Mankind and Their Pets

God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:25)

 

People choose to adopt all sorts of pets: dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, fish, snakes and even ferrets. Some people couldn’t care less about owning a pet—to this I say: “To each their own prerogative.” They will obviously never know the joys (and heartaches) involved in sharing time, nurturing God’s creatures.

Speaking from experience, my wife and I have had an assortment of pets throughout our 37 years of marriage. We have had 6 cats, 4 dogs, 4 parakeets and a few ‘flushable’ fish. Only a few times had any of these varied species overlapped in our domicile.

The most recent members of our household are two Springer Spaniel brothers that we adopted from the Marion County Animal Shelter in 2008. They were only 3 months old and had been abused. With a ‘little’ arm twisting—from my wife, grand-daughter, Annika, and niece, Tabitha—we became pet owners of two wonderful jumping, wrestling, biting puppies.

We gave them royal names: Baron von Waggerschmidt (AKA: Waggs, or Wagger Baggins) and Fu Dogchu (AKA: Chewey or Chew-boy). They were welcomed into our home by a seven-year old calico, Pickles. Needless to say she was not in the least bit impressed. But they eventually got along: she taught them how to groom; they taught her how to get off our laps. Unfortunately, our Pickles entered eternity just a few years later.

What our cat could not do for them, we did. Like the daily rations of food and water, walks in the yard or park, baths and clippings, and constant attention. It also included providing the medicines and preventative measures for warding off fleas and ticks.

For 11 years we never once really thought there would be any interruption in our care for our boys. Until 2 years ago our Waggs came down with a mysterious illness that even the doctor could not determine its cause. The only thing we could figure is that he ate something outdoors that affected his entire physical condition. It had weakened him to the point that he had difficulty walking and climbing steps, causing arthritic pain and an irritable itching. He was simple deteriorating from pain pill to pain pill. We made the decision to relieve him of his misery, allowing the vet to mercifully let him sleep the eternal sleep. He was a great dog and will be missed and remembered.

On Waggs’ death bed I whispered to him that God takes care of all of His creatures. I know he probably didn’t know what I was saying. Yet I am confident that since the creatures of God’s were pronounced as “very good” (Genesis 1:31) then they must be very good even after death.

Where do they go after death? I do not know, the Scripture really doesn’t say. Will our pets be in heaven? Again, I do not know, the Scriptures are silent. Will there be animals in heaven? The apostle John provides a hint in Revelation 19:11:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.” (Revelation 19:11)

Notice: A white horse comes out of heaven carrying the Lord Jesus Christ! This is not meant to be symbolism, as is common in the Book of Revelation.

But that is not all, armies will follow him on white horses:

 “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.” (Revelation 19:14)

Does this mean our pets will be in heaven? Not necessarily, we will just have to wait and see.

But all of this speculating about our pets calls to mind God’s original intention of mankind’s relationship with His creatures. For Scripture does speak of this:

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. (Genesis 2:18–20)

Adam was given the tremendous task of naming all of the living creatures which God had made. But more than that, Adam was given dominion (rule) over all the living creatures:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

John MacArthur points out:

This defined man’s unique relation to creation. Man was God’s representative in ruling over the creation. The command to rule separated him from the rest of living creation and defined his relationship as above the rest of creation (cf. Psalm 8:6–8).[1]

Therefore, since man was created in the image of his Creator and man has been given rulership over God’s creation, than it stands to reason that we should emulate the same manner of care for His creatures as He would.

So when it comes to our pets our responsibility is to provide all that is necessary for their livelihood—a caring environment; food and shelter; medication (when needed); compassion (i.e. mourning their loss). When we neglect our responsibility we fail to demonstrate the love of the Creator.

---

[1] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Genesis 1:26–28.

 

APOSTASY IN OUR LAND

 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

Dr. Francis Schaeffer maintained that we in the Western Hemisphere live in a post-Christian world. That humanism has consumed the thinking and pursuits of modern man. He defines humanism as “the system whereby men and women, beginning absolutely by themselves, try rationally to build out from themselves, having only Man as their integration point, to find all knowledge, meaning and value”1

In other words, humanism disregards the God of the universe. It is a godless philosophy of life, characterized by the repudiation of His revelation to mankind—that which provides absolute meaning, purpose and value to life. This viewpoint of life has affected the thinking of every sector of our culture: world leaders, civic leaders, business leaders, public school administrators and families. Sadly, it has also infiltrated the visible church: leaders of denominations, seminary professors, pastors—even filtering down to the individual in the pew. The focus of this study contemplates this intrusion of humanism within the Church of Jesus Christ.

