A Biblical Argument for Animal Salvation
Christ will resurrect all animals who have lived & died on the Last Day.
Please note, I will revise & expand this argument overtime. I am giving a sample that is sufficient for belief, but the whole story itself is an incredible tapestry of theological artistry. (I mean, it's divinely inspired afterall). I am not including everything that could be said or all supporting evidences. But I've included some very important ones.
Many modern pastors who are otherwise godly men, unwittingly import pre-Christian Greek ideas about the soul onto nephesh hayyah (living soul) and also on to the imago dei. They attributed immortality only to 'rational souls.' Augustine is my favorite church father but he erred on this point. The soul/spirit is different from the imago dei. The imago dei itself has nothing to do with intelligence, rationality, to ability. The attachment of ability to the imago dei is perhaps understandable. People have asked 'what does that mean'? Mankind's seemingly unique mental ability is bound to be offered as an explanation. However, this is not biblically supported and it is a dangerous assumption to make. If an animal is discovered to have human-like intelligence, what then? Mentally disabled people have equal dignity. They are just as much imagers as any genius. Animals are nowhere claimed to possess God's image, but in several places they are said to have souls / spirits. Some have said that nephesh is no more than anima or life-force. But the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament which surveys all of the linguistic evidence available at the time of publication, concluded that nephesh cannot be limited semantically to mere life-force. Nephesh can and does mean a proper soul, and that's supported by the use of 'living soul.' (1) However, my argument itself does not depend on the ensoulment of animals. It's just a nice bonus.
Basic Systematic Theology Argument:
1. Animals have souls. (Genesis 2:19, 9:10, Ecclesiastes 3:21)
2. The fate of mankind & animals is the same. (Ecclesiastes 3:19)
3. God makes a covenant with them post creation but before the last day. (Genesis 9:8–17) Animals that God promised before and after the time of Noah must be risen for the blessings of this covenant to be realized for them.
4. God makes another covenant with them on the Last Day. (Hosea 2:18) Christ died to save the whole world. (John 3:17)
5. They pray to, obey, in some animal-way worship God. (Job 38:41 Psalm 104:21) Balaam's Donkey could see & obeyed the preincarnate Jesus. (Numbers 22:21-39) Thus, animals are obedient Christians.
6. That all creation is longing for palingenesis, which is in ancient Judaism is the belief that on the Last Day God will renovate the universe & everything into a glorified, immortal state. (Romans 8:18–25, Matthew 19:28)
7. That all flesh / bodies possess seed & seed exists to be resurrected. This is within a hair's breadth of directly answering the question in the affirmative. (1 Corinthians 15:12-49)
8. All things in heaven & on earth will be reconciled & reunited with God by Christ. (Colossians 1:15–20, Ephesians 1:7–10, John 3:17) Universalists will use these passages as a prooftext. In a sense, animal resurrection is a bulwark against universalism.
9. Animals will inhabit the ruins of destroyed evil empires, punish evildoers in human history, & will be soldiers in Christ's heavenly armies on judgment day. Here again, animals are obedient Christians & God's unquestioning servants. (Leviticus 18:26–28, 26:22, Isaiah 34-35, Revelation 19:17–18, 1 Kings 13:24–29, 2 Kings 17:25)
10. That animals will be in heaven. (Isaiah 11 & 66) [people own personal animals in the eschaton], (Multiple OT Prophets, Revelation 5:13), [which is the scroll Daniel couldn't read c. 500 BC revealed to John 1st century AD]
Some Arguments & Evidence from Biblical Theology:
1 Corinthians 15:35–44 (ESV)
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
All physical creations have a body & a soul according to their type. This includes humans, all kinds of animals, & heavenly objects such as planets & stars. All bodies are seed which dies to be resurrected. In Paul's own context, he is arguing with proto-gnostics who denied resurrection as a category. Paul is refuting this denial. Because all flesh is seed, and all seed rises, animals will thus rise from the dead by inference. Paul's interlocutors were not gnostics per se, but they had a very negative opinion of bodies & material creation in general. These ideas would flower into gnosticism in the 2nd century. Every body has been given a seed, & that seed will result in the resurrection of that body. Again, this is universal to all beings, human, animal, & even heavenly bodies. Stars & planets were regarded as sentient beings in the worldview of the Israelites, although if they weren't it wouldn't affect the outcome of the renewal.
Romans 8:18–25 (ESV)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Paul assumes a pre-existing belief in ancient Judaism of cosmic renewal or rebirth. This renewal is assumed to prove the renewal of the faithful. Cosmic rebirth is Paul's proof & analogy for the regeneration of our hearts & resurrection of our bodies. Most Christians have believed that Adam's sin in some way has damaged the creational order, introducing conflict disharmony, & death. A minority view is that God created the universe very good, but with imperfections including death & some degree of disharmony & Adam's failure left creation in this unglorified state. Regardless, it is clear from this passage that all creation is extremely frustrated because Adam's sin subjected it to futility. All creation awaited the revealing of the church, which would indicate the start of the end times, the culmination of which is the final renewal of creation. A significant reason why Jesus is called the Last Adam is because Jesus has (and is) succeeding in this mission to glorify creation where Adam failed by retaking the nations for the Father. Once the fullness of the gentiles is reached, the renewal of creation will commence in full.
