For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen… what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

Isaiah 64:4

CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick, February 4, 2024 – Forget the Museum of Natural History. Don’t waste your time watching Jurassic Park. Why pore over old bones locked up in dusty display cases or sit in the dark staring at CGI dinosaurs when you can live the real thing, up close and personal, in Heaven?

Every creature that once roamed the Earth has a forever home in the celestial realm, and they’re all tame and friendly and surprisingly quite talkative. That’s right – if you make it to Heaven, you’ll not only see the dinosaurs, along with every furry, scaly, feathery, and leathery creature that’s ever existed, you’ll be able to talk with them as easily and as naturally as Adam once talked with the animals in Eden. You’ll be able to hang out with them and go on adventures with them. And the best thing (for me, anyway) is that glorified creatures don’t bite, sting, scratch, or poop, not in Heaven. Nothing bites, stings, scratches, or poops in Heaven.

I mention this about God’s glorified creatures because as lovely as Earth is and as blessed as we are to be here and to have Earth as our temporary address, it doesn’t hold a candle to Home. It just doesn’t. On a scale of 1 to a million in wonderfulness, with “1” being occasionally wonderful and “a million” being mind-blowing, Heaven soars beyond countability while Earth barely hangs on to “1”.

Not to denigrate Earth. I would never do that. I’m grateful to be here and I love what God’s done with the place. But God doesn’t want us to get too attached to our earthly lives or to his time-and-space-bound imperfect creation. He wants us to enjoy everything, certainly (he specifically made it for our use and pleasure), but he doesn’t want us to get too attached. Earth is like a glossy brochure, a 30-second ad, a sneak-peek preview of what’s waiting for us at Home. And not surprisingly, the dinosaurs are as much of a draw in Heaven as they are on Earth.

Of all the sights that await us in Paradise, the plants and animals will probably overwhelm us the most (that is, after we recuperate from our first glimpse of God!). And we’ll see all of God’s creatures in Heaven, not just the ones we’re familiar with. We’ll see plants and animals that are long extinct and for which no bones or fossilized remains have been found, and we’ll see plants and animals that were never on Earth. Quoting Isaiah, Paul reminds us that what God has prepared for us in Heaven is beyond our comprehension. In other words, we, as humans, not only have no point of reference on Earth, we simply don’t have the capacity to comprehend what’s waiting for us. A big part of that unimaginability is the glorified plants and animals in every conceivable (and inconceivable) size, shape, color, texture, and personality.

All of our beloved pets make it Home, too. The ones that are no longer here are there. (There’s no third option for them: they’re either here or there). So you can imagine how big Heaven must be, if every creature that ever lived on Earth is now in Heaven! I find this to be a great comfort as well as an ongoing source of amazement. When I think about my pets being perfected and permanently safe and happy in their real forever home, I can’t thank God enough and I want to be there with them as soon as I can. Knowing they’re in Heaven massively motivates me to get my butt Home.

Theologians and preachers don’t talk much about plants and animals, but they should, since God’s creatures are all over his Word, from Genesis to Revelation. Plants and animals play a huge part in God’s plan of redemption and also feature prominently in scriptural visions of Paradise. My little piece of Heaven that God shows me is full of my favourite plants and animals, all perfected and waiting for me. God has done this, showing the depth of his love for me, just as he’s done the same for you, showing the depth of his love for you. God loves his creatures so much, he’s even surrounded his throne with them. They’re always in his presence. (They’re his pets!) We’ll get to meet God’s pets, too, some day, if and when we make it Home.

And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had six wings… and they were full of eyes… and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty….

Revelation 4:6-8

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit….

Corinthians 2:9

I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Matthew 11:25