A good beginning
Animals were part of God’s world before sin entered it. Eden helps us ask what a truly restored creation could include.
A free illustrated Bible study
Will our pets meet us in Heaven?
A familiar face. A joyful reunion. A question that reaches straight to the heart.
Explore the biblical reasons to hope for animals in God’s coming kingdom—and the Father’s delight in giving His children joy.
Get the free illustrated study12 beautiful pages · Scripture you can read for yourself
Michael Kendrick
Rooted in Scripture. Honest about what is promised. Open to a beautiful hope.
Love does not ask a small question
Could goodbye become
hello again?
The dog who waited at the door. The cat who curled up beside us. The horse whose trust we learned to treasure. Their place in our lives is real. Wondering about their future deserves a thoughtful answer.
Michael Kendrick makes a hopeful case from God’s original creation, the peace pictured by the prophets, and the generosity of the Father. He also draws a clear line between what Scripture says and what we may reasonably hope.
A kingdom of peace
Explore the prophets’ picture of creaturely peace, and why the millennium and the eternal new earth must be distinguished.
A Father’s generosity
Consider the hope of reunion with particular pets through the character of the God who loves His children.
Begin with the Word
God called His
living world good.
If animals belong to the Creator’s good design, why imagine His perfected creation without them? This study begins with the Bible’s words, then carefully develops the argument.
“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:25 · KJV
Two stages, thoughtfully explained
The millennium.
Then all things made new.
The study follows a premillennial reading of Scripture and acknowledges that Christians differ on the sequence of these events.
Christ’s thousand-year reign
Life continues under the King.
In this reading, believing survivors enter Christ’s earthly kingdom after the judgment of the sheep and goats. The possibility that living animals continue into it is a reasoned inference, supported by the prophets’ picture of peace.
The eternal new heaven and new earth
Death and sorrow are gone.
The final renewed creation is distinguished from the millennium. Reunion with a particular pet is Michael’s heartfelt theological hope, grounded in God’s generosity—not an explicit promise that the Bible makes about every pet.
The eternal renewal of creation
Why would the new earth lack animals?
Animals were part of God’s good creation from the beginning. Their beauty, variety and companionship belong to His creative design.
The Bible’s final picture includes a new heaven and a new earth where God dwells with His people. The river of life and tree of life carry the story’s garden imagery into its glorious conclusion. Paul also speaks of creation itself being freed from corruption.
“Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
Romans 8:21 · KJV
For Michael, this gives a strong reason to expect a renewed world alive with creatures. The further hope that the Father restores our own beloved pets rests in His love, generosity and delight in giving His children joy. It is a heartfelt theological hope, not an explicit promise about every individual animal.
Explore the biblical reasons to hopeYours to read, keep and share
A beautiful study.
A deeper reason to hope.
Receive immediate access to the complete illustrated paper by Michael Kendrick.
- 12 pages of thoughtful, accessible teaching
- Actual Scripture excerpts and 19 source passages
- Beautiful scenes of pets, horses and renewed creation
- A clear distinction between biblical promise and personal hope
Free online reading and a downloadable PDF. No payment required.
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Before you begin
Honest questions. Hopeful answers.
Does the Bible promise that every pet will return?
No passage explicitly promises the resurrection of each individual pet. Michael believes there are good reasons for that hope and explains the difference between a conviction, an inference and an explicit promise.
Is this about Heaven now or the coming kingdom?
The focus is Christ’s coming kingdom and the final new heaven and new earth. The paper does not claim to establish where deceased pets are now.
What will I receive?
Immediate access to the complete 12-page illustrated paper, with a readable online edition and a PDF to save. By signing up, you also request Bible-study and ministry emails. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Who wrote the study?
Michael Kendrick, author of Battle of the Seed and founder of Providence Teaching Ministry. Meet Michael and explore more Heaven resources.