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John MacArthur says no animals will be in God's Kingdom

Alfred Persson

Alfred Persson

Catholic Orthodox Free Will Reformed Baptist
2024 Supporter
In this video a child asks if there will be animals in God's kingdom. John correctly interprets the text which was cited can't be used as proof animals are in God's kingdom:


But I believe he is wrong because it is written:

4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious." (Isa. 11:4-10 NKJ)

His reason given, that eternal life is only for humans, is a non-sequitur and red herring. God promises "hurt" and "destruction" won't exist in His kingdom, therefore "not dying" isn't being granted eternal life even though it results in the same thing.

There is an essential difference being infused with life giving Spirit for all eternity, granted access to the tree of life, to simply not dying because God forbids causes of hurt and destruction exist.
 
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"Kingdom of God/heaven" is often confused with "heaven". This kingdom actually means the millennial kingdom on EARTH, not heaven - where God and his angels dwell! So animals don't go to heaven, neither will we, but both will go to the millennial kingdom.
 
Carry_Your_Name said:
"Kingdom of God/heaven" is often confused with "heaven". This kingdom actually means the millennial kingdom on EARTH, not heaven - where God and his angels dwell! So animals don't go to heaven, neither will we, but both will go to the millennial kingdom.
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You assume medieval cosmology is correct, that heaven is a place for spirits, earth for material beings. I reject that. Both physical and spiritual beings exist in the heavenlies. Christ in His resurrected body, Moses, Elijah...all physical. And why wouldn't animals be in heaven? Lots of variety of life exists in God's creation:


6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" (Rev. 4:6-8 NKJ)
 
Alfred Persson said:
6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" (Rev. 4:6-8 NKJ)
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Lion, calf, man and eagle are a visual representation of the four leading tribes of Israel during the wilderness period, Judah, Ephraim, Reuben and Dan respectively. They camped in the four directions of the temple, wherever the temple went, they always camped around it in these four directions. In Ezekiel 1, these four beasts served as the four "wheels" of God's throne, they were stationed in the same four directions. I don't think these strange living creatures are real animals in heaven.

Keep in mind that the book of Revelation is full of symbols, and mostly of these symbols are references of certain things, like the dragon is Satan, the lamb is Jesus, the sea is all nations, etc.. If you've read and studied all previous books of the bible, then you'd find thes symbols very familiar, these four living creatures for example can be traced back to Eze. 1, and then further back to the Israelites' camping arrangements in Numbers, you don't just read Rev. 4:6-8 alone and take it literally.
 
Carry_Your_Name said:
Lion, calf, man and eagle are a visual representation of the four leading tribes of Israel during the wilderness period, Judah, Ephraim, Reuben and Dan respectively. They camped in the four directions of the temple, wherever the temple went, they always camped around it in these four directions. In Ezekiel 1, these four beasts served as the four "wheels" of God's throne, they were stationed in the same four directions. I don't think these strange living creatures are real animals in heaven.

Keep in mind that the book of Revelation is full of symbols, and mostly of these symbols are references of certain things, like the dragon is Satan, the lamb is Jesus, the sea is all nations, etc.. If you've read and studied all previous books of the bible, then you'd find thes symbols very familiar, these four living creatures for example can be traced back to Eze. 1, and then further back to the Israelites' camping arrangements in Numbers, you don't just read Rev. 4:6-8 alone and take it literally.
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Your cosmology isn't scriptural, its medieval. The metaverse consists of two "parallel universes", the Teleios and the Meros (1 Cor. 13:10). In both are material and immaterial beings.
 
I sure hope there are animals.
God called them "good" when He created them, and none of them ever committed a sin while living; so there is no reason for them to perish eternally.
 
God gave all humans and animals the breath of life that made us a living soul and that is the only thing that goes back to God when humans and animals die. In the new Jerusalem both humans and animals will exist.

Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecc 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
 
I can't not have animals in Heaven. I grieve for my lost pets. I live for the day I finally get to see them again. I work out my salvation with fear and trembling, so that one day I may be in Heaven and see them again. I can't have that denied me.
 
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