What does the Bible say about animals?
Two things we learn from reading God’s Word is God loves animals and there will be animals in Heaven. There are many metaphors regarding animals in the Bible. Among some of the animals mentioned are sheep, dogs, lions, deers, doves, eagles, fish, rams, bulls, snakes, rats, pigs, and many more.
While the Bible doesn’t really speak on our pets in Heaven we learn it could be a possibility that we will one day be with our cats and dogs. What really matters is, are you saved? Will you be able to find out? When you’re done please (clink on this link to make sure you’re saved.)
Christian quotes about animals
“God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he’ll be there.” Billy Graham
“A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.” Albert Schweitzer
“If we neglect almost any of the domestic animals, they will rapidly revert to wild and worthless forms. Now, the same thing exactly would happen in the case of you or me. Why should man be an exception to any of the laws of nature?”
“Do you ever sense creation’s restlessness? Do you hear groaning in the cold night wind? Do you feel the forests’ loneliness, the oceans’ agitation? Do you hear longing in the cries of the whales? Do you see blood and pain in the eyes of wild animals, or the mixture of pleasure and pain in the eyes of your pets? Despite vestiges of beauty and joy, something on this earth is terribly wrong… The creation hopes for, even anticipates, resurrection.” Randy Alcorn
“Humans are amphibians – half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.” C.S. Lewis
“We are certainly in a common class with the beasts; every action of animal life is concerned with seeking bodily pleasure and avoiding pain.” Augustine
“A healthy church has a pervasive concern with church growth – not simply growing numbers but growing members. A church full of growing Christians is the kind of church growth I want as a pastor. Some today seem to think that one can be a “baby Christian” for a whole lifetime. Growth is seen to be an optional extra for particularly zealous disciples. But be very careful about taking that line of thought. Growth is a sign of life. Growing trees are living trees, and growing animals are living animals. When something stops growing, it dies.” Mark Dever
“The higher animals are in a sense drawn into Man when he loves them and makes them (as he does) much more nearly human than they would otherwise be.” C.S. Lewis
God’s image in people has been terribly marred through sin. But God has planted a sense of personal moral responsibility in every person. He has instilled in each one a general sense of right and wrong. He has created people to be reasonable, rational beings. God’s image in us is seen in the way we value justice, mercy, and love, even though we often distort them. It is why we are creative, artistic, and musical. These things simply cannot be said about even the most intelligent of the animals. Daryl Wingerd
Dogs in the Bible!
1. Luke 16:19-22 Jesus said, “There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes. He was so rich that he was able to enjoy all the best things every day. There was also a very poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus’ body was covered with sores. He was often put by the rich man’s gate. Lazarus wanted only to eat the scraps of food left on the floor under the rich man’s table. And the dogs came and licked his sores. “Later, Lazarus died. The angels took him and placed him in the arms of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.”
2. Judges 7:5 When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the LORD told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.”
Animal cruelty is a sin!
3. Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
4. Proverbs 27:23 Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds.
Bestiality in the Bible!
5. Leviticus 18:21-23 “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin. “A man must not defile himself by having sex with an animal. And a woman must not offer herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it. This is a perverse act. “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways.”
God cares about animals
6. Psalm 36:5-7 Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
7. Matthew 6:25-27 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life?
8. Psalm 147:7-9 Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
9. Psalm 145:8-10 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you.
Bible verses about animals in heaven
10. Isaiah 65:23-25 They won’t toil in vain nor bear children doomed to misfortune, for they will be offspring blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call, I will answer, while they are still speaking, I’ll hear. “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; but as for the serpent— its food will be dust! They won’t harm or destroy on my entire holy mountain.”
11. Isaiah 11:5-9 He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.
12. Revelation 19:11-14 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.
In the beginning God created animals
13. Genesis 1:20-30 Then God said, “Let the oceans swarm with living creatures, and let flying creatures soar above the earth throughout the sky!” So God created every kind of magnificent marine creature, every kind of living marine crawler with which the waters swarmed, and every kind of flying creature. And God saw how good it was. God blessed them by saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the oceans. Let the birds multiply throughout the earth!” The twilight and the dawn were the fifth day. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature, each kind of livestock and crawling thing, and each kind of earth’s animals!” And that is what happened. God made each kind of the earth’s animals, along with every kind of livestock and crawling thing. And God saw how good it was. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, to be like us. Let them be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, the livestock, everything that crawls on the earth, and over the earth itself!” So God created mankind in his own image; in his own image God created them; he created them male and female. God blessed the humans by saying to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it! Be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, and every living thing that crawls on the earth!” God also told them, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows throughout the earth, along with every tree that grows seed-bearing fruit. They will produce your food. I have given all green plants as food for every wild animal of the earth, every bird that flies, and to every living thing that crawls on the earth.” And that is what happened.
