“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

-From The Book of Genesis

The late John MacArthur. If you follow celebrity Pastors such as Steven Furtick, then you probably have no idea who he is. It is possible that the first time that you had ever heard the mention of his name was when he had crossed into the realm of Heaven recently. If you are Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Word of Faith then you are probably very familiar with his views against your beliefs. You probably viewed him as an enemy to your gospel and a False Teacher. If you are a Calvinist, then he was your hero. However, despite what one may think, MacArthur was best known for his in depth Bible teaching. By Expositing The Word. By translating Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Many books, commentaries, and Study Bibles written. Besides his thousands of messages, he used to host a “Q&A” session in some of his services. Many of these can be found on the Grace To You app and website. One question that I remember hearing on one of these “Q&A sessions” caught my attention…

I remember when I was in my Middle School and early High School years, we had a Chihuahua named Peanut. What Peanut lacked in size, he made up for in personality. Very sweet and friendly. Practically a neighborhood celebrity in the lower half of the cul-de-sac where we lived. Then one day my Mom called with the heartbreaking news. The car didn’t see Peanut run across the road. We barely ever had traffic there. It was just a matter of the wrong place at the wrong time. A coincidence that no one could have suspected. Just several weeks later our sweetheart of a Labrador, Moses, ran off with a pack of dogs at my Dad’s house. The time of mystery had come to an end as to his whereabouts. I will never forget the solemn look on my Dad’s face when he walked in. On the next street over Moses met the same fate. After Peanut was killed, someone had gifted my Mom a frame with a photo of a dog. I cannot remember verbatim what it said, but it basically said that our dog was in Heaven with Jesus. We often talk about the “Rainbow Bridge” that our pets cross over on to the other side. Do we not?

The question that the listener asked MacArthur was “Do pets go to Heaven?”. His response left me in disagreement and disbelief. Disappointment, even. He said “No!”. His reasoning for his attempt in obliterating our hopes and angering most of the world? “Because they do not have souls.” I thought about it for a moment. I rolled it around in my mind. Then I came to a conclusion. What if MacArthur was right? Sadly… 

I believe that he was.

We tend to think that our pets go to Heaven when they pass. Why is that? Maybe it is because we love them. We welcome them into our lives as a member of our family. We become emotionally attached to them. So it is only natural that we envision them entering into the arms of Jesus in the afterlife. Because they are the embodiment of innocence. They are cute. They are entertaining. They do not frustrate us as do people. Basically they could do no wrong other than make a mess. Therefore it is only deserving for them to go to Heaven. But we must understand that our way of thinking and understanding is not the same as God’s way. Just because we have a perception of how things are and how they should be does not mean that they are correct. And it certainly does not mean that our beliefs will change God’s Truths.

Man and Beast

Some time ago Matt Walsh posted a hypothetical scenario. If given the choice between saving the life of a stranger or your dog, which would you choose? The overwhelming response was that they would allow the man to die and save the dog. Many of them said that they love their pets more than people. When Walsh had stated that this was essentially morally wrong, he was obliterated by the keyboard warriors. Recently in our local community there was a case of animal cruelty. A dog was found in a kennel behind a house that is behind a very popular pizza parlor. The dog had spent his entire life in this outside kennel. No matter how harsh the elements. He was so neglected that he had holes in his body that were festering with maggots. One of which was in his skull. He had to sadly be put down when he was rescued. Those that were responsible for the neglect were arrested and charged. Rightfully so. Many in the community were outraged and protested the pizza parlor, as the owner was connected to the case. However, the comments on the various news outlets were shocking. Many of which called for the death for the people involved. That because a dog suffered for so long, that they should be executed.

Do not get me wrong. I do not defend their abuse. My heart breaks for that dog. However, Man has elevated Beast to the status of person. Particularly when it comes to pets. The cuter the better. Therefore, when Man kills an animal, he too should be put to death. Most people agree that the punishment should be swift for anyone that has killed a pet. Vegans and organizations such as PETA believe that the killing of any animal is tantamount to murder. However, The Word has a different thought. 

“And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.  But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.”

-From The Book of Genesis 

In The Book of Genesis, God creates Man in His image. Not animal. Man. What does this “image” mean? Like God, we have a conscience. Like God, we create. Like God, we are intelligent (at least we used to be). Like God, we have relationships. There are certain species of animals that are more intelligent than others. There are certain species of animals that create their home. There are certain species of animals that temporarily stay with their mate. However, they do not go further than that which they were designed to do. A bird will not strive to build a building. It will build a needed nest so that it may continue its life cycle. A dog cannot drive a car. A cat cannot talk. Although they may try. Because animals do what they are instinctively created to do. The domestication of an animal mitigates its “wild” nature.  A Miniature Labradoodle named “Joy” probably is not going to strive to live like a wolf. Granted she might if a pack of dogs came along and reminded her of her ancestry (which is what happened to our Moses). But what is lacking is Conscience. To us, when we see the Lion separate a baby from its mother, chase it down, catch it and rip it to shreds, it makes us cringe. Many will say “Mean Lion! You’re going to Hell for that!”. Because to us, our conscience says that was a cruel and selfish thing for him to do. But to the Lion, it is a meal. He does not have a conscience that says “That baby has a mother! She will be heartbroken if you eat it. It is wrong to eat babies. Go eat a plant! Besides, she’s too cute to eat.”

