Part Thirteen:  What Will the Relationship Between Humans and Animals Be Like in the New Heaven and Earth?

Hanging on my study wall is a reproduction of a Native American painting of the “Peaceable Kingdom” (derived from Isaiah 11:6-9). In the Isaiah passage (below), children live safely among wolves, lions, bears, poisonous snakes, and other dangerous animals. The message is the same in my painting, but the scene is entirely different. The background is barren southwest desert. The animals include a bison, deer, peccary, Gila Monster, armadillo, skunk, rattlesnake, jackrabbit, porcupine, mountain lion, and other animals indigenous to the American Southwest. All of the animals are huddled around a Navaho child hugging a coyote. The coyote is cuddling a lamb.

Here’s what the passage says: (continued below photo)

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do. Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes and pull it out unharmed. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. And as the waters fill the sea, so the Earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. (Isa. 11:6-9—NLT).

Its possible Isaiah had an image of Eden in mind when he penned this passage (see Isa. 51:3). He wrote it some six centuries before the birth of Christ, and it eloquently reveals one of the most incredible yet wonderful features of the future Messianic Kingdom. More than any other passage in Scripture, it provides a tantalizing glimpse of what the relationship between humans and the animal kingdom will be like in the New Earth and the relationship that will exist among animals themselves.

The Isaiah passage adds additional confirmation that earthly animals will one day dwell in Heaven. Furthermore, since the Peaceable Kingdom is a fundamental feature of the New Earth, it clearly shows that animals on Earth today will be of the same varieties that populate the New Earth. There is no reason why this will not include pets (see part eight).

What is also striking about the Isaiah passage is the incredible transformation that will occur for humans and domestic animals to live peacefully with wild predators and poisonous snakes. It reveals that dangerous animals will become harmless to people, and there will be reconciliation between wild and domestic animals and between predators and prey. Indeed, the phrase “Peaceable Kingdom” perfectly describes the New Earth awaiting God’s people, their pets, and “wild” animals in the Age to come.

Next week’s blog will explore the most controversial question yet: Will insects, toads, snakes, and other less-sentient creatures also inhabit the New Earth?