Do animals have eternal life?

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Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#61
Jesus is the lover of my soul. He came to reclaim that which is His.

Do animals have eternal life?

It can only be surmised one way or another, since it is not explicitly stated one way
or the other. My view is that there is no reason to take a stance against such.

There is this, though:


The word soul in Hebrew is nephesh, meaning “an animated, breathing, conscious,
and living being.” Are animals animated? Do they breathe? Are they conscious? Alive?


Isaiah 11 (NIV)

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.


6 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.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.


Corrected word underlined :D
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
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#62
All of Earth was put under man's stewardship.

Genesis 1:26- And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:28 - And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Adam was given dominion, authority over all creatures. This is not the same as ordaining animals to be domesticated pets. After the fall, the animals had a fear of man.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#63
Here's my problem. This is ESV's version of the same verse:
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

So, is that word soul or creature?

And the let's go Holman -
Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

Soul, creature, or being? I can do this all day with different verses that some translate into soul. It often gets into soul or spirit too.
We know from other Scriptures that body (the physicality of any creature) is a separate thing from soul, otherwise we would not have a differentiation between body and soul as per Matthew 10:28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Likewise spirit and soul are also distinguishable as per Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,...
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
56,024
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#64
Adam was given dominion, authority over all creatures. This is not the same as ordaining animals to be domesticated pets. After the fall, the animals had a fear of man.
Having dominion and authority over animals means we can domesticate if we desire. I'm not sure why you would say otherwise. Saying animals had a fear of man after the fall is also adding to Scripture... unless you can find verses that say so, showing a decided difference before and after. I would be interested to see them, if they exist. :)
 

santuzza

Senior Member
Feb 12, 2013
1,609
38
48
#65
Will animals live after death?

What are your opinions and/or biblical verses you want to share about this topic?
There is nothing in the Bible that would indicate that animals have an afterlife.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
16,664
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#66
Having dominion and authority over animals means we can domesticate if we desire. I'm not sure why you would say otherwise. Saying animals had a fear of man after the fall is also adding to Scripture... unless you can find verses that say so, showing a decided difference before and after. I would be interested to see them, if they exist. :)
"And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered."

I never said the Bible says we can't domesticate animals, I'm just saying it's not a Biblical order. With that said, we should always tread lightly when ordaining things ourselves.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#67
"And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered."
Such fear and dread could have been present in some already.
You are not treading as lightly as you caution.

I never said the Bible says we can't domesticate animals, I'm just saying it's not a Biblical order. With that said, we should always tread lightly when ordaining things ourselves.
Since we have dominion and authority over animals, we can domesticate if we desire. There is neither Biblical mandate for nor against. You seem to have a problem with it, though. Could you clarify what it is?
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
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#68
Such fear and dread could have been present in some already.
You are not treading as lightly as you caution.

Since we have dominion and authority over animals, we can domesticate if we desire. There is neither Biblical mandate for nor against. You seem to have a problem with it, though. Could you clarify what it is?
I don't have a problem with it at all. I think you're misunderstanding my intentions. I have a dog myself. It's been a great family pet, however, I know it's an animal that will die and return to the earth. That's all. If I make the dog more than that because of emotions, then I'm in danger of elevating that animal above that which is intended. It's not a make or break it thing to me with a brother or sister in Christ.:) I've heard people say, "it just won't be heaven without my pet." That's insane to me.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
56,024
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#69
I don't have a problem with it at all. I think you're misunderstanding my intentions. I have a dog myself. It's been a great family pet, however, I know it's an animal that will die and return to the earth. That's all. If I make the dog more than that because of emotions, then I'm in danger of elevating that animal above that which is intended. It's not a make or break it thing to me with a brother or sister in Christ.:) I've heard people say, "it just won't be heaven without my pet." That's insane to me.
However you do not know the eternal fate of your pet, so to say you do is also insane.
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
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#70
There is nothing in the Bible that would indicate that animals have an afterlife.

There sure is!! The lion and lamb will dwell together, and ALL CREATION will sing praises to Jesus. And what about Jesus returning to earth on a horse?
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#71
Genesis 9:8‑10, 12‑13, 16‑17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you‑‑the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you‑‑every living creature on earth. And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.... Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
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#72
However you do not know the eternal fate of your pet, so to say you do is also insane.
Again, Scripture tells me the spirit of a beast returns to the earth.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#73
Again, Scripture tells me the spirit of a beast returns to the earth.
Where? I see someone asking if it does. Do you take that to be definitive?

Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if
the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?
 

notuptome

Senior Member
May 17, 2013
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#74
I can abide animals in the new earth but I don't know if I can tolerate bugs.

For the cause of Christ
Roger
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,869
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#76
I can abide animals in the new earth but I don't know if I can tolerate bugs.

For the cause of Christ
Roger
Gee, thanks Roger. :( Now I see what you REALLY think of me.. lol jk :)
 

santuzza

Senior Member
Feb 12, 2013
1,609
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#78
There sure is!! The lion and lamb will dwell together, and ALL CREATION will sing praises to Jesus. And what about Jesus returning to earth on a horse?
Yes, there will be animals in heaven and the new earth, but are they eternal? Um, I'm not so sure.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
56,024
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#79
Yes, there will be animals in heaven and the new earth, but are they eternal? Um, I'm not so sure.
We use the word eternal for the lives we have in Christ but really we know there is only one eternal One.
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,869
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#80
Yes, there will be animals in heaven and the new earth, but are they eternal? Um, I'm not so sure.
Doesn't it make sense that since they're gonna be in heaven, then they will be eternal? Who is to say God has a slightly different way of "saving" animals, also? :) Surely they praise him as their God and creator.