LITTLE ROCK — DEAR REV. GRAHAM: I suppose you’ve been asked this before, but will there be animals in heaven? My dog died a few months ago, and I miss him very, very much. After my husband died, I guess my dog became my best friend.
- C.J.
DEAR C.J.: Heaven will be aplace of perfect happiness for us, and if we need animals around us to make our happiness complete, then you can be sure God will have them there.
Heaven will beglorious - far beyond anything we can fully imagine. All the su◊erings, conflicts and disappointments of this life will be over, and death will no longer exist. Sin will be banished, and Satan will never again have any influence over our lives. One of the Bible’s greatest promises declares, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
But heaven will be glorious most of all because we’ll be in the presence of God and of Jesus Christ. Even the most glorious thing we can imagine on earth or in the heavens is but a pale refl ection of the glory of God. If you know Christ, some day you will be with Him forever!
But the Bible also promises that at the end of time God will bring about a new heaven and a new earth (see 2 Peter 3:13). We will share in that wondrous world, and in that day, many scholars believe, the Bible’s prophecy will be fulfilled: “The wolf will live with the lamb.... And the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6-7). Is Jesus Christ the source of your hope?
Write to Billy Graham in care of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C. 28201 or visit the website at billygraham.org
Food, Pages 32 on 01/30/2013