In eternity, Scripture promises we will be reunited with believing friends and family (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, 17-18). But what about the animals who were part of our lives? It seems strange to imagine God wiping away all memory or affection for them. Why wouldn’t he include them in the sweeping restoration of all things he promises in multiple biblical passages?
I see every reason to expect the companionship of animals—something God called “very good” at the outset—to continue and flourish in eternity. They certainly won’t take God’s place in being essential to our happiness. They won’t be more important than people. But unless we have a compelling reason why the all-knowing and all-powerful God who loves us and them would not want us to be reunited with our beloved pets, which he himself entrusted to us, we should assume that in all likelihood he will.
What Does the Bible Suggest About Animals in Heaven?
Since there is so much we don’t know, because the Bible doesn’t spell out all the details, we have to speculate about many things to envision life in the new heavens and New Earth. Unfortunately, the default speculations that have dominated many Bible-believing churches are pale, insipid, and narrow. We should abandon these shortsighted views for biblically inspired assumptions that are rich and colorful and expansive because they are saturated by the revealed attributes of God and the sheer breadth of his redemptive plan.
Naturally we will love Jesus far more than animals, people, food, trees, mountains, lakes, and all the awe-inspiring beauties of the new creation. But that’s no basis for believing he won’t allow us to enjoy the presence of animals, including our pets. (Of course, he can do whatever he wants for his children. He doesn’t need our permission, and we should trust him to do what he knows is best!) The New Earth and eternal life will be full of many things that are far less than Jesus. And because they will have been created and provided by Jesus, we should never think the animals we love would distract us from worshiping God in a perfect world where idolatry will never be a temptation.
Animals as Gifts from God’s Creation
Over the years of gift-giving to my daughters, there were times when they loved something I gave them far more than I anticipated (and occasionally less). But God, who knows how to give perfect gifts, will never get a single gift wrong. He always knows what will bring us maximum joy. Other than God’s own presence, I believe animals are among the greatest gifts he has ever given his children. Why would that cease in the restored universe?
Will Animals Be Part of the New Earth?
Adam’s first companions were animals. God brought them to him, and he named them. Animals were intended to enrich human life, and humans were meant to steward them with care and joy. This relationship wasn’t incidental—it was part of God’s very good creation.
The principle of continuity suggests that what was good in Eden will be restored as part of the “all good things” on the New Earth. Animals were subjected to suffering and death by the fall of humanity, so it makes sense they will also share in the restoration of deliverance from the Curse. They were given a central role in the original creation, so we should expect the same in the new.
Could God Reunite Us with Our Beloved Pets?
Joni Eareckson Tada writes,
If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn’t surprise me. It would be just like Him. It would be totally in keeping with His generous character, a . . . happy-spirited benevolence. Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy—utterly, joyfully, surprisingly superfluous. . . . Heaven is going to be a place that will refract and reflect in as many ways as possible the goodness and joy of our great God, who delights in lavishing love on His children.1
God’s Generosity and the Promise of Eternal Life
Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (niv). What would he withhold from us? Paul isn’t saying, “God gave you so much in his Son that you should never ask for anything more.” He’s saying, “If God already gave you his precious only Son, what could you possibly ask him for that he wouldn’t gladly give you?”
While saving our souls and giving us a place in Heaven are the greatest things he could do for us, they’re not the only thing he’s willing and eager to do for us.
What Might We Ask God for on the New Earth?
On the New Earth, we’ll be able to ask God for whatever is on our hearts. Why? Because nothing will ever be on our hearts except what pleases him. There will be no more sin, no more disobedience, no more misguided desires, no more requests that displease or dishonor him. So, in that world, if we ever ask him to bring back into our lives an animal we loved, it would not only be easy for him to do, but I believe it would also please him that we would ask.
Jesus said,
You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
Matthew 7:9-12
Will God Reunite Us with Our Pets on the New Earth?
So what will happen on an Earth where we have the very righteousness of Jesus? Where nothing in us will ever want what is evil, harmful, or unwise? In such a world, might God give us virtually everything we ask for?
Since God already gave his Son to die for us, which cost him so much, would he not reunite us with the beloved pets he brought into our lives, when doing so would cost him nothing at all?
Imagining the Joy of Reunion in God’s Eternal Kingdom
Imagine the joy Jesus will have as he watches his animals reunited with their caretakers, jumping into our arms, licking our faces, with no possibility of harm or loss ever again. The contagious happiness and delight of these reunions, and the endless wonders and adventures we will experience together on the New Earth, will be beautiful beyond expression. I believe they will make no one happier than our God, whose love for all his children and all his animals will bring us and him and them eternal pleasure.
1. Joni Eareckson Tada, Holiness in Hidden Places (J. Countryman, 1999), 135.
Adapted from All God’s Creatures: What the Bible Says About Animals, Heaven, and the New Earth by Randy Alcorn, releasing in November 2026 from Tyndale House Publishers.
Helpful Links:
Tyndale Media Center Author Page
Copyright information for photo: Author photo taken by Angela Hunt, copyright © 2015. All rights reserved.
