Hello every one, ALL animals do go to heaven,

That's for sure.
My neighbor fed my current one corn and bird seeds. I provided a lot of perennials, berries, Jerusalem Artichokes. He got nectarines today, a tomato and a super sweet mango yesterday.

There are some comforting verses in the Bible that show God doesn't forget animals and that they have souls too:-
"God.. in whose hand is the soul of every living thing" (Job12:10 KJV)
Jesus said:-"God won't forget the death of a sparrow" (Matt 10:29)
And even though we regard pets as belonging to us, they really belong to God who said-
"Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine, for the world is mine, and all that is in it" (Psalm 50 10-12)

Well, I have been trying to figure out how I wanted to say this and I still don't know.
I don't want to get into a pre/post trib etc. debate here, but I'm thinking there will be animals in heaven.
After all, Revelation 19 talks about seeing Heaven open and seeing a white horse so...

Christ came for man, not for animals. Animals will not face judgement, and so will not go to hell. Animals are actually in a better situation than people, as they are not separated from God. Sometimes I pray with my cat, and he always behaves during this time. Animals do have a spirit, but they are not sons/daughters of God. They have the animal spirit so they won't have the same human spirit even in Heaven.

It's cool man. Back in the day, banter like this used to happen in almost every thread.

But I wouldn't get swordfish to joust. Might borrow one to open my pistachios every now and then, though.

Revelation 5:11 KJV
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;


Revelation 5:13 KJV
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth,
and under the earth,
and such as are in the sea,
and all that are in them,
heard I saying,
Blessing, and honour, and glory,
and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
😊

It still bothers me that you felt like you had to apologize for making jokes.

To be clear: it is not you that is bothering me. The state of affairs on this forum is what bugs the crap out of me. It did not used to be like this here.

As one of our forum friends here once observed, some people spend so much time here because they just can't get along with other Christians in real life. So they hang out here instead, but they bring the same attitudes that make them such untenable friends in real life. They try to measure you with their own Holiness measuring stick, and if you don't measure up to their personal requirements they beat you over the head with it.

They do this because it makes them feel good to put other people down as being not as holy as they are. And if you actually change what you say and do because of their criticism, well that's just an additional ego boost bonus!

Please don't let the Pharisees on this forum squelch your personality.

I'm not saying you have to go back to your wizard of Oz avatar. That's up to you. But neither should you let some random person on an internet forum tell you that you're not a real Christian just because you use a wizard of Oz avatar.

If you are concerned about hurting somebody's feelings with a joke, find somebody you trust. Then if somebody complains about a joke you made, show the joke to that person you trust. I do this sometimes. Usually my friends will say, there's nothing at all wrong with that joke. Occasionally they will say, yeah I can see why they were upset that you said that. Then I go apologize.

But please don't sit on your sense of humor just because a Pharisee got torqued. These days the world needs all the humor it can get.

apparently Lynx is going to heaven and wont eat the lambs.

If I understand the Bible correctly, everyone and everything there will be vegetarian.

Lynx don't hunt lambs anyway. They hunt rabbits, rodents, maybe the occasional squirrel.

I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I was joking because you were the one I was joking about.

Believe me, my sense of humor often gets me in trouble. Even in life off of online forums.

Removing my scarecrow avatar was a choice I made based upon one other major factor which I will not divulge.

Anyway, thanks for not being offended.

If all animals go to heaven, I hope I can continue to eat beef prime rib, filet mignon, and rib-eye caps into eternity. That and pulled pork, bacon, and chicken, yummy.

This is probably unlikely since there will be no death. However, it is possible meat may be provided like the miracle of five loaves and two fish.

Animals are not in heaven. I love my dog, he aint coming to heaven with me. They are wordily needs only.

I'm right with you there, the thought of no sirloin steak and pepper sauce grieves me, but are worldly comforts + maybe even gluttony. But i was raised the meat on farm is for eating. My son, however, always said, I'm hungry in other people's houses, but never ours. That's cos you got bread my boy. the Lord's bread

I also think it's unlikely that all animals will be in heaven. I couldn't imagine heaven being heaven with trillions of cats, for example. We know there will be animals in heaven, horses at least... but all animals that have ever lived? I'm skeptical in that regard.

Scripture reference that please?

Not only would lynxes go directly to jail, not pass go, and not collect $200, I'm pretty sure there is also a classroom reserved just for them in which they will have to clean an endless supply of used chalkboard erasers for all eternity.

Been there. Done that. We vied for the opportunity. It got us out of that stuffy classroom.

Aw, it makes me sad that you feel you have to apologize for your sense of humor, Seeking. I'm sorry others have given you a hard time over it. I understand how it it is though.

I went through a time on the forum when I had some people messaging me, "We only like your serious threads; your other ones are stupid and a waste of time," while another bunch of people would say the exact opposite, "Why don't you write more funny threads like X, Y, or Z? Your other ones are boring."

They would give suggestions about what they wanted me to write, but they never had the spine to put in the work or take the risk of trying it themselves, so I learned very quickly not to listen to such people. I am who I am and anyone who's met me from this site has seen both sides.

As I've written about in many posts, my purpose seems to revolve around people who have gone through extreme conditions -- abuse, prison life, military duty, etc. all involving some of the most heart-wrenching things that could happen in this life.

If I didn't have a sense of humor or have the blessing of being around others who have one as well, my soul would shrivel up from depression and sadness and die.

People like you are here for a reason, and you are a blessing!!! I wish you would have been here in the past -- the crowd on this site goes in waves, and years ago, we had a group of maybe 20 - 30 people posting regularly who were always bantering back and forth! That was one of the best phases I've seen this forum go through.

Some people accused us of being a clique and still do, but the thing was, people would test the waters to see who could take a joke and who couldn't, and who wanted to participate or not, and the ones who seemed to want to play along became part of the regulars who would always be gently kidding around. Every day was literally a new adventure!

And this is why you'll see me picking on the same few people over and over again. I know they can take a joke and won't be offended. There are often new people I want to try joking with but I don't know them well enough and if they never open up or stay for long, I stop myself from trying because I don't want to be offensive or for them to mistakenly think I'm just picking on them.

Seeking, you are here for a reason. You'll get to know people on the site and their stories. Many are here on this forum because they're suffering from illness, joblessness, depression, difficult home lives, caring for disabled love ones, etc. -- all kinds of sorrows and troubles.

You might very well be ministering to and brightening someone's day just with your jokes. I've had many times when people have written and said, "I enjoyed (that exchange) so much -- I was having a tough day and it really made me laugh!" Sometimes people don't need to be quoted another Scripture they already know and has been recited to them hundreds of times. Sometimes, what people need is the LIVING part of Christian living -- real, life, authentic human interaction.

I think of the time when Sarah (regarding the birth of long-awaited Isaac) said, "God has brought me laughter!" (Genesis 2:16)

I know the conditions were very different but I believe God modeled laughter (delight) after His own emotions, and they are a blessing and a gift He has given us. How much more so if we can share them with other people!

Now of course, there are certain places where this won't be welcome. The Bible Discussion Forum (aside from the Speak Your Mind thread) tends to keep things serious at all times. I've seen people be downright chastised there for showing any sign of humor, just as one would expect there to be no laughing at a funeral. And I understand -- they're discussing serious topics, so it's just forum etiquette to respect the majority's wish in that part of the forum.

But there are other parts of the forum when you can go and if you're wanting to express that side of your personality, it's very welcome. In fact, you'll probably find that it fits in well with a lot of old-timers here.

You just keep being you and use that awesome gift God has bestowed on you!