Making The Case

The departure from the doctrines of inspiration of Scripture, the authority of Scripture and true spirituality is evidence of how many denominations that claim to be representatives of Christianity have embraced the humanistic values of the culture. This is substantiated by their rejection and compromise of Biblical truth, condoning degenerate sexual perversions such as homosexuality, lesbianism, transgenderism, transsexualism, gay marriage and openly gay ministers.

This is not the only time that there has been rebellion among God’s people. In the Age of Israel, the Jewish prophet spoke of disastrous problems having overtaken his nation. Note Jeremiah’s lament:

We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples. All our enemies open their mouths against us; panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction; my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Lamentations 3:42–48 ESV)

This lamentation of Jeremiah’s is regarding the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Israel at that time was God’s representative nation to the world, just as the United States had been for two centuries. Just as the Jews rebelled against God, so has a large segment of the Christian community. And just as God warned them and executed His judgment upon Israel, fundamental Christianity today is being warned by the not so subtle harassment from the political left.  

Schaeffer describes this rebellion as apostasy and explains:

The book of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations show how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away. But this is not just the character of Jeremiah’s day of apostasy. It’s my day. It’s your day. If we are going to help our own generation, our perspective must be that of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet...who in the midst of his tears spoke without mitigating his message of judgment to a people who had had so much and yet turned away.2

This apostasy or turning away that Schaeffer mentions is what the apostle Paul had wrote to the Thessalonians, that the day of the Lord, the end times, “will not come unless the apostasy comes first” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)3. The Greek word translated ‘apostasy’4 appears only twice in the New Testament, here and in Acts 21:21. Other modern English versions render the word as ‘rebellion’5 or ‘falling away.’6 It is a compound word meaning literally a “standing away from.”

In Acts 21:21 it is translated in most English versions as ‘forsake’, where Paul is accused of instructing the Jews “to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs [the Old Testament Judaistic practices].”

The Greek lexicons corroborate that the meaning of this word 'forsake' refers specifically to religious apostasy—the falling ‘away from the faith’ (1 Timothy 4:1). But what it does not imply is a loss of salvation or a departure “from the outward profession of Christianity” (2 Tim. 3:5).7 For the word faith refers to: “That which is believed, body of faith or belief, doctrine.”8 It is fully explained by Thomas Constable:

This is a revolt, a departure, an abandoning of a position once held. This rebellion, which will take place within the professing church, will be a departure from the truth that God has revealed in His Word...a specific distinguishable apostasy that will come in the future.9

The religious apostasy prevalent in modern 'Christian' churches today does not necessarily suggest that the Day of the Lord is at hand, since the Christian church has been beset by apostasy almost from its inception. This is made obvious from the historical account of the early Church of Rome’s persistent departure from Scripture which prompted the Protestant Reformation. But just because the apostasy of this day may not be a signal for the end times, it doesn’t mean we should stand by and do nothing.

Our Directive

We have a two-fold responsibility: first, on a personal level, we are to continue to advance in our knowledge of doctrine—acknowledging the authority of Scripture and utilizing the literal principle of interpretation. And above all, being mindful that:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Secondly, we must continue to speak out against false doctrine—the present day departures from God’s truth. Jude advises us to “contend earnestly10 for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3).

But what does it mean to contend? The Greek word Jude employs is only found here in the New Testament and means to fight for or in reference to something.11 Richard Lenski’s observation is insightful:

Jude states it in a positive form: “to keep earnestly contending for the faith,” and not negatively: “against the heresies or heretics.” The negative is implied, for one contends for something when there are antagonists.12

So what Jude implies that must be contended with is stated in verse 4, ungodly persons:

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)

These ungodly persons (call them what they are: apostates) are indicative of those today who distort God’s Word in order to ingratiate their church, their denomination with this godless culture inundated by secular humanism. In so doing they deny the truth—for the truth is Jesus Christ (John 14:6), “our only Master and Lord.”

The Appeal

If the United States of America is to maintain its status as God’s representative nation, there must be a revival within the Body of Christ—one that returns to teaching the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith and earnestly contending for the faith by exposing and eliminating these modern heresies.

