Is My Pet in Heaven?
During my years of pastoral ministry I have been asked numerous times, “Is my dog (or cat) in heaven?
The Bible does not have a verse that says clearly that pets go to heaven when they die, but we can make the following statements.
First, pet owners often grieve the death of their pet in a similar way that they would grieve the death of a person. If you don’t think people love their dogs or cats consider that the pet industry today is valued at almost $250 billion.
Second, as Billy Graham wrote, “We know that God gave animals to humankind for a purpose, because before the great Flood, God preserved every species—male and female—on the ark so they would inhabit the land again. Animals are among God’s many gifts to humans.”
Third, only humans are made in God’s image (see Genesis 1:26-27). Thus, humans have a soul which allows them to respond to and relate to God personally. Dogs (or cats, fish, whatever) do not have souls because they weren’t created in God’s image.
Fourth, animals, though, do matter to God. Open your Bible and read Genesis 1:25, Exodus 23:12, Deuteronomy 25:4, Psalm 36:6, Psalm 50:10-11, and Matthew 10:29 and you will see statements regarding God’s love and care for animals.
Fifth, Genesis 1:19-26 shows that animals were in the Garden of Eden, the home of Adam and Eve the first humans. If animals were not to be fully enjoyed by Adam and Eve and everyone who followed after them, then God would never have created animals in the first place. The fact that God created animals shows they are important in the big-picture and eternal scheme of the things of God.
Sixth, we still have animals living with us even after the Fall of Adam and Eve into sin. The Bible views the sin of Adam and Eve as having affected every person who came after them. Thus, we all inherit from the first couple an environment and inclination toward sin, disobedience to God. The Lord cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, but He did not take animals away from us.
Seventh, when believers in Christ die, their souls leave the earth and go into the presence of Jesus. In this temporary and intermediate state, we are liberated from physical pain and all the effects of the Fall. We will see the face of Jesus and experience communion with Him. We will be perfectly and eternally happy.
At the second coming of Christ, we will descend with Jesus to the earth, where heaven will literally become a place on earth. At that point, the resurrection of the dead will occur and we will gain our glorified bodies in the new heaven and new earth. In the intermediate state, however, we really do not know what our bodily state will be like. The Bible gives zero evidence either obviously or indirectly to suggest that our pets will experience the intermediate state.
Eighth, the Bible does teach in Romans 8:19-21 that all of God’s creation (including our pets) will experience a future restoration and glory. This passage does not explain how nor what this will look like; it only states the fact. Yet, we can say for sure that whether your pet will be in heaven, you will be perfectly happy and content there even if your pet is absent.
The larger question is not whether your dog or cat will be in heaven, but whether you will be there. Settle this issue by repenting of your sin and committing your life to Jesus today.
