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Based on Isa. 11:1-9
Ralph Helfer is one of those famous people very few know about. He is well known to those who use his services, but they are so specialized that most of us never become aware of his uniqueness. He has entertained all of us even though we have not likely ever seen him. Ralph has supplied animal performers for over 5,000 movies and TV programs. He has won 18 Patsy Awards for the best animal performer on the screen. He owned and operated the world's largest wild animal rental company, and is the founder of Marineworld/Africa USA.
He has revolutionized the animal training industry by rejecting the old methods of training by fear and violence which had led to many injuries. Animals were kept under constant threat of physical abuse if they did not perform. It worked, but as soon as an animal saw a chance for revenge, he took it, and every trainer had fingers missing, and a good number of scars, and some were even killed. He was trained in the old school, and had been clawed by lions, attacked by bears, bitten by snakes, and nearly suffocated by a python. He said, "Enough of that," and he developed what he calls affectionate training in which he uses love, patience, understanding, and respect, to get animals to perform.
He had the only lion in the world that could play a whole movie live without a stuffed replica. He posed no danger to anyone. He knew he was loved and respected, and so he loved and respected in return, and never gave a scratch to anyone. His lion was the only one in the world that could be trusted to work with children. He eliminated the danger of working with animals, and for him, the day is already here when the lion can lie down with the lamb. Love doesn't just work on people, it works on any creature that has the capacity to relate and respond to another creature.
He was mocked and scorned, and called a loony, but when he proved it could work, everybody wanted his animals, for they could do what no others could, for they were risk free. By love he lifted the man-animal relationship to a new level. This should not be surprising for those who know their Bible, for the God who created man, and provided for his salvation, is the same God who created the animals first, and revealed His love for them also again and again.
God gave man dominion over the animal kingdom, and He expected man to treat the animals with love and respect. Adam was given the authority to name all the animals and the birds. We read in Gen. 2:20, "So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air, and all the beasts of the field." Man and animals were linked from the start to share this earth together, and to be mutually beneficial. Every time God saved man He also saved the animal kingdom, for man cannot survive without the animal kingdom.
So in the flood God saved the animal kingdom. In the exodus out of Egypt God saved the animals of the Jews. When God spared Nineveh of its great judgment, He also spared their animals. In fact, in the last verse of Jonah, God said the reason He had compassion on that pagan city is because of the 120 thousand babies and the many cattle. It is strange that God would link babies and cattle, but they are both in the same category. They are innocent, and God loves and has mercy on the innocent.
No animal has ever sinned. They are innocent of all wrongdoing. And they do not need a Savior like man does. They are saved in the sense of being spared judgment because God loves them, and they have no reason to be judged. In fact, God says the animal kingdom is superior to man in the sense that they always obey Him as Lord, and do not rebel as man does. The prophet Isaiah begins his book with this lament of God: "Here, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owners manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."
Because of the greater love and loyalty of animals to their master there were a number of animal rights laws in the Old Testament. There were laws for proper killing of them, and for caring for them when they were injured, and for their proper feeding. Prov. 12:10 puts it all in a nutshell. "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast." That is the KJV. The NIV says, "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal." We do not have time to look at the many texts that deal with animals in the Bible,
but what we want to focus on is the fact that all the evidence indicates that man will end as he began, in a paradise filled with an animal kingdom for his enjoyment and excitement.
The man-animal relationship is not just temporal, it is eternal. Man is not complete without the animal kingdom. Some people do not like animals very much, but they will in the new heaven and the new earth, for all that is repulsive or frightening about them will be gone. Some Christians may not like fruit now, but they will love the fruit from the Tree of Life that has 12 different kinds of fruit each year. I would not want any of my grandchildren playing with a cobra, but in that day I will not be alarmed, for all the hostility and fear between the animal kingdom and man will be eliminated along with sin. The point is, do not let your present emotions toward animals rob you of the joy of knowing you will enjoy the pleasure of pets for all eternity, even if you don't enjoy them now.
You can dismiss it as mere symbolism that Rev. 19 pictures Jesus riding out of heaven on a white horse, and the armies of heaven following Him on white horses, but the fact is, the horse has always been one of God's favorite animals, and there is every reason to believe He will have literal horses in heaven, and they will be enjoyed by God's people for all eternity. If you look up horse and horsemen in your concordance, you will discover that you could spend a long time studying all that the Bible says about horses. But my goal is more general, and it is to convince you that the whole animal kingdom will be a literal part of the eternal kingdom.
This is not an off the wall, crackpot theory, but the conviction of the great theologians of the Christian faith. Martin Luther assured his son Hans that in heaven he would have a nice pony. He was not just trying to pacify his son, for it was a serious conviction with him, as we see in the following quote. "Asked whether there will be animals in paradise, Luther quickly answered: "You must not think that heaven and earth will be made of nothing but air and sand, but there will be whatever belongs to it-sheep, oxen, beasts, fish, without which the earth and sky or air cannot be." He also referred to insects: "Ants, bugs and all unpleasant stinking creatures will be most delightful and have a wonderful fragrance." Since everything will be as it was in Eden, every man will be like Adam who "was stronger than the lions and the bears, who strength is very great. He handled them the way we handle puppies."
