This morning on my way to pick up breakfast I was listening to The Way FM and they were talking about Ezekiel 37 and Sidewalk Prophets “All Dogs Go to Heaven” parody song. Of course, this perked my ears, and I immediately thought of my fur babies.
Given the discussions you can find on the Internet, people are definitely divided on whether or not our beloved pets will be in heaven with us. Some say they will not as they don’t have spirits.
At God and Science, they state that dogs won’t be in heaven because they do not have souls.
Throughout the Bible, there is no mention of pets running around in heaven. The only creatures described in heaven are angels and humans. The Bible indicates that God is a spirit.
They say they based their opinion on this:
Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, which goes down to the earth? Ecclesiastes 3:21
They obviously skipped over the bible passages that mention horses in heaven. Also, to me, that Ecclesiastes 3:21 seems to be more of a question than fact. Just sayin’.
Others say, God wants us to be happy, and He loves all his creations, so they will be there. This is what Reverend Billy Graham has been quoted as saying:
I think God will have prepared everything for our perfect happiness in Heaven. If it takes my dog being there, I believe he’ll be there. – Rev. Billy Graham
I am in the “yes” camp. It makes me feel better to believe I will get to see my furry friends again. It makes the passing of them a bit easier to take. Part of my reason for believing is based on these verses:
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD. Isaiah 65: 25
Also, Isaiah 11:6 states:
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.
If there are horses are in heaven, and there are other animals in the 1000 year reign of Christ, why not our furry friends? They are just as precious in God’s eyes.
Also, based on 2 Peter 3:13, God’s original creations will be restored, and that means animals, too!
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
The singer from Sidewalk Prophets, David Frey, created a song about our furry friends after he read Ezekiel 37 .
He asked God how does this apply to my furry friends. This is the answer he said he received back:
Do you remember Ezekiel and the bones my dad brought to life?
After a while all those people all passed and the bones came with them when they died.
All dogs go to heaven, Everybody knows.
And you’ll find your best friend fido livin’ in the valley of bones.
The words floored me. They made me smile. The lyrics that truly made me go “Yeah, I am 100% with this guy” are these:
How does that pertain to our furry friends being in heaven?
Well, if God can raise up dry bones people, He can surely do the same for our furry friends that have passed. So, I expect to see Skipper, Taffy, Edan, and Abra up there…along with my childhood bunnies, Snow White and Thumper.
