.
But I believe (like Gregory of Nyssa) in the apophatic nature of our faith. We just don't know. God, and heaven, are transcendant and unknowable.

God, and heaven, are transcendant and unknowable.

I agree, to a point:- Obviously human words and understanding will always fall short but God has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ!

True

I agree with the first half of this. Heaven will be what you want it to be. So if you want animals there, they will be there. But for someone else they won't be. Heaven, IMO, isn't one big place where we're all wandering around.

So everybody would have their own personal heaven? It sounds lonely to me.

No. Your heaven would have the people you want there. Mine would have mine. And when you want them all to go away they would.

That all sounds too much like pick ‘n’ mix new-agey thinking to me. A very slippery slope and nothing in the Bible to support it.

Sorry to be pedantic, but
1- surely christianity means that we are all one body, not just the people we like to havr around?
2- the people i like would have very different ideas of heaven from me.

I actually think (as I've said a couple of posts further up) that once I die I won't be conscious in the way I am now. Now I'm self aware, but I don't think I will be when I die. I think that the 'mind' bit of me will cease, and won't therefore be thinking 'oh, here I am in heaven.... I wonder if granny and grandpa are here.... oh look, there's so and so'. I think the soul / spirit bit of me will return to God - be reconnected with its source... the made going back to the maker, if you will, and even if I were conscious of that happening, I think it will be so amazing and wonderful, beyond anything we could possibly imagine in this life, that I won't care one jot whether my pets or relatives or friends are there.

I agree.

This ⬆️

Yes, they'll be resurrected just the same as we will be and have eternal life.

All sentient beings? Or just pets?

My understanding is no, because they cannot be condemned nor repent for salvation, but we are their guardians and have "dominion" over them.

Even plants according to my domination.

I view it very differently. I think I'll have full mental capacity such as never before, able to remember and recall perfectly. Will meet many Christians I knew in this life and meet those from other time periods, it'll be amazing and joyous. My consciousness will be much expanded from the way it is now. I will have an eternal body, the body we all should have had if Adam and Eve had not sinned. A body that does not grow old or get sick. There will be so much to do and enjoy with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I was thinking about animals again today. God gave them souls, so why would He give them souls only to destroy those souls on their deaths? Doesn't make sense to me. So I do think they go somewhere!

Even plants according to my domination.

No basis in Scripture at all.

Sorry, for clarity, are you saying your denomination teaches that plants have souls? Which denomination is this please?

Conversation with a church of scotland minister was to the negative, probably... They cannot believe so they cannot accept Jesus.
I had a different conversation with a Muslim Iman - if Muslims believe that when they die they go to heaven at judgement day what about those who believe in a Christian God, or Jewish God. His answer was that the go to their heaven, Muslims go to their heaven. His only qualification was that religions fou ded after islam would not, and be considered "unbelievers".
So cats in cat heaven, dogs in dog heaven and slugs....