Calvin agreed with Luther that the plant and animal kingdom will be perfected, and will continue for eternity. It is inconceivable that a new earth would be without the plant and animal kingdom. Paul does not leave us to merely speculate. He tells us point blank in Romans 8, the creation will be liberated from the bondage due to man's fall. In other words, the whole creation will be saved. Roses will no longer decay; rabbits will no longer die, but all creation will be restored to perfection without any of the effects of sin. In Rom. 8:21 Paul says, "...the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. In the final salvation of man the animal kingdom will again share in the victory.
In The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings there is the moving funeral scene of the pitiful crippled and retarded child called Fodder-wing. The child had a special love for animals, and they loved the child, and became his friends. There was no preacher in that primitive area, and so Benny was asked to say a few words because he had a Christian upbringing. He began his prayer by remarks about the wonder of how birds and wild varmints move freely about Fodder-wing, and then he closed with this paragraph.
"Now you've done seed fit to take him where being crooked in mind or lame don't matter. But Lord, it pleasures us to think now you've done straightened him out... It pleasures us to think on him, moving around as easy as everyone. And Lord, give him a few red birds, and maybe a squirrel and a coon and a possum to keep him company, like he had here. We know he will not be lonesome do he have them leetle wild things around him, if it ain't asking too much to put a few varmints in heaven. Thy will be done. Amen."
Some may think this is what you would expect from some ignorant uneducated hillbilly, but the fact is, the greatest mines have thought the same way. C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian minds of the 20th century wrote, "I have been warned not even to raise the question of animal immortality, lest I find myself in company with all the old maids. I have no objection to the company." Lewis joined the ranks of the great who believed God would save the animal kingdom, and make them a part of our eternal experience. Lewis felt that our pets would be pets forever. He was greatly influenced by George MacDonald who felt there was no reason why God would not raise up those creatures He had taught His children to love. Love is eternal, and why should any form of love be eliminated from heaven? It is only sin and evil, and all of its consequences, that will be eliminated. Nothing good will be done away with, and so all objects of love will be a part of heaven. Lewis wrote in his book The Problem of Pain, "pets may have an immortality, not in themselves, but in the immortality of their masters." "Very few animals indeed, in their wild state, attain to a 'self' or ego. But if any do, and if it is agreeable to the goodness of God that they should live again, their immortality would also be related to man -- not this time to individual masters, but to humanity."
MacDonald wrote, "Can you imagine that if one asks for a kitten or pony or dog in heaven the Father will say no? If God gave these companions to man without his asking for them, will He not grant them these objects of love when they do ask?" There is much speculation about the issue of pets in heaven. Osborne Leonard wrote in My Life In Two Worlds, "When an animal that you have loved and who has loved you dies, it goes to the third sphere where somebody takes care of it until you arrive." In Love After Death, Shaw Desmond insisted that often a pet "is the first to greet us on the other side of death..."
All we know for sure is that Isaiah in this text tells us the Messianic Kingdom will be a kingdom where the animals are totally tame, and a child can play with the most dangerous creatures without fear, for there will be no harm from the animals in that ideal kingdom. Since Scripture makes clear the whole creation will be redeemed, and since it pictures an ideal kingdom as one with animals, it seems wise to keep open the possibility that pets will be in heaven. Those who reject the idea do not realize they may be turning off pet lovers to the Gospel. Pierre Barton, a Canadian broadcaster, was soured on going to church, and the whole Christian faith, because he was told that there were no animals allowed in heaven. He said, I was quite shaken by this revelation. An afterworld that deprived me of my dog seem to me less than heaven."
There are a number of books written about the immortality of the animal kingdom, and about pets being a part of heaven. One of the most popular is Will I See Fido In Heaven? Here is the testimony of the author: "Many Christians do not believe that animals go to Heaven. I have to admit that for more than 40 years, I was one of them. But one day as I was reading the book of Romans, I was amazed at what I read. I called some friends and before long, through various contacts, there was a team of Christians studying the word of God and delving into old Hebrew and Greek word study guides to seek the truth. The results were joyous and shocking. One person, Roger Fritz, delved into every word, phrase, and sentence making sure we stayed focused on the mortality and immortality of both man and animals. In comparing the differences, we discovered God's wondrous design for the earthly and eternal survival of the lives of every living creature and the eternal choice man must make concerning his own destination. It has been a most fascinating journey. We all hope you will have much fun, joy, laughter, and grow in your knowledge, and Godly wisdom." Mary Buddemeyer-Porter Author of "Will I See Fido in Heaven?"
