Animals in Heaven
Someone will ask, "Will my pet go to heaven?" The Bible does not give a clear enough answer that anyone can be dogmatic on this point. Allow me to speculate - biblically.
1. The Hebrew word for soul is "nephesh." It is used in Genesis 2:9 "And the man became a living soul." Interestingly enough, in Genesis 2:19 where Adam is naming all the animals we read that, "Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name." "Living creature" is the same word, "nephesh." I do believe that humankind is distinctly different from the animal kingdom. (Genesis 1:28) Maybe, however, the difference is not quite so distinct as we sometimes make it out to be.
2. Human and animals were both given a vegetarian diet (Genesis 1:29-30) and only after the flood is meat allowed for man (Genesis 9:3, 4).
3. Here's a strange verse. Genesis 9:5 where God is making a statement of the value of Noah's life, "And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man too. I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man." It appears from this text that God holds even animals responsible/accountable to some extent.
4. The Bible does speak of animals in the millenial kingdom of God, such as in Isaiah 11:6f "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear....the ox...the cobra...the viper." Some say these figures are just symbolic but I would have to ask, "Symbolic of what?" I haven't heard an adequate answer.
None of this is conclusive. But it is interesting!
Thanks for asking.
Pastor Don