Some thought this unlikely since animals have no souls; others believed they’ll meet their pets in Heaven.
This set me thinking.
Which animals in particular would go to Heaven? The good ones? Whilst the bad ones are destined for hell.
Are there bad animals? Do they think, plot and plan like humans, or are they slaves to their own instincts? Can they possibly sin?
Would all animals go to Heaven? Including the cows, pigs, sheep and chickens we kill to eat?
I would hate to come face to face with my Sunday roast admonishing me for what I have done.
What about the mosquito I killed in the garden this morning? Will it haunt me for eternity?
And all those fishes caught by Peter and the disciples when asked to cast their nets in the lake by Jesus. Will they be there too?
The point I’m trying to make here is that religion relies on Faith. When Christians engage in debate such as this not only do they risk confusing themselves, but they also risk confusing those who are new in their walk with the Lord.
I really don’t know whether my beloved Max will greet me in Heaven wagging his tail. In the meantime, I try to steer clear from such hypothetical discussions.
I steer clear of this discussion too. It's like arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Nope. It's way over my head and not in the Holy Scriptures. Just not going there. ~:)
ReplyDeleteI know the answer to that one Sparky. It depends whether they are dancing cheek to cheek, the cha cha or rock and roll. Some dances require more room and therefore some angels would fall off the edge of the pin head.
DeleteI read it in a book which I am writing.
God bless.
The way I look at it is this. If you make it to heaven then you can ask God to bring in you loving pets. My hunch is He wouldn't refuse the request.
ReplyDeleteGood point Manny.
DeleteGod bless you and yours.
Victor, I am with you. There are just some questions that we don't know the answer to, and speculating only causes us to all be confused.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you.
My thoughts exactly, Michael. Glad to see you visiting again.
DeleteGod bless.
Good post Victor! I know some believe their animals will be in heaven. I don't argue as I don't wish to increase the pain of their loss or past losses. However, I really don't see clear evidence from the Bible that they will be. Of course the Bible doesn't tell us everything...it just tells us what God thinks we need to know here. In heaven, we will see things clearly from HIS perspective and then, it won't matter if pets are there or not. Either way our joy will be complete:)
ReplyDeleteA kind of related question for you---how do you interpret Genesis 9:5? I would value your opinion should you have time...
Blessings,
Aime
Hi Aimee,
DeleteThank you Aimee for taking the time to comment. I will try to answer your question as best I can, however, should you wish to discuss further if I have missed something, do not hesitate to ask again, either here, or privately at enquiries@holyvisions.co.uk This address comes straight to my desk.
Genesis 9:5 If anyone takes human life, he will be punished. I will punish with death any animal that takes a human life.
First of all let me say that it is believed that the whole of Genesis was written in code for the people of the time to understand. We do not have that code and therefore don’t fully understand it.
The story of Creation for instance is meant to say that God created the whole universe and what’s in it. He said “let there be light” and there was. So He did not necessarily need six days to create the universe and rest on the seventh. In the Bible, the number seven is very significant and symbolic. It stands for completeness. So the Creation in seven days means that God’s work was complete. He did not work one day at a time any more than He needed a rib from Adam to make Eve. It’s all symbolic.
Adam means “man” and Eve means “mother” or “woman”. So this story means that God created the whole of humanity, men and woman being equal, (hence the rib reference), to rule over the whole of the earth, including animals, and to be responsible for its well-being.
Humanity, however, having been given free will by God, sinned against God.
God could have easily made a race of robots all pre-programmed to follow His will, and all would be perfect for ever more. But that is not the act of a loving caring Father. His great gift to us was to give us free will. Free will to choose to love Him back or not, to obey Him or not, to believe in Him even, or not.
Humanity chose to sin against God (the story of Adam and Eve and the snake was a code of this). Adam and Eve’s sin, (i.e. humanity’s sin), had nothing to do with eating a forbidden fruit or a talking snake. The original sin is that humanity (humans) wanted to be like God. They used their free will to wish and want to be God. Satan himself was an Angel who rebelled against God and he was cast away and left to tempt others (i.e. us) to follow in his way.
We cannot possibly believe in God and not believe in the devil. He exists all right. God could have chosen to destroy the devil when he rebelled against God; but in His love He decided to let him go.
He could have destroyed humanity too when we sinned. But He let us go out of paradise. Later, He chose to redeem us by sending Jesus to die for us.
So because of humanity’s original sin, humanity was excluded from that perfect world (Eden) where all was well and good and was told to go out and toil for itself.
To come to Genesis 9:5 – Here again, (as later in the 10 Commandments), God is forbidding killing of any kind by humanity on humanity. We should not kill one another. Some understand this to include suicide, euthanasia, abortion and any form of ending life.
And anyone who kills a human life, (including an animal who does so), will be punished. This does not necessarily mean that an animal, a lion or a snake, will be punished in hell, or wherever, for killing a human. It means that killing of another human is wrong and forbidden by whoever does it. The writer of Genesis is spelling it out that all killing is wrong.
So in Genesis 9:5 the writer is saying that all human killing is wrong and anyone who does it, (and for emphasis he includes animals), will be accountable for this act of killing.
It does not mean either that humans cannot kill animals. As rulers of the earth humans can and do kill animals for food and other purposes. They should do this with responsibility and caring however.
I hope I’ve explained this a little; but please come back if I can help further.
God bless you.