What I mean by the statement, “All dogs go to heaven”, is really a question I have been asked numerous times by both young and old: “Will my pet go to heaven when it dies?” I want to do my best to answer that question, but I want you to know that my answer will also address a much broader question related to what God’s ultimate plan is for his creation. We know what His plan is for humanity, but do you know if God’s plan of redemption includes animals?
Let me begin by stating some things that could not be any clearer from the Bible and then we will dive into Psalm 8. So, here is what I know beyond a shadow of a doubt:
- The Bible assures us that God is the giver of every good thing (James 1:17); what this means is that God is not the taker of every good thing. When Nathan was five years old, we got him a kitten because we believed that he would enjoy having a cat. You have given gifts to your children out of your love for them as well. Here is what Jesus said about what we do for our children: “If you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matt. 7:10–11)!
- God is so good that there is no room for improvement for Him to be better. I already mentioned James 1:17 but listen to what the verse actually states: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” In Psalm 106, we are told to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is everlasting” (v. 1). According to Psalm 145, God is “righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His works” (v. 17). Because there is no room for improvement, God is not trying to get it right in the way He exercises His goodness.
However, we live in a reality where the curse of sin is inseparable from our human experience and sorrow and sighing are like the compounds that come out of the curse that suck the joy out of life. You may even feel like Bruce from the movie Bruce Almighty in the way he described God: “God is a mean kid sitting on an anthill with a magnifying glass, and I'm the ant. He could fix my life in five minutes if He wanted to, but he'd rather tear off my feelers and watch me squirm.”
So, let’s walk through Psalm 8 together with the hope that there is enough in these verses to help us gain a fuller appreciation of what God is doing with this sin-cursed world.
A Good God Created a Grand Creation
I love the way the Bible begins: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Gen. 1:1–2). The earth was a “formless and desolate emptiness” until God spoke. He did not speak out of any need, for He was perfectly content within the fellowship of Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God was not lonely or bored, nor was He obligated to speak and create. No, God created because He wanted to, and He wanted to create because He was motivated by love. Out of love, God desired to share that which nothing else could top or compare, which was Himself. God was motivated by love to share Himself with us.
Our solar system is estimated to be about 12 trillion miles wide. The diameter of our sun is estimated to be 109 times the size of our earth, and if you were to drive from the Sun to Pluto, it would take an estimated 6,000 years to complete the trip. If that were not enough, you should know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains thousands of solar systems like ours. On our little planet, in our vast galaxy, lives just over 8 billion people. The renown astronomer, Carl Sagan, died believing that there was no compelling evidence for the existence of a Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, and said of our earth and the universe: “If we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space.”
David, in Psalm 8, answers Carl Sagan’s question, and if only Sagan could have opened his eyes to see what David saw: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!” If you are wondering if the universe is too big if life on earth is all there is, the answer is a resounding “NO!” The universe is the size that it is because it is testifying to the majesty and splendor of the One who spoke all of it into existence.
The God who spoke all things into existence out of the overflow of His love and goodness is not only knowable but created us with purpose!
A Grand God Created Mankind in His Image with Purpose
There is only one creature of all the creatures created that was created in the image of God, and that creature is all of humanity. On the sixth day, after God created the animal kingdom and everything else, He created Adam and Eve: “Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth” (Gen. 1:26).
To Adam and Eve, God gave them the responsibility to manage His creation as His image bearers. Humans were commissioned and commanded to care for creation and at the same time add to creation by filling the earth with humans like themselves. We are not a part of the animal kingdom; we stand above the animal kingdom as stewards of what Almighty God created! King David marveled over this magnificent reality in his psalm: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place; what is man that You think of him, And a son of man that You are concerned about him” (Ps. 8:3–4)? David does not stop there, for what he says in the following verses ought to be enough to answer what place your pet has in the universe: “You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas” (vv. 6–8).
Adam and Eve were commanded to manage the Garden, to be fruitful and multiply, and not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As you know, they ate the forbidden fruit from that one tree, and by eating the fruit they brought a curse upon God’s creation. As a result, all of creation was cursed as the Scriptures testify: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned...” (Rom. 5:12).
