Doesn’t Revelation show that there are animals in heaven?
Question:
"And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (Revelation 19:14).
Does this literally mean that there are a lot of horses in Heaven waiting to be used for the second coming?
The sin curse is lifted at the start of the millennium. What does God do with all the animals at the end of the millennium? Does he kill them all when he destroys the earth with fire?
God saw that it was good when he created animals (Genesis 1:21-24). Death is not a part of this good He is referring to. So, before the fall of man, were the first animals God created supposed to live forever?
Thank you.
God Bless!
Answer:
When you start with false concepts, it is very easy to create elaborate ideas. However, they have no foundation.
You use Revelation to claim there are animals in heaven. However, Revelation is a book that states it is written in symbolic language. A "literal meaning" doesn't fit a book meant to be understood figuratively.
"John stated that the message given to him was “signified” (Revelation 1:1). This just means that the message was written down in signs or symbols. A quick reading of the book shows that is obvious, but why use symbols instead of plain text? First, the use of symbols limits who can understand their meaning. Like Jesus’ use of parables, the symbols would have meaning to Christians and be gibberish to those not inclined to follow God (Matthew 13:10-17). Notice that John said the book was written to show God’s servants what would shortly take place (Revelation 1:1). Symbols limit that revelation to only God’s servants. Second, the use of symbols gives a greater illustration. Great pageantry and glory are described with vivid symbols. Things that are too great and marvelous to understand are compared to familiar ideas. For example, heaven is described as having streets paved with gold. Yet, heaven is a spiritual realm, and gold is physical. Are the streets actually gold-lined, or is the author describing a place so beautiful and valuable that the most precious metal in our world is considered cheap paving material in heaven? Finally, the use of symbols dramatizes the events. The scenes are so vividly portrayed that they are locked into our memory. Readers of Revelation do not quickly forget its message." [An Introduction to Revelation].
The scene in Revelation 19:11-18 portrays Jesus as the conquering hero who has destroyed his enemies. The enemy that has been vanquished is the old Roman Empire, which was persecuting Jesus' followers. Just as a sharp sword doesn't literally come from Jesus' mouth (Revelation 19:15), the white horses are symbols of conquerors (Revelation 6:1-2). Jesus and his followers have conquered.
Besides, you are overlooking an important fact: "Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (I Corinthians 15:50). When people enter heaven, it will not be with the physical bodies that they had on earth. It is their spirits clothed in immortal bodies that will enter. However, animals do not have spirits. See "Do animals have a soul or spirit?" When animals die, they return to the earth (Ecclesiastes 3:21).
The concept of a millennial reign of Jesus on this earth is not found in the Bible. The Bible teaches that Jesus is currently reigning in his kingdom. That reign is symbolically described in Revelation as a thousand-year reign - not because it would last exactly a thousand years. The number 1,000 frequently represents "all" in figurative language. For example, "For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills" (Psalms 50:10) doesn't mean there are a thousand hills where God keeps His cattle. He is saying that all animals everywhere belong to Him. Jesus reigns for all the remaining time of this world. "For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death" (I Corinthians 15:25-26). Christ is reigning from heaven, and the current Christian age is the millennium in figurative language.
Your argument from Genesis 1 doesn't work. The creation of plants was described as good (Genesis 1:11-12), but plants were to be eaten (Genesis 1:29). Being declared "good" doesn't imply living forever.
Question:
What are the false concepts that I started with? Are you saying Jesus isn’t going to be on a white horse at his return? Are you saying we won’t have a glorified physical body in Heaven? That nothing is physical in Heaven? Why resurrect our bodies at the rapture if we aren’t going to be in a physical form? Do you believe that you have to be baptized to go to heaven?
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 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 1:24-25).
I’m pretty sure the word “good” is at the end of verse 25. What kind of Bible do you use? I use KJV only.
God Bless!
Answer:
Your false concepts were:
- Treating a book (Revelation) that states it is written in symbolic language as if it was literal.
- Claiming that there will be a millennial reign in the future. You appear to accept the various points of premillennialism without scriptural evidence.
- Using a designation ("good") to mean living eternally without evidence.
I answered these points in my reply, but you seem to ignore them. You stated that we will be raised in the same physical bodies but provided no proof. I pointed out what Paul stated, and you took offense at his point. There really isn't anything more that needs to be said at this point.
