Do animals go to heaven? There is a lot of discussion about people going to heaven, but what happens to animals when they die? What does the bible tell us about the afterlife of animals?

Animal life vastly outnumbers human life on this planet. This often leads us to question whether animals go to heaven. If animals don't go to heaven then where do they go? Do animals have any kind of an afterlife when they die?

The bible says little about the spiritual nature of animals, much less where they go when they die. There are a few scriptures from which we can gather information, but none that clearly tell us about the spiritual afterlife of animals. We need to go deeper into the scriptures to answer these questions.

We know that God loves animals, and they have value in his eyes, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? (Luke 12.6 KJV bible), "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12.10 KJV bible).

The law says that there should be some dignity in the treatment of animals, "If a bird's nest happens to be before you in the way...you shall not take the mother with the young. But in every case you shall let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, so that it may be well with you, and you may prolong your days" (Deuteronomy 22.6-7 LITV bible).

If animals are inanimate creatures then why does the bible give us these examples of how to treat them? If the animal has no spiritual nature then why should we have regard for its life? If it's an organic machine then there's no reason to consider its welfare.

Can animals go to heaven?

To understand whether animals go to heaven, we need to consider whether it's possible that they can go to heaven. We know that heaven is a spiritual place, and not part of the physical world. Therefore, to be able to go to heaven, an animal would need a spiritual soul that continues on after death.

Animals aren't made in the image of God. However, some animals have human-like traits. Some can have strong emotions such as empathy and compassion. They be loyal and joyful. Some intelligent animals can be self-aware. These are traits that we associate with a spiritual soul.

Ecclesiastes 3.18-22 helps us to understand whether animals have souls. The writer starts by speaking of the nature of flesh man, and how that he is like the animals of the earth, "I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts" (Ecclesiastes 3.18 KJV bible).

The writer tells us that in the end, flesh man is nothing more than an animal. Some of us might have lofty notions of ourselves, but we are frail creature of flesh and blood. By our nature we live according to our own self-interests and desires.

The end of both flesh man and animal is the same, and all are equal in death. Flesh man has no place above the beasts of the earth, because all are born, strive, and inevitably return to the dust, "All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again" (Ecclesiastes 3.20 KJV bible).

However, the writer tempers his statements by also recognizing that there is a deeper spiritual nature to both man and beast. There is a soul that continues on apart from the flesh, "Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" (Ecclesiastes 3.21 KJV bible).

The writer inquires into the mystery of the afterlife for both man and beast. He asks whether the spirit of man ascends upward, and the spirit of the beast descends downwards. In this question, he is recognizing a spiritual component or vestige to both man and beast. He doesn't tell us where animals go when they die, but he does indicate that animals have spirits that continue on after the flesh.

Romans 8.18-23 tells us about the spiritual nature of animals.

Animals are understood as a part of creation. They come in many kinds and varieties. Some are benevolent and some are more destructive. Some are vicious and some are gentle. Some are clean and some cause disease. Some are intelligent and some are stupid. However, they are all creatures of instinct.

Animals don't have the ability to understand the world as we do. They don't have the same spiritual capacity for good and evil. They can't be children of God who do his work. Neither can they be children of the Devil who speak his lies. They are affected by the world, but not directly part of the struggle between good and evil. They are a lower order of creation than humans and angels.

One passage that can help to understand the animal world is Romans 8.18-23, "For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" (Romans 8.19-22 ASV bible).

There are many different interpretations of Romans 8.18-23, and a lot can be said about it. First we need to consider what Paul means here by the "creation" (Greek: krisis). What's clear is that in referring to the creation or created thing, Paul isn't talking about the children of God. This is because he says the revealing of the children of God brings liberty to the creation.

Neither can the creation refer to nonbelievers, as they will certainly not be "liberated" by the revelation of the sons of God, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn..." (Matthew 24.30 KJV bible).

While we don't know fore sure what part of the natural world is meant by creation, clearly the passage is not referring to mankind, but some other part of the natural world. Paul is most likely referring to plant and animal life because he says the creation groans to be set free from the bondage of corruption.

The nonliving parts of the world such as rocks, atmosphere and soil aren't subject to death and corruption, at least not in the normal sense. They change and deteriorate over time, but don't experience the travails of living creatures such as predation, stress, disease, and death.

So Romans 8.18-23 is most likely referring to the collective desire of living creatures to be set free from the state of bondage and corruption to which they're subject. It tells us that on some level living creatures desire to be set free from their fleshly state of futility and corruption, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever" (Isaiah 40.8 KJV bible).

The passage connects back with Ecclesiastes, and the description of the futility of the flesh. Similar to Ecclesiastes, Paul speaks of the vanity that the creation has been subjected to, namely the transient nature of the flesh. He also goes beyond Ecclesiastes in that he describes a future liberation from this state.

Now if we assume that animal life is only a fleshly creation, and can't exist beyond this world, then how is it possible to desire the revelation of the sons of God? Why would animals desire the Day of the Lord, when Christ will reign with the children of God?

How can living creatures receive any kind of liberty if they only exist on the level of flesh and blood, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (1st Peter 3.10 KJV bible)?

The vanity and futility of the flesh will be brought to an end at the revelation of Christ and his Kingdom. If animals don't continue on at a spiritual level, then why would they long for the second advent? Clearly they long to exist at the spiritual level, and this will happen when they are freed from the bondage of corruption within the flesh.

So it is through the changing of the world on the Day of the Lord, that the things of the world will be ultimately reconciled back to the one who created them, "And he [Christ] is before all things, and by him all things consist...And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven" (Colossians 1.17,20 KJV bible).

This is why the creation collectively desires the revelation of the sons of God. Christ's return, and the tearing down of the current order, will lead to the things of the world being reconciled back to their Creator. Whether this means all or certain parts we don't know, but God certainly has a plan for his living creation.

All things considered we know very little about the spiritual nature and afterlife of animals. There are no biblical refererences to animals going to heaven. However, the bible does indicate that animals have a spiritual existence beyond the flesh. It also tells us that they collectively long for the time when they will be reconciled back to their Creator.

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