There are no scriptures that say animals/pets will be found in heaven. Revelation 7:4-11 tells who will be in heaven: 144,000 + a great multitude (a large number of people); but Jesus told us to pray in Matt 6:9-13 . . .”thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. . .”. This scripture indicates that there will be a kingdom on earth just as there is one in heaven. Who will be on the earth? Presumably whoever is not listed in Rev. 7.
Why did God create animals? Genesis 1:26, 2:19-20 states that God made all the animals, birds, fish, etc., for man. Man was to have dominion over them. Genesis 3:21 states that God made clothing of skins for Adam and Eve to wear after they ate of the forbidden fruit. Presumably, this clothing of skins came from animals which were killed. In Genesis 4 we find the beginning of sacrifices, one by Cain who provided fruit and vegetables, and one by Abel who provided an animal for sacrifice, which the Lord saw as good (4:4). Genesis 9:3-4 states that man can eat every moving thing as food. We find in the tabernacle arrangement many sacrifices of animals. Even when God decided to destroy his creation in the flood, he made arrangements for at least 2 of every animal to live aboard the ark as well as Noah and his family, to restart the population of the earth.
But where will all our furry critters be? Isaiah 11:6- 9 Tells us that the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and a little boy will lead them. These animals will be on the earth, just as they were on the earth at the beginning as stated in Genesis 1:20-25. Then God made Adam and Eve and gave him/them dominion over the lower animals and plants (Gen. 1:26-31). When the animals were first created, they all got along just fine, and Adam was their master. Until sin entered the world (Adam & Eve eating of the forbidden fruit), animals ate grasses. Then they started eating each other. When sin entered, the whole dynamics changed. Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden and Adam was no longer master over all the animals.
As mankind is raised from the dead without the maladies that plagued them during this life, i.e. blindness, deafness, etc., (Isa. 35: 5-7), they will be so happy to be healthy, alive, and welcome their loved ones back to life, that yearning/longing for a beloved pet may not be foremost in their minds. I loved all of my pets dearly and would love to see them back in the kingdom. However, seeing my father back without the pain of cancer, my oldest son without autism and my younger son without a brain damaged by fetal alcohol and reactive attachment disorder and being able to have a real relationship with my sons for the first time will be overwhelmingly beautiful. While in this life we shower love and affection upon our pets and get some from them in return, having perfect loved ones beside us back from the grave will lessen our desire for our furry pets. There will be animals in God’s kingdom on earth, and they will likely be loved as favorite companions or pets by people, but the Bible does not offer any evidence that they will be former pets restored to life.