Only when this happens will there be real unity within the Body of Christ. And only then will the Truth of God’s Word have its intended impact upon this culture: by the preaching of the gospel so that a person can be saved and by the exposition of the Christian faith that provides purpose and definition to this life.

---

[1] Schaeffer, Francis A. (1982). The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1.9.

[2] Schaeffer, 4.213

[3] As translated in the New American Standard Bible and the Catholic New American Bible translation.

[4] The Greek word ἀποστασία comes from the noun aphístēmi meaning to depart.

[5] English Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version

[6] King James Version and the New King James Version

[7] Scofield, C. I. (1996). The Scofield Study Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 1281 note.

[8] Arndt, W.F., Gingrich, F.W. (1957) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, p. 669 §3.

[9] Constable, T. L. (1985). In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Eds.), Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 2.718).

[10] “The word speaks of a vigorous, intense, determined struggle to defeat the opposition.” Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 16.235.

[11] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G1864.

[12] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.610.

HELL IS NO JOKING MATTER

Over the years, I have heard disturbing things about Hell: jokes which diminishes the gravity of Hell; the use of the word as a mild expletive; or to tell someone who infuriates you to “Go to Hell!” and the theories that there are different sections of Hell for the various types of evil people (they most likely have their origination from Dante’s writing, The Divine Comedy).

There are also those who laugh at the concept of Hell—scoffing when they are warned that they will end up in Hell if they do not trust in Christ for eternal life. And then they will say in jest: “At least I’ll be with all my friends!” They couldn’t be more mistaken.

Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer correctly identifies the reason for all this distortion of truth:

Uninstructed minds revolt at the doctrine of eternal perdition and the more sympathetic they are by nature the more they revolt; however, the doctrine [of Hell] does not originate with human reason nor is it influenced by human sympathy.[1]

Hell: Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus

Then maybe it’s about time to set the record straight about Hell from the ultimate source of truth—Scripture. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word Sheol is used 65 times, variously for hell (Psalm 9:17; 55:15), grave (Psalm 31:17; 89:48) or pit (Numbers 16:30; Job 17:16). This is the Old Testaments’ “designation for the abode of the dead...place of no return...wicked sent there for punishment.”[2] 

In the New Testament, the following 3 Greek terms are translated Hell:

1)   Hades [hádēs/ᾅδης] (10 times) (Matthew 11:23; Luke 16:23)

2)   Gehenna [géenna/γέεννα] (12 times), a fiery hell (Matthew 5:22, 29-30). This word was employed in order to demonstrate Hell’s resemblance to the Valley of Gehenna which “was a putrid dump outside Jerusalem that burned perpetually.”[3]

3)   Tartarus [tartaróō/ταρταρόω], only once in 2 Peter 2:4, “which is neither Sheol nor hades nor hell, but the place where those angels whose special sin is referred to in that passage are confined ‘to be reserved unto judgment’; the region is described as ‘pits of darkness.’”[4]  

All of these words express a place in the afterlife where humans or fallen angels experience suffering and torment, of which Dr. Chafer provides relevant terminology:

In attempting to write a comprehensive statement of the most solemn doctrine of the Bible, the term retribution is chosen in place of the more familiar word punishment since the latter implies discipline and amendment, which idea is wholly absent from the body of truth which discloses the final divine dealing with those who are eternally lost. It is recognized that, in its earlier and broader meaning, the term retribute was used for any reward, good or evil [emphasis his].[5] 

Scripture makes it clear what this Divine retribution entails: torment and agony (Luke 16:23-24); black darkness reserved forever (Jude 13); pits of darkness (2 Peter 2:4); outer darkness (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30); weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30); furnace of fire (Matthew 13:42, 50). 

Dr. Chafer further asserts that:

Strong emphasis is needed on the truth that eternal retribution is not only a doctrine fully asserted in the Bible, but that it draws no corroboration from other sources. It invites no opinion from human reason, and, in all its particulars, is as clearly set forth in the Scriptures as it is possible for language to serve in the expression of ideas. Nothing is gained when men deny that which God has plainly declared.[6]

The most vivid example of the afterlife is found in Luke 16:19-31, where Hell is described as having two sections: Hades, depicted as a place of torment and agony, and Abraham’s Bosom, portrayed as a place of “being comforted.” These were separated by “a great chasm fixed”, making it impossible to cross over from one side to the other.