Matthew 19:28 (LEB)
And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that in the renewal of the world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me—you also will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The word Jesus uses is palingenesia (palingenesis) which is the word used refer to cosmic renewal. It could be correctly translated as rebirth, regeneration, renewal, resurrection, according to the concepts behind it.
Psalm 36:5–9 (ESV)
5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
Psalm 36 & 104:
Many commentators view 'save' as a reference to sustaining life. I do not object but this isn't mutually exclusive to salvific preservation. There's more to it than that. The language behind psalm 36 mirrors the language of Ugaritic tablets referencing Baal granting eternal life to his subjects. The Ugaritic tablets are the closest in time and in language to the Hebrew Bible. Pagan nonsense aside, linguistic information adds is invaluable context for Old Testament research. These tablets have been an enormous blessing for exegesis. Also, there isn't a good reason either to not view this psalm as a complete whole. Animals were included in Israel's national covenant with God when they were leaving Egypt. Man and beast are part of a community.
Excerpts From Mitchell Dahood's commentary of Psalms:
"7. Your generosity. The contents of the hymn in vss. 6–11 suggest that this is the nuance borne by ṣidqātekā; see NOTE below on vs. 11, ṣidqātekā, with which it forms an inclusion.
the towering mountains. In the construct chain harerē ʾēl, ʾēl functions as a superlative; this has been widely received. Cf. Pss 50:10, 68:16, 80:11; El Amarna, kasap llāni, “the very finest silver”; and Ugar. ṯlḥn il, “a splendid table.” The frequency of the construction in Ugaritic (UT, § 13.22) shows the interpretation of the biblical expression to have been correct and speaks volumes for the Canaanite classification of Ugaritic. Cf. UT, 51:II:35–36, where hr il is apparently parallel to bym il.
your providence. Once the true value of ṣidqātekā is brought out, it becomes rather evident that the idea of governance contained in mišpāṭekā more specifically refers to the foreseeing care and guardianship of God over his creatures.
8–10. The language of these verses is of a piece with the Canaanite terms that describe the nature of immortality that Baal bestows upon certain individuals. UT, 2 Aqht:VI:30–31, kbʿl kyḥwy yʿšr ḥwy yʿšr wyš[q]ynh, “For when Baal bestows eternal life, he invites the life-given to a banquet; he invites him to a banquet and gives him to drink.”
In these verses of the psalm we have the background of the messianic banquet which figures so prominently in the Qumran literature, the other intertestamental literature, and, of course, in the New Testament; cf. NOTE on Ps 50:23." (2)
This is also true for Psalm 104: so much so, that S.R. Driver believed that Psalm 104's reading may not be original & should be emended. It's possible this is true, however said it should be emended because it results in the resurrection of marine life which is the very reason he thought the reading wasn't original.
"The language of Psalm 104:24 to 30 may imply the end-time resurrection of marine and celestial as well as terrestrial creatures. S. R. Driver writes: “Few, if any, readers of the Old Testament seem to have noticed that, as the text [of Psalm 104:24–30] stands and as it can only be read without violating normal standards of interpretation, they are committed to the strange doctrine of the resurrection not only of man and of birds and beasts but also of Leviathan and the ‘creeping’ or rather ‘gliding things innumerable’ which swim in the sea (Ps. civ. 10–30).” Driver points out that the “they all” (vs. 27, NASB) which “are created” (vs. 30, NIV) “must mean all, not some, of them, sc. of God’s creatures, whether men and beasts and birds or fishes, mentioned in the course of the psalm.” Although Driver acknowledges that this is the meaning of the text in its present form, he assumes such meaning to be “objectionable” and thus suggests radical excision of the text. But if one accepts the text as it stands, as I think is the best position to take, then this passage seems to point toward the resurrection of a wide range of animals." (3)
For some external evidence, let's take a look at Papias, who was John's student. According to Papias, John taught animals would be resurrected into the new heavens and earth. Quoted by Irenaeus in Book 5 of Against Heresies:
And these things are borne witness to in writing by Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book; for there were five books compiled (συντεταγμένα) by him. And he says in addition, “Now these things are credible to believers.” And he says that, “when the traitor Judas did not give credit to them, and put the question, ‘How then can things about to bring forth so abundantly be wrought by the Lord?’ the Lord declared, ‘They who shall come to these [times] shall see.’ ” When prophesying of these times, therefore, Esaias says: “The wolf also shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall take his rest with the kid; the calf also, and the bull, and the lion shall eat together; and a little boy shall lead them. The ox and the bear shall feed together, and their young ones shall agree together; and the lion shall eat straw as well as the ox. And the infant boy shall thrust his hand into the asp’s den, into the nest also of the adder’s brood; and they shall do no harm, nor have power to hurt anything in my holy mountain.” And again he says, in recapitulation, “Wolves and lambs shall then browse together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent earth as if it were bread; and they shall neither hurt nor annoy anything in my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” I am quite aware that some persons endeavour to refer these words to the case of savage men, both of different nations and various habits, who come to believe, and when they have believed, act in harmony with the righteous. But although this is [true] now with regard to some men coming from various nations to the harmony of the faith, nevertheless in the resurrection of the just [the words shall also apply] to those animals mentioned. For God is rich in all things. And it is right that when the creation is restored, all the animals should obey and be in subjection to man, and revert to the food originally given by God (for they had been originally subjected in obedience to Adam), that is, the productions of the earth. But some other occasion, and not the present, is [to be sought] for showing that the lion shall [then] feed on straw. And this indicates the large size and rich quality of the fruits. For if that animal, the lion, feeds upon straw [at that period], of what a quality must the wheat itself be whose straw shall serve as suitable food for lions? (4)
This doesn't suggest that only animals mentioned in the bible will be resurrected. Moses didn't know about capybaras because capybaras didn't live in the middle east. Reductive interpretation of scripture has done great damage in general & reflects modern thinking in our post enlightenment era. Reductive nitpicking over every detail often manifests in attempts to justify sin, frequently sexual sin. Being cautious is a good thing. But reductive interpretation isn't.