FR. TED STYLIANOPOULOS writes, ". In Orthodox icons, St. Gerasimos is shown with a lion. The saint has just pulled a thorn from the lion's paw, which he holds tenderly. Both the man and the lion gaze happily toward Christ, who is in heaven. St. Seraphim of Sarov, who lived in a forest for many years, is shown peacefully feeding a huge grizzly bear. I have no doubt that these saints would rejoice in seeing their animal friends in heaven." He goes on to say,
"The book of Genesis says that "God made the wild animals...and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:25)! In the book of Psalms we read: "Every wild animal of the forest is mine.... I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine" (Psalm 50:10). Would not a loving God want all things that he has made to live with him forever? A hint of this is in the book of Revelation, which teaches that evil and the power of death, which are a corruption of all that is good, will be completely defeated and a new world more glorious than ours will arise. God's promise is: "See, I make all
things new" (Revelation 21:5)."
Many conclude from this information that God would not destroy forever what He claimed was very good. Then we also have this text in Rev. 5:13, "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be raise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever." If all creatures will be praising God and the Lamb forever then they have to be a part of forever. It is a logical conclusion to come to that the animal kingdom will be a part of the new heaven and new earth.
This subject is very relevant to the millions who love their pets equal to, and ever better, than family members. Dan Schaeffer in the best article I have read on the subject, and from which I quote extensively, and which you can find in the May/June 2001 issue of The Plain Truth online, reports, "For many people, their most trusted and loved friends have four legs and a tail. In a "Pet Love Poll" done by America Online in September 1999, more than 20,000 people were asked: What level of importance does your pet hold relative to other family members? Do they hold more, equal or less value? Almost 15 percent of those surveyed said their pets hold more value than family members, and fully 51 percent said their pets hold equal value. Only 28 percent said their pets have less value than their family members.1 It seems that these statistics may hold true for Christians as well as non-Christians." He goes on to report of the response that comes when pets are eliminated from heaven.
"Author and artist Joni Eareckson Tada found out just how strongly many Christians feel about their animals when she suggested in her book, Heaven Your Real Home, that pets would not be resurrected from the dead. She received more critical letters over one paragraph than all her other writings combined. One person after another questioned how she could possibly say that their pets would not be in heaven. After rethinking her position, she decided, "If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn't surprise me. It would be just like him. It would be totally in keeping with his generous character." She went on to say, "Heaven is going to be a place that will refract and reflect in as many ways as possible the goodness and joy of our great God, who delights in lavishing love on his children. So will pets be in heaven? Who knows?!"
Dan quotes other authorities and animal lovers: "The Reverend Brian T. McSweeney, vice chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, contends that by virtue of their relationship with humans, dogs may find themselves in heaven. Though he believes that heaven was designed for humans, the reason dogs or pets may be there is for us, not for themselves. "I would think a loving God wants us to be happy and allows us to have animals that shared love with us."
"Having just lost their dog, Star, to cancer recently, Norm and Karen Rech had strong feelings. While they do not believe that animals have souls, they do believe there is a place in heaven for them. "They are still his creations, and we can't see him leaving them out [of heaven]. Throughout the Bible God uses animals to communicate with people, such as the dove and the donkey. Isn't that another indication that animals have a special place in God's heart and, therefore, a place in heaven?" While Norm and Karen admit that their belief may just be based on wishful thinking, they nevertheless conclude, "We love animals and know God does, too, or he wouldn't have created them for us to use for our needs, but also to enjoy as companions."
"Popular Christian author and speaker, Sigmund Brouwer, articulated the obvious. "I would really have a tough time committing either way, but I would want to believe it [that animals went to heaven]." Brouwer shares a personal story that reinforces the difficulty this issue raises. His wife's nieces had two little kittens, which were killed by dogs. The girls, ages seven and nine, were understandably upset, so Brouwer's wife Cindy, and her sister, had a funeral for the kittens and prayed over them. The mother assured the girls that the little kitties were indeed going to heaven. At that point the youngest said, "Good, and I hope those dogs are going to hell!"
In this excellent article Dan goes on to describe people with dogs that are a pain, and who are full of mischief, and so they hope they are not in heaven. He raised many complex questions that are hard to answer if pets are in heaven. But he concludes, "It seems, ultimately, what a person believes is strongly influenced by the nature of their relationship to pets or the animal world. The stronger their "emotional resonance" with an animal, as Sigmund Brouwer puts it, the more likely they are to want to see their pets in heaven, and vice-versa. It appears that at times we are eager to find in scripture the answer we are looking for, and whether you believe pets will be in heaven or not, scripture provides hope, for it neither affirms nor denies the possibility."
There is no need to deprive anyone of their hope for pets in heaven since it has been the hope of many of the great and small in the Christian faith. Many testify that heaven will not be heaven without pets, and that God is not the God of man only, but of all creatures. John Wesley preached on animal immortality, as have many others, because it has been a desire of men for all ages. The ancient Egyptians had replicas of their favorite animals placed in their burial rooms, for they desired their pets to be with them in the afterlife. Millions of Christians have felt the same desire. Maybe we cannot be dogmatic, but since there is nothing to forbid it, and much to imply it, there is no reason to deny it, but many reasons to affirm it that pets are forever.
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