There is only one creature who bears the image of God, and that creature is mankind. As image bearers of the living God, we were created to live forever. There is a part of us that lives on after death known as our soul which is also referred to as our spirit (not to be confused with the Holy Spirit).[1] Unlike the rest of creation, humans have a soul that only God is able to destroy. So, when it comes to death, our soul lives on even after our body dies, but death for the Christian is not the end as we are assured from the Bible:
For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked. For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:1–4)
So, when your pet dies, there is no immaterial part of them that lives on because they do not bare the image of God and therefore do not have a soul. What this means is that when your pet does eventually die, regardless of the behavior, there is no eternal punishment or eternal life waiting for them... they simply cease to exist. The only creature that is born and lives in active rebellion towards God are humans. Unlike the animal kingdom, sin is now a part of our nature.
A Good and Gracious God Has Provided Redemption Through a Second and Perfect Adam
Now, remember what I said at the beginning of my sermon: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights...” (Jas. 1:17). God is a good God who is the giver of every good thing, not the taker of every good thing! After Adam and Eve sinned, they were promised a Descendant who would reverse the curse of sin. A second and more perfect Adam was promised who would come to reverse the curse of sin: “For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17).
The second and more perfect Adam was also promised to David who wrote Psalm 8! God assured David, “When your days are finished and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12–13). What will this second and more perfect Adam do? According to Jeremiah 23:5-6, He will “reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land....” Oh, and the Name by which the Son of David will also be called will be, “The Lord Our Righteousness.”
In Isaiah we are promised that when He reigns as King, “He will judge between the nations, and will mediate for many peoples; and they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Isa. 2:4). The second Adam would, be born of a virgin as fully human and fully diving: “...a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” When the second Adam comes to reign as King, His reign will bring the kind of peace only God is capable of restoring:
...the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and fattened steer will be together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.... They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:6-7, 9)
When it was announced by the angels to the shepherds that the promised King was born, it was declared to them: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus, as the second and better Adam, humbled Himself by, “taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.... He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7-8). He was born to live the perfect life we could not live to die the death we all deserved.
There is only One who is qualified to reverse the curse of sin, and it was and is Jesus! In Revelation 21:5, we are told that through His death and triumphant victory over death, that He is making all things new! This is what we all want and what all of creation is longing for! We long for a day without the dark cloud of the curse of sin. This is why Paul wrote,
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom. 8:18-21)
When Jesus entered into Jerusalem the week before He was to be crucified for the sins of mankind, the children in the temple area shouted something that irritated the chief priests and scribes. As Jesus entered into Jerusalem, the children shouted: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (see Matt. 21:15-16). The chief priests and scribes said to Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” What were the children saying? They were celebrating the promised second Adam, the “righteous Branch of David”, and the One who is to be called “The Lord our Righteousness” (see Jer. 23:5-6). Guess how Jesus answered the irritated religious leaders who were concerned about what the children were saying? He answered them by quoting Psalm 8:2, here is what He said: “Yes. Have you never read [chief priests and scribes], ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?”
Do you realize what Jesus said to the chief priests and scribes? He was essentially saying that although Adam made a mess of creation through his sin in the Garden, there was a “Son of Man” who was made a little lower than the angels and God when He willingly took on human flesh to become fully human while remaining fully God at the same time! Jesus did this for the purpose of redeeming mankind through His cross for our sins, and by doing so, made redemption possible for all creation, and this is the point of Psalm 5, “Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!” Do you hear Philippians 2 in Psalm 8?
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8-11)
Now, against the backdrop of Philippians 2:8-11, listen what Psalm 8:7-8 promises: “You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.” All of creation, including your pets, are eagerly awaiting for the completion of our redemption because when it happens to us, creation will enjoy the good and faithful reign of the second Adam over them as well, and when He comes to do that, He will make all things new and it is what He will restore that all of creation is longing for:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
On the Day Revelation 21 becomes our reality, all that was lost, will be restored and it will be even better than the Eden the first Adam lost! I am not sure if that means He will restore and make new your pet that was lost to the curse, but I do know that it will be better! The glory we will be crowned with will be the glory of King Jesus when, “There will no longer be any curse...” (Rev. 22:3). We will “obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isa. 51:11)! The great hope of our future is not who is in office as our president, but the King who is coming to restore all that was lost through the first Adam. Christian, because you belong to the second Adam, you can declare with David: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
[1] Soul and spirit are used synonymously in the Bible (e.g. Acts 7:54-60; Matt. 10:28).