Final Thoughts (for now):
A tiny sample of a few adherents to animal resurrection: Martin Luther, John Wesley, Joseph Hamilton, Joseph Butler, Augustus Toplady (19th Century) Isaac of Nineveh (7th Century), Papias (1st century) who received direct instruction John the apostle, Irenaeus (2nd century), Popular author Randy Alcorn (one of the best book for laymen correcting quasi-gnostic views of heaven), New Testament Scholar Richard Bauckham who has written excellent books defending the Deity of Christ. C.S. Lewis thought so as well. Lutheran theologian George N.H. Peters (19th century). RC Sproul thought it merited serious consideration although he said so without making biblical arguments. John Calvin affirmed animals will be in the new heavens and earth, in opposition the spiritualized eschatology of the libertines in Geneva. Calvin was always cautious, and did not elaborate much. But he directly stated animals are missionaries. Thus, on some level, they were Christian. This is reminiscent of Paul in 1 Corinthians.
John Calvin, c. 1535, Preface to Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament
”Saint Paul has therefore said quite rightly that the Lord has never left himself without a witness; even among those to whom he has not sent any knowledge of his Word. It is evident that all creatures, from those in the firmament to those which are in the center of the earth, are able to act as witnesses and messengers of his glory to all men; to draw them to seek God, and after having found him, to meditate upon him and to render him the homage befitting his dignity as so good, so mighty, so wise a Lord who is eternal; yea, they are even capable of aiding every man wherever he is in this quest. For the little birds that sing, sing of God; the beasts clamor for him; the elements dread him, the mountains echo him, the fountains and flowing waters cast their glances at him, and the grass and flowers laugh before him. Truly there is no need for long searching, since everyone could find him in himself, because every one of us is sustained and preserved by his power which is in us.”
Even in Aquinas admitted that it was possible in Contra Gentiles, he merely regarded animal resurrection as improbable for the similar reasons to Augustine. Both Aquinas and Augustine, brilliant men, understood they weren’t infallible, and strongly suspect would agree with me if they were around today.
In general, good theologians across all traditions recognize there will be animals in heaven because scripture says so. The point of dispute is whether those animals will simply be new animals, or animals that will be restored on the Last Day. Animal resurrection has massive explanatory power, which is generally how many of our adiaphora is defended & argued. Romans 8 makes more sense if animals who have lived & died will be risen. Romans 8 makes less sense if that is not true. It takes extra steps to argue against animal salvation than to affirm it. I contend that the burden of proof is therefore on those who deny it.
What I've written here is no way exhaustive of every argument or evidence. There's much more to be said. I believe the evidence at hand is sufficient to indicate that animal resurrection is likely. At the barest minimum, animal resurrection is highly defensible and as a result, categorical denials of animal resurrection can be dismissed entirely.
It is no mere accident that Jesus was born among animals, animals accompanied him when he fought with Satan in the desert, and He was crucified outside Jerusalem in the same place where the Hebrews sacrificed animals outside the camp. These events are not coincidental. The Holy Books are trying to tell you something.
Citations:
Bible
(1) Seebass, Horst. “נֶפֶשׁ.” In Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, edited by G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, translated by David E. Green, IX:497–519. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998.
(2) Mitchell Dahood S.J., Psalms I: 1-50: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, vol. 16, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 220–222.
(3) THE RESURRECTION OF MARINE AND TERRESTRIAL CREATURES By G. R. DRIVER
Journal of Semitic Studies, Volume 7, Issue 1, SPRING 1962, Pages 12–22, https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/7.1.12
Published: 01 March 1962 (I have the PDF.)
https://www.perspectivedigest.org/archive/22-2/the-salvation-of-animals Driver is quoted here by Richard M. Davidson. I didn't really think I could do a better job quoting & explaining succinctly.
(4) Irenaeus of Lyons, “Irenæus against Heresies,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 563.