Saturday, March 28, 2009

DO DOGS GO TO HEAVEN?

This is a question every dog lover ponders. When a beloved pet dies, children especially are anxious to know the answer to this question.

A friend of mine was sleepily driving our church van, picking up children one Sunday when a little girl who was a regular attendee asked him, “Do dogs go to heaven when they die?”

A loaded question, innocently asked. Equally innocently he yawned and answered, “No, Honey, dogs don’t go to heaven.”

“I hate you! My dog just died,” she bawled, “I’m never going to your church again!”

That woke him up. “Oh! Well, uh...you see…uh, I don’t know…uh, let’s ask the pastor!”

If someone asks if dogs go to heaven the first thing one can immediately and truthfully answer is, “Dogs don’t go to hell.”

Genesis 1:25, And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. God saw that it was good, and everything that is good is bound to be in heaven. Heaven will surely be Edenic. We know that according to Revelation 19:14 horses will be in heaven and in Revelation 22:2 at least one of the trees that was in the garden of Eden will be in there.

We quite correctly consult the Bible to get an authoritative answer to this important question, but the Bible was not written for the sake of dogs, it was given for man’s sake. When God speaks to a dog He must speak in dog-talk. The Bible does not directly address this issue except as it pertains to man.

Let’s see what the Bible does say regarding animals and plants. Romans 8: 19,20, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature (including dogs) was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.” In Genesis God said cursed is the ground for thy sake. Note that the Earth (including dogs) was not cursed for anything that the Earth (or dogs) had done. Continuing in verses 21 and 22, “Because the creature (including dogs) itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation (including dogs) groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Since the curse all of creation has had to continually keep regenerating itself through a cycle of death and rebirth. Before the curse there was no death so regeneration was unnecessary, and sometime after we receive the manifestation of sons of God, the Earth will be as it was before the fall of man and your pets and flowers living at that time will live forever. I believe it’s quite clear that some dogs will be in heaven.

Dogs are not guilty of sin, therefore they are not sinners like mankind so they do not need to be saved from hell. Some dogs will be in heaven, but will your dog be in heaven?

Matthew 21:21-22 says: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

The most important consideration is: Will you be in heaven? If you want to make sure that your dog makes it to heaven then you must first make sure that you are there. If your dog is not there, remember, all you have to do is ask and he will then be there. Read my blog post: HOW TO KNOW YOU WOULD GO TO HEAVEN


http://dennyschristianwritings.blogspot.com/2008/12/children-of-god-what-bible-says.html

http://dennyschristianwritings.blogspot.com/

1 comment:

Jan said...

Well thought out. I like your ideas on the subject.