Animal Afterlife: Do all Dogs go to Heaven?

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." --Anatole France.

I have spiritual dreams - visions in the night that come from the Holy Spirit. (At least two thirds of the prophecy in the Bible is delivered to humankind this way.) I do not have them often, but when I do they have some very special meaning, a message that oftentimes I believe I'm suppose to pass on. In one such vision a few years ago I saw my late, great brother, Michael, a naval topgun who died in Christ of brain cancer at the age of 53, sitting in a beautiful wooded clearing in Heaven. To my surprised delight, his beloved bulldog, Oatis, who passed on a few years earlier, was resting next to him.

I cannot tell you the joy it brought into my heart! For me, it was divine affirmation of something I already believed: Not that my good brother was in paradise, I already knew that, but that animals are in heaven with him, including our pets.

I am certainly not the first person who believes this piece of good news. In the West we sometimes forget that Hindu and Buddhist cultures - about a third of the planet - think that not only do animals have immortal souls, many are their relatives.

The Christian world is also awash with people who think that animals have a place in heaven as well as on earth. To name a few: Martin Luther, St. Francis of Assisi, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the Rev. Billy Graham, and the humungobillions of folks who have turned to the internet to explore this truth. These include the Troy, Michigan, based Christian televangelists Dr. Jack and Rexella Van Impe, who's sites offers a really great book and video review guide on the subject, and related fields, from around the world. (Any animal lover who has lost a beloved pet and is wondering if they will join them in the afterlife should give this site a good, long visit.)

The Van Impe's rightly point out that Holy Scriptures are filled with references to animals - indeed, there are too many to relate in this short article - over a hundred species are mentioned in the Bible. God's covenant with Noah included the animals. In the Revelation we find Jesus Christ coming down from Heaven astride a horse. And in Mathew 10: 29-31 and Luke 12: 6-7 Jesus Christ states that a sparrow never falls to earth without God's knowing it, telling us that God refuses to forget a single one of his creatures, no matter how small or insignificant. The fourth commandment recorded in Deuteronomy 5: 12-15 includes a day of rest for animals. "All things" in passages like Acts 3: 19-21, Philippians 3:20-21, Hebrews 2:8, and Revelation 21:5 surely includes animals. And Romans 8: 18-25 certainly includes animals as part of "the creation." That God takes care of both men and animals can also be seen in Mathew 6:26 and Psalm 104:14, 27-30.

Animals are obviously an important part of God's creation. And many of these references clearly support the belief that animals, including our pets, have a place in heaven. The first can be found in Genesis:

1. In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth...

24. And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.

25. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."

So we see that God created all the animals as well as ourselves. Animals are a part of creation and the Bible tells us in Romans 8: 21-23 that ALL creation shall one day be liberated from the bondage of this world.

21. that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

23. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Indeed, we can look to Isaiah 11: 6-8 to see animals in the Millennial Reign: :

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.

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.

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.

The Revelation tells us there are animals in Heaven:

Revelation 4:

7. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

8. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

9. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever.

Revelation 5:

11. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

13. Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

14. The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Luke 3 informs us:

6. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Animals are flesh and bone, just like us, so they will be redeemed in Heaven, just like us. And remember that animals don't have original sin. Unlike us, ALL of them are worthy of heaven! All. (Including your four-legged honeypot and my brother's dear Oatis.)

Let us also look at 1 Corithians Chapter 2 for affirmation that animals, including our pets, are in heaven. Here we find that in God's paradise : "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered upon the heart of men the things which God has prepared for those who love him." How could such a heaven not have animals in it? They are a huge part of this world, the pattern for Heaven, and must be in the next. For many, especially the elderly, handicapped, and housebound, the love, loyalty, affection, and companionship of a pet is a cardinal element of their happiness. Some people even have pets that have saved their lives, or the life of a loved one. And there are not a few animals - look at the rescue dogs who died after 911 searching for survivors - who have given their lives for us. Again, it is just not possible that the good Lord would exclude these beloved creatures from our heaven home as they are such an important part of our earthly one.

There are some who say that animals don't have immortal souls. But as this article illustrates, the Bible tells us that clearly this is not the case. The late novelist and vet James Herriot wrote: "If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans." As I've pointed out, animals have given their lives for us. And Jesus tells us: "No greater love has anyone than to lay down their life for their friends." Animals love. God is love. God is immortal. Animals are, too.