For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Will There Be Animals In Heaven?

On the fifth and sixth day of creation, God created all the animals that dwell on the face of the earth. Before the flood in the days of Noah, there was no fear of man on animals, and animals were not used for food. After the flood, the fear and dread of man came upon every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all fish of the sea. Man could eat animals. When God made a covenant with Noah never to destroy the world with a flood, He also made a covenant with the animals included in that promise. The rainbow serves as a reminder that God will not kill all the humans and animals on the planet as He did with the flood.

God’s covenant with animals does not include eternal life. Do animals go to Heaven? Man was created as an eternal being who lives in a physical body and is given life by the breath of God. Genesis 1:27 is where God said he would create man in His image, and He did. When God created the animals on the fifth and sixth day, He never said He would create them in His image (Genesis 1:20-25). What separates man from animals is the nature of eternity. From this nature, man is a moral agent, able to make decisions based on good and evil. Animals cannot determine moral judgments because they are not eternal. Nothing can reside in eternity unless they are created in the eternal spirit.

Jesus came to die for men who are sinners. Animals cannot sin because sin is a transgression of the law of God requiring the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, not animals. Jesus promised eternal life only to men, not animals. After the flood, God told Noah murder was defined as when a man kills another man. Killing an animal is not murder because an animal does not have an eternal nature (Genesis 9:6).

Isaiah 65 is about the coming of the kingdom found in Christ. The prophet uses metaphorical language in Isaiah 65:25 to describe the nature of that kingdom with animals who are enemies of one another being at peace. Isaiah never suggests animals will be in Heaven. Animals cannot dwell in Heaven without an eternal nature. This applies to the context of Romans 8. The world suffers under the weight of sin but does not suggest animals suffer a moral dilemma in understanding right and wrong. Jesus told Nicodemus that He had come to die for the whole world, but He never suggested He died for the cricket, worm, dolphin, eagle, rattlesnake, elephant, alligator, etc.

Heaven is a place for the saved. What can animals be saved from if they have no moral nature? Salvation comes from the understanding that a person is lost, but an animal has no consciousness that he is lost or saved. Can an animal (a giraffe, for example) believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Obviously not. God has a covenant with animals, but only in His relationship with the world. That covenant does not extend to animals being in Heaven. If one animal is in Heaven, all animals are in Heaven (including the mosquito). Only the animal created in the image of God will be in eternity – either in Heaven or Hell. If animals can be in Heaven, can animals be in Hell? The answer is obvious. Jesus died for men – not animals. The Bible reveals the mind of God to men – not animals. Dogs and cats will not be in Heaven, no matter how cute and lovable they are. Jesus died to save men from sin, not dogs and cats.