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Where Ecclesiastes 12:7 says that when a human being dies with God, his soul returns to God, and the physical body returns to dust--does this also happen with animals?

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Nicolás Castellanos
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  • Welcometo Biblical Hermeneutics. Unless you can express your question in English it is unlikely you will get an answer. Please take our Tour: https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/tour – Lesley Mar 26 '21 at 12:16
  • @Lesley Yet, im sorry – Nicolás Castellanos Mar 26 '21 at 12:20
  • Thank you, Nicolas. – Lesley Mar 26 '21 at 12:21
  • Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Ecclesiastes 3:21. – Nigel J Mar 26 '21 at 13:18
  • Kohelet 12:7 states "And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to The-God, Who gave it." ( וְיָשֹׁ֧ב הֶֽעָפָ֛ר עַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּשֶֽׁהָיָ֑ה וְהָר֣וּחַ תָּשׁ֔וּב אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר נְתָנָֽהּ ) . Did animals not receive a "living spirit" Nefesh Chayah ( נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֔ה ) given by Elohim in Genesis 1:30? – חִידָה Mar 26 '21 at 13:20
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    The translation you have for Eccl 12:7 is quite interpretive and misleading - the word "soul": does NOT occur - it is the word for "spirit" or "breath" - Ruach. – Dottard Mar 26 '21 at 19:25
  • Bienvenido! I made a few edits to your post to make it easier to read, and added the text of the verse you referenced. If you don't like the changes they can be rolled back. – Hold To The Rod Mar 27 '21 at 03:29
  • PS some have taken Revelation 4:6-9 to indicate the presence of animals in the heavens. Others take the passage to by entirely symbolic. – Hold To The Rod Mar 27 '21 at 03:32

1 Answers1

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The Teacher does not distinguish between humans who believe in God or the godless. ALL humans will die and their bodies go into the ground where "the dust returns to the ground it came from."

Likewise, all animals will die and go into the ground.

The difference between what happens to humans and to animals after physical death lies in the fact that only humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:2). Animals are not.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 informs us that God has set eternity in the hearts of men. God has not set eternity in the hearts of animals.

The Teacher has this to say about it in Ecclesiastes 3:19-20:

Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All got to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

This refers to the body and the breath of life. But what about the spirit of man?

Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth? (Ecclesiastes 3:21)

The Conclusion of the Matter is that

God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

No mention anywhere of animals continuing to exist after physical death. No mention of God judging the actions of animals to discover if they were good or evil. No mention of a resurrection for animals anywhere in the Bible. That is because animals are not made in God's image (Genesis 1:2).

The last book in the Bible describes how God will judge humanity "according to what they had done" (Revelation 20:11-15). There is to be a resurrection of humanity - of all who have lived and died, both the righteous and the unrighteous, but there is no resurrection of animals.

The body of animals returns to the dust but they do not have a soul that returns to God.

Lesley
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  • But if animals have a breath of life, they can also return to God, right? At first man was not rational and was not destined to die, but when he took from the forbidden fruit this changed. The animals have the breath of life and have not "tasted the forbidden fruit." So spiritually they are not supposed to die, right? Furthermore, God is supposed to redeem his entire creation... – Nicolás Castellanos Mar 26 '21 at 13:36
  • The breath of life is not the soul. Neither is there any suggestion anywhere in the Bible that animals are not supposed to die "spiritually". Redemption comes through saving faith in Christ Jesus. I don't see how animals figure in the Christian teachings of sin, salvation, redemption, resurrection and eternal life. Do you have some Bible verses to support your view? – Lesley Mar 26 '21 at 14:09
  • No, but that means that in the other life wont be animals? And the smart animals like dogs, that are very good like friends, wont be in the other life? – Nicolás Castellanos Mar 26 '21 at 14:32
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    Nicolas, I have not found anything in my Bible to suggest that dead animals go to heaven. However, there may be animals on the NEW earth, sometime future: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more"(Revelation 21:1). https://www.gotquestions.org/pets-heaven.html – Lesley Mar 26 '21 at 16:08
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    I would argue the correct conclusion should be "the Bible doesn't tell us", not "That is because animals are not made in God's image" - which would indicate the Bible does say something. Your answer says there is no mention of animals continuing to exist after physical death. Does this omission really mean we can conclude the negative? How can we distinguish between omission and assertion of the negative through omission? – kutschkem Mar 26 '21 at 16:20
  • [...] If we are reading between the lines here, then one could also make an argument through 1 Cor. 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Since the death also extends to animals, one could make the case for resurrection also extending to animals. I don't want to advocate for a yes answer, but I do very much want to advocate for a "the Bible doesn't explicitely tell us" answer. – kutschkem Mar 26 '21 at 16:22
  • @kutschkem - Nowhere in the Bible does it say that animals are made in the image of God. The image of God (Latin: imago dei) refers to the immaterial part of humanity. It sets human beings apart from the animal world, fits them for the dominion God intended them to have over the earth (Genesis 1:28), and enables them to commune with their Maker. It is a likeness mentally, morally, and socially. 1 Cor. 15:22 speaks of humanity, not of animals. The rest of that chapter speaks of the resurrection of dead people. Nowhere does it speak of a resurrection of animals. My answer stands. – Lesley Mar 26 '21 at 16:38
  • I dont know what to say. I will leave this question without acepted answer because I am confused – Nicolás Castellanos Mar 26 '21 at 18:11
  • Excellent answer and good summary of what the Bible says. +1. – Dottard Mar 26 '21 at 20:16
  • Nicolas, all of God's judgments are perfect and we can trust Him for the final outcome. I wept when my tortoishell cat Zoe died after being attacked by another animal and she could not eat. I grieved for the suffering she endured and my failure to protect her. But she was not made in God's image. We are. We look forward to a new heavens and a new earth where there will be no death, no suffering and no sickness. We are made in God's image and we are made to spend eternity with Him. Be of good cheer, my friend. – Lesley Mar 26 '21 at 20:35
  • @NicolásCastellanos I agree with kutschkem that the best answer is that the Bible does not say what happens to animals in the afterlife. It is clear that there will be animals in the new heaven and earth, and that all animosity between animals and between humans and animals will be removed. It is not clear whether these are 'resurrected' animals or are newly created animals. – Cole Mar 27 '21 at 04:14
  • @NicolásCastellanos I will also propose the 'cop-out' answer that it doesn't really matter. The ultimate satisfaction and goal of eternity is to increasingly experience God and know him more. This is so ultimately satisfying (since it is the original purpose of our creation) that the presence or absence of animals won't matter. Knowing God and being his presence is so ultimately satisfying that all else will become irrelevant. I will also say that the Bible's sole focus is on man's relationship to God, which is why it does not comment on animals' souls or their afterlife. – Cole Mar 27 '21 at 04:20
  • Ok, my theory is that the conscience will be redeemed, because God didnt created nothing to destroy it, except the devils and bad humans. Thank you all! – Nicolás Castellanos Mar 27 '21 at 17:12