Pets

[phil112]

Animals have no sin, an attribute of man that separates us from God.
Animals are more Christ-like than humans but they're denied eternal life. Illogical.

What are you smoking? Animals do not have free will. They don't have the choice of doing good or doing bad. Christ, like us, does. He, and we, can make a choice to do good or do bad.
Animals "Christ-like"?????
You need help.

 

[Utah]

What are you smoking? Animals do not have free will. They don't have the choice of doing good or doing bad. Christ, like us, does. He, and we, can make a choice to do good or do bad.
Animals "Christ-like"?????
You need help.

Animals are much more Christ-like than you, with your arrogant, online bravado that doesn't exist when talking with people face to face.

 

[notuptome]

Well I still maintain that there will likely be pets on the new earth. I was speaking with someone on Sunday on this subject and I now believe that the pets I have been blessed to have will be there on the new earth and they will be with new families on the new earth. This for me will be for me a double blessing which is just like my Jesus. I will rejoice to see my pets with loving owners in the new earth and have the joy of sharing something that I found to be a blessing in this life blessing another in the future.

The fields are white unto harvest but the laborers are few.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

 

[MsLimpet]

Well I still maintain that there will likely be pets on the new earth. I was speaking with someone on Sunday on this subject and I now believe that the pets I have been blessed to have will be there on the new earth and they will be with new families on the new earth. This for me will be for me a double blessing which is just like my Jesus. I will rejoice to see my pets with loving owners in the new earth and have the joy of sharing something that I found to be a blessing in this life blessing another in the future.

The fields are white unto harvest but the laborers are few.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

Thanks, but sounds like reincarnation. Hmmm

 

[Jason0047]

Reincarnation is the belief that you will be reincarnated into another person or animal. Animals dying here on this Earth and then potentially gaining a new body again to be with believers is not so much reincarnation because they would not be an entirely different animal from the one they were before. They also will not be coming back here in this world but in the Eternal New Earth mentioned in Revelation 21:1. Anyways, I am strongly against Reincarnation and anything that closely resembles it. In fact, I used to debate against someone who believes in Pre-Existence (Which I believe is wrong because it sounds exactly like reincarnation).

Here is that discussion here:

ECT Mankind is Conceived in the Womb & is Not Pre-existant! - Theology Online | Christian Forums & More

 

[notuptome]

Thanks, but sounds like reincarnation. Hmmm

Never thought of that. Everything new and without sin in the new earth. Return to an earth like the garden before sin. Resurrection but never reincarnation.

The fields are white unto harvest but the laborers are few.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

 

[JGIG]

I'm so sorry to hear about your sweet dog's passing. Having also been through it a few times with old, dearly loved pets, I feel your pain (((Hugs))).

We recently lost a relatively young cat (nearly 4 years old), struck by a car. Thankfully, he did not suffer and died from a glancing blow to the side of the head, so we were able to spend some time petting him and come to terms with the reality that our sweet kitty was no longer with us. We wrote notes and drew pictures to put in his box, and it was a beautiful, warm, sunny day when we laid him to rest. One of the children made a delicate wreath of fine vines and tiny purple flowers and a daffodil which we laid on his sweet head. We talked of special times with him as he lay in the warm sun one last time. He rests under a heart-shaped rock topped with daffodils next to two other beloved kitties (who died of old age).

It's the first time I've lost a pet so suddenly, and it's been a hard loss. He was a unique and special cat, well loved by our seven children, and we're all grieving his loss daily. I served as 'midwife' at his birth and the birth of his 5 litter-mates (we still have them and the mama cat, but he was the character with an extra dose of sweet in the bunch), and I was the one who gently laid him in the place where he rests now.

Do I believe we will see him again in eternity?

Yes I do.

I don't believe that God, Who places such value on life, just ends innocent life. Animals (yes, bugs, too) were affected by the Fall, but bear no fault for it. The more I learn of God's character, the personalities that He's put not only in pets, but in wild animals too (who hasn't seen on YouTube deer and dogs playing, the relationships that elephants and other animals have with each other - one of the fish in our aquarium and one of our cats play 'cat and mouse' on a regular basis, etc.), and the undeniable bond that He's allowed to exist between people and animals who come under their care - it just doesn't make sense that He would just erase them from His creation and from our minds and hearts.

God is all about redemption, restoration, and LIFE.

The Ecclesiastes passage? It comes under the category of 'wisdom and poetic literature' in the Bible. Like those in the Psalms and Proverbs, the writer asks questions, ponders, and makes observations about mankind, the world we live in, and God Almighty. Does Psalm 10 tell us that God stands far away and hides in times of trouble? No - the psalmist is asking the question.

Other declarative Scriptures reveal to us the character of God - Truths in which we can rest when the questions come.

I don't know the details of how eternity will be, but I do trust God and His love for me, His creation, and His love for life. And based on Who He is, I trust that our loved ones who are in Christ, as well as our pets who have passed on, are safe in His Hand and that we will be with them again.

Grace, peace, and comfort to you in Christ,
-JGIG

So interesting that this thread started when it did. I stand by my statements above: I do believe that we will be reunited with our pets in eternity.

What that will look like or how our existences will be lived out in eternity, I don't know. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, and I believe that eternity will in part be spent exploring and enjoying what God has created! I don't think there will be 'ownership' of our pets, but fellowship. I think they will have independence and exist in a way that God intended when He created animals. That said, I think (and this is opinion/conjecture) that God will absolutely honor our relationships with our pets. Mankind and animals, and even animals amongst themselves, have undeniable relational bonds that are very strong.

We lost another beloved kitty (the kitty above and this one were littermates) a couple of days ago to antifreeze poisoning. He must have lapped it up in our neighborhood somewhere. By the time he became observably symptomatic and received treatment, it was too late. He was gone within six hours. Four weeks and one day after we lost our other kitty who was struck by a car (see quoted post above).

About that bond? There was a small chance he might make it through the night, and as our family (we have seven children) were all saying goodnight and preparing to leave, his respirations dropped to almost nothing. I think he knew he wasn't long for this world and wanted us to be with him to the end. We were able to stay with him and let him know how much he was loved and say our goodbyes as he slipped into eternity.

It's been a difficult and sweet time as we've cried and hugged and taught our children about grief and have continued to learn ourselves. What a comfort it is to know that we are kept by our God Who is the Giver of Life.

Grace and peace to you all,

-JGIG

 

[phil112]

So interesting that this thread started when it did. I stand by my statements above: I do believe that we will be reunited with our pets in eternity........................................

There is nothing wrong with you wanting that to happen. I see nothing wrong with you believing that.
Just keep in mind that scripture does not lend support to such a desire. It is not addressed anywhere in the bible that I am aware of, and we should never state something as factual about God when we don't know. I hope you're right, but I don't believe it. I think God would have given us some indication of it, were it true.

 

[RickyZ]

I think the bit about the lion and the lamb would qualify as an indication, for starters...

All creation groaning for redemption would too...

sacrificing an animal's life for a human in payment for sin I think too (what would be accomplished by condemning something to hell that is supposedly going there anyway?)...

Animals were part of creation and the Messiah / Christ was sent to redeem creation.

I don't see anything that excludes them from 'heaven'. But by the same token I don't see anything that says they'll be our pets. We'll have the same relationship with all of creation, not just little domesticated parts of it.