Do animals go to heaven?

Question

If not then is the pain and suffering they endure in this life is for nothing? Is God mean?

What is your belief and what does it say about this?

Answer 1

According to your religion, animals do not have souls and since it is the soul that travels to Heaven then no.
And even if they DID have souls they do not have the mental capacity to accept Jesus Christ as the son of God and so cannot go to Heaven and would burn in Hell.
In the Bible, animals are good for only two things: eating, and sacrificing.

Is God mean to animals? Let's see... he killed every animal on the planet except for 2 (and sometimes 7) of each "kind" (whatever that means) in a big flood, all because He didn't like how humans were acting.

Is their pain and suffering for nothing? I don't know what pain and suffering you are talking about. Go outside. Take a hike. Nature is a beautiful thing. Stop being brainwashed by the Bible to believe that Earth is a craphole.
All organisms survive for one reason only: to propagate their genetic material another generation. Not a magical or satisfying answer I know, but we follow the same pattern as well.

Answer 2

Hi, Curious. First, no, God is not mean. But he is just. Think of the best example of an earthly father you can think of. He is probably a man of authority, not letting his children by with things that are detrimental to them but loving them even when he has to punish them. God is the same way.

As for animals, I have asked this question myself because I am a real animal lover and I love my pets--both the ones with me now and the ones I've had throughout my life. I would really like to see them again one day. Also, it is hard to look into their sweet, expressive eyes and think that there may not be a soul there.

There are many who would disagree with me, but I firmly believe there will be animals in heaven. First, the Bible talks about horses in heaven.

2 Kings 2:11 Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot pulled by horses.

Revelation 19:11 indicates that there are enough horses for a vast heavenly army to ride to earth.

The Bible also talks about animals in the Millenium (during Christ's reign)

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
(Isaiah 11:6-8)

There are many other passages that I believe indicate that animals will be in heaven, including Genesis which talks about animals also having the "breath of life" that humans do (note, I believe this is different than the human soul). But my favorite it Psalm 36:6 which reads "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O LORD."

Answer 3

Humans are made up of three parts. Spirit, soul and body. Animals are made up of Soul and body. Plants only have a body. (I see so many people using soul and spirit interchangeably - they're not the same thing)

I think we'd all agree that the tree in my front yard will not be in heaven when I get there (or later, if it outlasts me here).

We and animals have a soul - that's where our emotions and ability to reason resides. While we are alive on earth (both humans and animals), our soul resides within our body. When humans die, the soul doesn't die, but goes with the spirit - to heaven if that person accepted Christ while the body was alive, not to heaven otherwise. Animals were not made in the image of God, as humans were, being sent to earth to see if they would choose Him or not. Animals were placed here for our use.

For the animal lovers - Don't worry about your pets, or missing them later. If you have Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will have so much understanding in heaven and your eyes will be so opened that you won't even miss those who were unsaved that were your friends here on earth. And if you don't have Christ as your savior, you will have much more to worry about than Fido.

Answer 4

Only God knows for sure , however He did give us some evidence of all living things having souls! Animals do not have a " sin nature " , so I believe they will be in heaven not because they have to be "saved" to get in , but because it is stated in this passage that they have a soul , and a soul does not die ! Job 12 : 9-10 ..Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this .. In whose hand is " the soul of every living thing " , and the breath of all mankind !!

Answer 5

I don't think that animals go to heaven. They do not have souls. The pain and suffering they may suffer on this earth may be for nothing, but God is not mean. He created the animals and I believe there is no reason why they couldn't live forever, so, when sin entered the world it brought death and then the animals died as well, humans were not created with the same value as animals. Animals are more here for our enjoyment and use. I do believe that they do NOT go to heaven. Sorry.

Answer 6

I've heard the dogs no longer go to heaven. Some that are already entrapped there got the word back that you can't lift a leg without an angel shaking their finger at you and all the trees are off limits........that makes Christian Heaven Dog Hell.

Answer 7

I am a Buddhist...and many of us believe in reincarnation... SO although it is not "heaven" there is a chance that they could go to a "pure-land" or come back as something else.


I like to think that what ever you believe in... that is what happens to you after you die...and therefore your pets too... sounds funny... but its a lot better than arguing over what we don't know yet...

Answer 8

well, i think animals go to heaven. i mean animals are just like us, they eat they sleep (pee and poop too) so they have to go to heaven if god is nice (which he is) then they do or should go to heaven and when u die (which should be in a long time) u will probly see yur pet or something up in heaven.

Answer 9

Newsday (a paper from Long Island, NY) did an article on this not very long ago. It kind of cracked me up, because they had all these religious clerics and experts debating this, and it's all so stupid because religion is completely made up. People make the rules. If you want to believe animals go to heaven, fine, if it makes you feel better. Once you're dead, you won't have the consciousness to know you were wrong.

Answer 10

I like to think that they do go to heaven because God isn't mean.