Because of the Imagio Dei, The Word forbids us to take the life of another man. However, we are permitted to take the life of an animal. Outside of Abraham’s test, we do not see the permission of God’s people to sacrifice another human. It was always animals. Cannibalism is appalling and not permissible. However, do we not see God instructing Man to eat the flesh of animals? Did God not smack quails so hard in the sky that they fell to earth to feed The Israelites? Is that what happened? So this creation of Man set him apart from and above the animal kingdom.

But what about pets? Am I advocating adding dogs and cats to the food chain? No. However, be prepared to know that some cultures have and still do. In ancient times, Man mostly kept livestock for the purpose of working the fields and for consumption. Somewhere along the way man chose to domesticate cats and dogs. Eventually other animals as well. But for the sake of argument, I will focus on the common. We must remember that in The Word, dogs were treated as vermin. As some disgusting roaming wild creature that devoured everything in sight. From its own vomit, to wicked queens. In time different breeds emerged. Dogs became Man’s best friend. Cats as well. So much so that society looks down on people that do not like either one. Like “You don’t like dogs and cats? What’s wrong with you, you monster?”. So much so that they are expected to be a member of the family. It is a mortal sin to leave them outdoors in the eyes of many. Couples today treat their pets with the same validity as a human child. “Fur babies” and “Fur grands” they are called.

So if we elevate our pets to personhood, then how is it that MacArthur said that they cannot enter Heaven?

“… For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them”

-Paul, to The Church in Rome

Because the only member of creation that can be saved is Man. He is the only one that can fall to Sin. He is the only one that can comprehend Darkness. He is the only one that can rise to see The Light of Christ. He is the only one that can accept Salvation and pursue Holiness. Animals cannot grasp these concepts because, domesticated or not, they do not have a conscience written on their hearts that gives them the understanding. We believe that our pets enter into Heaven because of how much we loved them, and because, to us, they were so sweet and innocent. This is something that even The Unredeemed believe. That there is a better place for our furry friends. But on what grounds?

Do we believe that God has called our pets into Heaven? Do we believe that the creatures that we have brought into our homes and domesticated will prance around the feet of Christ because we had done this for them? What about the strays that have never had a home and fear Man? The ones that bite if you reach out? Do they go to Hell because they were not brought into a home and given a name? What about the wild animal? Do they enter into Heaven? If it is a Sin for Man to murder Man, then what about the beast that hunts and kills? Does he void his home on the streets of gold because he took a life? Why, when we bring an animal into our home and call it by name, do we believe that such an action writes Bluebelle’s name in The Book of Life? The reason why we believe this is because we believe that personalizing an animal saves it. We must remember that nowhere in God’s Word does it speak of such. Nowhere in God’s Word do we see Salvation granted to Beast. Any Beast. Domesticated or not.

So back to Walsh’s dilemma. If we stand at the crossroads of saving Man and Beast, we may feel that the right thing to do is to save the Beast whom we love instead of the Man whom we not know. We may feel justified to line up every single member of the pizza parlor’s family before a firing squad and eliminate them. However, in God’s eyes, it would be unjust. The blood of Man would be upon our hands and we would be held accountable for murder. Because Man is far more important in His eyes than Beast. Because Man was created in His image with a purpose. Beast cannot praise and worship. Beast cannot serve to advance His kingdom. Beast cannot acknowledge its Sin and confess them before The Cross. Beast cannot accept the Saving Grace of Christ’s atonement. Domesticated or wild. Named or unknown.

Maybe MacArthur and myself are wrong. Maybe there are a hundred trillion animals roaming Heaven. From the wild murderous Beast, to the adorable cat. Lions. Alligators. Mosquitoes. Every Beast that has fallen to the fangs of Beast. Every Beast that Man has hunted and consumed. All of them. Maybe a soul and a conscience is not necessary for Salvation. Maybe only Salvation is necessary for Man alone. But if not? What do we lose if they are not there? Will we take our focus from The Christ that we may shed a tear? Will we accuse Heaven of lacking because there are no pets there? Sorrow cannot exist in Heaven. We will not even weep for the loved ones that did not make it through. Therefore, we will not weep if our pets do not.

If they do not, then what can we do? Do we cast aside Hope for said Sorrow? No. We accept Death for what it is. A Death that does not discriminate between Beast and Man. In time we carry on. In time we replace our pet with another. We hold onto the memories and joy that our previous “Fur Babies” gave us, as we make memories and find joy in the next one.