The Lake of Fire

The term Lake of Fire is first described by the apostle John in the book of Revelation. It is the final destination for the lost, described as a “lake of fire which burns with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).  

The timeline for God’s administration of retribution to the lost and the demonic forces and Satan is as follows:

• Revelation 19:20: after the Battle of Armageddon, the beast and the false prophet are “thrown alive” into the Lake of Fire.
• Revelation 20:10: after the Millennial reign of Christ, Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire, joining the beast and false prophet. John writes that “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
• Revelation 20:11-15: at the Great White Throne Judgment, those not written in the book of life along with death and Hades are “thrown into the lake of fire.”

This ends human history, along with the end of evil and sin. It should be noted that no other religion has a belief system which includes a final solution for evil except for Christianity.

The Duration of Hell

There seems to be some dispute among some Christians and agnostics as to the reality of hell and its duration. Scripture states definitely that hell is real, and its duration is variously described as everlasting or eternal. 

Pentecost explains that:

This lake of fire is described as everlasting fire (Matthew 25:41; 18:8) and as unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43-44, 46, 48) emphasizing the eternal character of the retribution of the lost.[7] 

The Greek word ‘eternal’ (aiṓnios [αἰώνιος]) is used to describe the duration of hell in Matthew 18:8; 25:41; Jude 7. This is the same word used to describe eternal life in Matthew 25:46 and 1 John 1:2. It stands to reason that if our salvation is described as eternal life (without ending) then the retribution of the sinners in hell is without ending. 

To further emphasize the eternal nature of hell, there are 3 passages which describe the fire of hell as ‘unquenchable’ (Matthew 3:12; Mark 9:42& 48; Luke 3:17). It is the Greek word ásbestos (ἄσβεστος), transliterated exactly as our English word “asbestos”, meaning inextinguishable—impossible to extinguish. 

The fact that this fire is perpetual is a concept that is very difficult to comprehend. We know that fire will consume most everything, which leads some to construe the Lake of Fire as figurative. This would violate the interpretive approach to the book of Revelation. For that which is to be interpreted as figurative in Revelation always contains the phrases ‘like’ or ‘as’ (cf. 4:1, 6-7; 5:6; 6:12-13; 9:2, 5-11; etc.).  Hence, the references of the Lake of Fire should be accepted as literal since John never describes it in a figurative manner.  

Disputation of Hell Based on the Love of God

Non-believers, in their attempt to dispute the Divine retribution of Hell, question “How can a loving God submit His creatures to eternal punishment?” The error of their argument involves two misconceptions:

First, the essence of God is not merely love. True, God is the perfection of love (1 John 4:16), but love is not God’s sole essence. He is also righteous (Ezra 9:15; Psalm 145:17)—not able to condone the sin and evil of His creatures (Isaiah 59:2), otherwise His character of holiness would be impugned. And justice is another of His characteristics (Psalm 50:6), which means that the righteousness of God demands justice for the infraction of the holy standards for His creatures (Romans 6:23).

Secondly, God is not a human being. He does not possess the emotions or the easy-going approach as humans of giving a ‘pass’ to rule breakers. He is not able to violate any aspect of His character. Otherwise He would be imperfect, and thus not God.

The Christian should realize that since millions of humans will be subjected to eternal damnation, that there ought not to be any levity when it comes to the discussion of Hell. For it should be remembered, that had it not been for the saving work of Christ on our behalf even the believer deserves the punishment of Hell.

 “For in such a manner did God love the world, insomuch that His Son, the uniquely-begotten One, He gave, in order that everyone who places his trust in Him may not perish but may be having life eternal. For God did not send off His Son into the world in order that He might be judging the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him...The one who places his trust in the Son has life eternal. But he who refuses to place his trust in the Son, being of such a nature that he refuses to be persuaded, shall not see life, but the wrath of God is abiding on him.” (John 3:16-17, 36) [8]

---

[1] Chafer, L.S. (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 4.427

[2] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.

[3] Geisler, Norman L. (2002). Systematic Theology, Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2002,  4.328

[4] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2.300.

[5] Chafer, 4.429.

[6] Chafer, 4.430

[7] Pentecost, J. Dwight (1964). Things to Come, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, p. 555

[8] Wuest, K. S. (1961). The New Testament: An Expanded Translation. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, Jn 3:16–17, 36.

 

 © 2022 David M. Rossi