On February 4th, 2014, I posted a short bit of prose on Facebook about the fact that animals are destined to perish in the Great Tribulation, and our need to warn others about the near total destruction of the Earth that is coming after the Rapture. This prose, which begins with “Didn’t you get the memo?”, appears further down in this article.
However, instead of having the desired affect, which was to get people fired up about preaching the coming destruction of this world to their lost loved ones, this led to a heated debate about how God intends to care for our pets after the Rapture, and if they will go to Heaven with us or not when we are taken up.
After watching this debate unfold, I believe that most believers are missing the bigger issues involved in the whole “Pets In Heaven” or “Pets Included in the Rapture” debate. This is the fact that many want to cling to their pets because they bring us happiness here on Earth. Some also think that they will miss or need them even after the Rapture, and they also don’t want their pets to suffer when they’re gone.
However, what does this say about our relationship with the world in comparison to our relationship with Yahweh God and His Son and Spirit? Remember that we are called to find ALL of our joy in Christ, God the Father and the Holy Spirit! It is not the world or anything in the world, but God alone who can and will meet our every need, and will transform the way we view the world and all of Creation if we strive to draw near to Him. Furthermore, the Creation is groaning to see our redemption completed so that it can receive redemption and be transformed also:
~*~ Romans 8:19-23 ~*~
“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”But this does not mean that the whole creation is going to take part in the Rapture! Many of the early chapters of Isaiah deal with events during the birth pains leading to the Great Tribulation and to the Tribulation itself. For example, Isaiah 17, with its focus on the destruction of Damascus, has been coming true in the last few years, as has the judgment of Egypt described in Isaiah 19.
There is also good reason to believe that Isaiah 27:12-13 describes the Second Coming of Christ - when the trumpets are to be blown again as they will be at the Rapture, and the righteous survivors of the Apocalypse will be gathered together and transformed. This means that Isaiah 24 is most likely also dealing with events during the Great Tribulation, and before Christ’s Millennial Rule. In Isaiah Chapter 24, we are told that:
“The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.”
I believe that Isaiah 24 is describing the near total destruction of the Earth during the Great Tribulation - an Earth that will not be able to correct itself or “rise again” without divine intervention. But before the Earth’s renewal during the Millennial Rule of Christ that is described in Isaiah 11:4-10 (as quoted further down in this article), Yahshua's coming in judgment of the world are in view in verse 4.
Even after that blessed 1,000-year era under Yahshua’s beneficent but iron rule, Scripture tells us that the Earth and the Universe are destined to be destroyed and replaced with a New Creation. In regard to the New Heaven and the New Earth, the Apostle Peter said the following in 2 Peter 3:10-11:
“the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the
earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved...”
With words like “pass away”, “melt”, “burned up” and “dissolved” being used here to describe the destruction of the heavens and the Earth, how does anyone interpret this as describing only a surface destruction of this planet or the heavens? In my opinion, the word “dissolved” suggests that the old creation will be “utterly destroyed”, not just resurfaced.
I believe that the New Heaven and New Earth are truly going to be NEW, and NOT renewed, just as the New Covenant is NOT a renewed old one, but a New and Better Covenant than the old one (Hebrews 8:6-10). Remember when Yahshua said that you cannot put new wine in old wine skins or the old skins will burst? This principle of not mixing the old with the new lest the new be lost to corruption applies to the New Covenant and the New Creation also, not just to wine (Matthew 9:15-17).
In fact, there are many hints throughout Scripture that our transformed bodies, minds and spirits will be very different and will perceive and experience much more than anything we can now. This is because our whole beings will finally know and seek God in all things, and will also be fulfilled by the Holy Spirit in beautiful and powerful ways that we simply cannot comprehend in our current debased state.
Because I have already had a powerful foretaste of my future relationship with Yahshua in this life, I personally know that - once we fully know and are known by God after the Rapture - we WILL NOT crave or desire to know anything else but God in Christ!
Remember that Yahshua is the Alpha and the Omega, and the First and the Last, and He is all in all, and can and WILL satisfy every need that we may have if we love and desire Him! This is because the New Creation and our new bodies will be a PERFECT expression of His love for His Father and for us, and not a corrupted version of it that we can see and experience now!
In Revelation 3:20-21, Yahshua says:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him, and
he with Me. To him who overcomes I will
grant to sit with Me on My throne...”
How much room do you think there will be for your pets on that throne?
Please understand that I do not lack compassion for the animals that we will leave behind in the Rapture anymore than I lack compassion for the people we will leave behind. But you have to remember that the Rapture isn’t meant to rescue the world, but ONLY the Bride and the Wedding attendants. The redemption of the world will come later.
The Old Testament and New Testament prophets make it clear
that animals perish due to human wickedness. Revelation Chapter 16 also says that
all the creatures in the seas and rivers, and all the grasses and trees (including
food crops) will perish during the Great Tribulation, so any pets and other
animals that are left behind will likely be eaten, die of sickness, or will
starve - although God will likely preserve some to comfort and feed the Jews
and the redeemed who will be left behind. But, just as the wicked people who
lack shelter and emergency rations will perish, so will most of the animals.
~*~ Isaiah 11:4-10 ~*~
“He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
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.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
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.
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.”
Although animals will play a part in the Millennial Kingdom
That is why we need to drive home the point to others that this world and everything in it is passing away! People need to be reminded that EVERYTHING tangible in this world is temporary, and will be replaced with a much higher order of people, animals and existence that is totally attuned to God. This is why I posted the following bit of prose to Facebook that started the whole debate about “Pets In Heaven” on my timeline:
~~****~~****~~****~~
Didn’t you get the memo?
This world
is passing away,
and all the dogs and cats,
and cows and pigs
aren’t going
in the Rapture.
Instead,
they are all destined
to perish
during the
Great Tribulation.
This is what
you need to be
preaching to your friends,
and your family,
just as Noah did!
~~****~~****~~****~~
This coming destruction of most of the life on this Earth during the Great Tribulation as described in Revelation Chapter 16 underscores our need to remember that this world is passing away, and the judgment of the wicked will cause most of the life on this planet to perish. We also need to remember that, for the righteous, there is mercy in death because it is a doorway to transformation for the redeemed and all animal life.
We all can and do experience temporary suffering in this life. No living thing is immune. But God is all powerful and can remove suffering for our sake. He also can help us to forget that suffering ever existed, and He will. Don’t ever doubt that.
Just strive to remember that there will be no more tears and no more pain when we are transformed, and we will not remember the old order of things anymore. One day soon, our joy will be complete in Yahshua’s presence, forever. Furthermore, all of Creation will eventually be transformed into a New Creation that will be far better than this present one because of its perfect love of Christ, and our perfect love for one another! Hallelu-Yah!
Love and Blessings,
Helena Lehman of the
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
Ministry Web Site: http://pillar-of-enoch.com
Ministry Blog: http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenalehman
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helena.lehman
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This Article About Pets in the Rapture is Connected to the Topic of Children in Relation to the Rapture, for which I also wrote an article, as shown below. Please read and share it with others.
All Children In The Rapture? A Personal Perspective
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2013/10/all-children-in-rapture-personal.html
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