Camels in the Bible
14. Mark 10:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!
15. Genesis 24:64 “Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel.”
16. Genesis 31:34 “Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. Laban felt about all the tent, but didn’t find them.”
17. Deuteronomy 14:7 “Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the rabbit; because they chew the cud but don’t part the hoof, they are unclean to you.”
18. Zechariah 14:15 “So will be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the donkey, and of all the animals that will be in those camps, as that plague.”
19. Mark 1:6 “And John was clothed with camels hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he ate locusts and wild honey.”
20. Genesis 12:16 “Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.”
21. “Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoils of war. I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places and will bring disaster on them from every side,” declares the LORD.”
Dinosaurs in the Bible
22. Job 40:15-24 Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox. Look at its strength in its loins, and its power in the muscles of its belly. It makes its tail stiff like a cedar, the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron. It ranks first among the works of God, the One who made it has furnished it with a sword. For the hills bring it food, where all the wild animals play. Under the lotus trees it lies, in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh. The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream conceal it. If the river rages, it is not disturbed, it is secure, though the Jordan should surge up to its mouth. Can anyone catch it by its eyes, or pierce its nose with a snare?
23. Isaiah 27:1 “In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
24. Psalm 104:26 “There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.”
25. Genesis 1:21 “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
Lions in the Bible
26. Psalm 104:21-24 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
27. Nahum 2:11-13 Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey. “I am against you,” declares the LORD Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
28. 1 Kings 10:19 “The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.”
29. 2 Chronicles 9:19 “And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.”
30. Song of Solomon 4:8 “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
31. Ezekiel 19:6 “And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.”
32. Jeremiah 50:17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep that lions have chased. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria. The last to gnaw at their bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.”
Wolves and sheep
33. Matthew 7:14-16 But the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to true life. Only a few people find that road. Be careful of false prophets. They come to you looking gentle like sheep, but they are really dangerous like wolves. You will know these people by what they do. Grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from thorny weeds.
34. Ezekiel 22:27 “Your leaders are like wolves that tear their prey into pieces. They murder and destroy people to make excessive profits.”
35. Zephaniah 3:3 “Its officials are ⌞like⌟ roaring lions. Its judges are ⌞like⌟ wolves in the evening. They leave nothing to gnaw on for the morning.”
36. Luke 10:3 “Go! I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.”
37. Acts 20:29 “I know that fierce wolves will come to you after I leave, and they won’t spare the flock.”
38. John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
39. John 10:3 “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
Snakes in the Bible
40. Exodus 4:1-3 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
41. Numbers 21:7 “The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.”
42. Isaiah 30:6 “A prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lions and lionesses, of adders and darting snakes, the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’ backs, their treasures on the humps of camels, to that unprofitable nation.”
43. 1 Corinthians 10:9 “We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.”
Rats and lizards in the Bible
44. Leviticus 11:29-31 And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.
Sparrows in the Bible
45. Luke 12:5-7 I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the authority to throw you into hell after killing you. Yes, I tell you, be afraid of him! “Five sparrows are sold for two pennies, aren’t they? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Why, even all the hairs on your head have been counted! Stop being afraid. You are worth more than a bunch of sparrows.”
Owls in the Bible
46. Isaiah 34:8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause. Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.
47. Isaiah 34:11 “The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.”
Animals in Noah’s Ark
48. Genesis 6:18-22 However, I will establish my own covenant with you, and you are to enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. You are to bring two of every living thing into the ark so they may remain alive with you. They are to be male and female. From birds according to their species, from domestic animals according to their species, and from everything that crawls on the ground according to their species —two of everything will come to you so they may remain alive. For your part, take some of the edible food and store it away—these stores will be food for you and the animals. Noah did all of this, precisely as God had commanded.
49. Genesis 8:20-22 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of all the clean birds and animals, and he burned them on the altar as offerings to God. The Lord was pleased with these sacrifices and said to himself, I will never again curse the ground because of human beings. Their thoughts are evil even when they are young, but I will never again destroy every living thing on the earth as I did this time. As long as the earth continues, planting and harvest, cold and hot, summer and winter, day and night will not stop.
Adam and Eve
25. Genesis 3:10-14 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.”Adam and Eve!25. Genesis 3:10-14 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.”
Bonus
Psalm 50:9-12 I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
