Bible Questions Answered:
I have wondered, about animals. I had a horse, fifteen years, my dear, dear friend, who I know could understand me. Whom I loved, and whom, I am sure loved me. In the hereafter will we have these again?
Wieska/ Yekaterinburg, Russia
Bible Answer:
Wieska, a question, that many have asked!
We know that ONLY MAN, HAS BEEN CREATED, IN THE VERY IMAGE of GOD!
Always, the Word of God, must forever be our Standard!
Genesis 1:26,27 KJV
26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness...
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him;
Man, is a three part being, body, soul and spirit.
The soul, we know is the eternal image of the man that lives on forever.
John 11:26 KJV (Christ to Martha.)
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die..."
Eternal existence, not only for believers, but unbelievers as well!
Luke 16:22,23 KJV
22...the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,
II Corinthians 5:10 KJV
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Revelation 20:11-13 KJV
11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Animals, certainly have a body, and the spirit of life is within them.
And in God's great creation, of course a brain with understanding, for the purposes of survival, and creating offspring.
A very interesting occurrence:
Numbers 22:21-34 NLT
21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.
22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so He sent the Angel of the Lord
(Theophany: Preincarnation, manifestation of the Lord Jesus.) to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,
23 Balaam’s donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in His hand.
The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.
24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls.
25 When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again.
26 Then the Angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all.
27 This time when the donkey saw the Angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
29 “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
30 “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”“No,” Balaam admitted.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in His hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.
32 “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the Angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting Me.
33 Three times the donkey saw Me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”
34 Then Balaam confessed to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.”
Of Interest:
An African gorilla, was by his trainer, over a period of some years, taught some 800 words in sign language. A person could hold a conversation with the animal, and he would let his handler know when he was hungry and for what.
Did he possesses a soul?
Never!
Nowhere are we given the slightest hint that animals have an eternal soul.
OF MAN ALONE, GOD'S WORD TELLS US...
I Corinthians 3:16 KJV
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Just as the heavenly trinity are one with each other, so to man the highest creation of God, may be one with his Creator.
This of course was never said of any beast.
Be that as it may, what are the hints of animals, being with the redeemed if any?
A prophetic glimpse has been given, by the prophet Isaiah, of the coming Millennial reign of Christ, when there will be peace on earth, because there will then exist the, “Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 11:6-9 NLT
6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.
What a blissful picture of how the Prince of Peace, will so bless and effect, even the animals, so much so that a child may safely play among and enjoy them!
Now, our Lord and Saviour, not only died to redeem mankind, but all of creation as well!
Romans 8:20-22 NLT
20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope,
21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
And that day is coming!
For God's people some special clues as to the hereafter.
I Corinthians 3:20-23 KJV (The Apostle Paul)
20And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's;
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
I Corinthians 3:20-23 NLT
20 And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; He knows they are worthless."
21 So don’t boast about following a particular human leader.
For everything belongs to you—
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you,
23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
God's word tells us, of all the “good-things,” “...all things are our's.
Not only of people, but things of “...the world, life, ...things present, or things to come, all are (our's).”
Praise the Lord! What a reward, who wouldn't want to be a follower of the Wonderful Saviour?
Heaven, is not only the place of God's throne and man's eternal joy, but all of His creation, which brings joy to the hearts of His people as well!
Revelation 21:1-5 KJV
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and
they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new...
