1. Do dogs go to heaven? Only pets, not wild animals?

2. If only humans go to heaven, how far back? Homo Erectus? Australopithecus?

3. Only people after Jesus go to Heaven, not Abraham, Moses or Elijah?

4. Which “you” will be in Heaven? Senile you with dementia or mid-life crisis you?

1) Animals are beasts of the field and are not created in the image of the Living God with an eternal spirit; therefore, they return to the dust of the ground upon death. It is certainly possible that our Lord will permit our favorite pets to be present with the faithful/redeemed in Eternity in the Kingdom of God because He has promised to give those who love Him the desires of their heart. All things are possible to the one who loves and trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord. (Psalm 37:4)

2) Mankind, from the Genesis forward, has always found righteousness (a right standing) with God the Father by grace through “faith.” Nothing has changed from The Genesis to the New Covenant of Grace; “faith” has always been the active force that found favor with our Holy and Just God. Old Testament saints were saved by grace through faith just like New Testament saints; both are saved by faith in God, Elohim/Jesus Christ-Yeshua.

The difference being, Jesus Christ-Messiah was necessary for the atonement of sin; that is, the Old Testament saints, upon death of the body, were interned in the region of “Sheol-Paradise AKA Abraham’s bosom” awaiting the sacrifice of Yeshua-Jesus that was to come as prophesied. (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3-9; James 2:23; Genesis 5:24)

3) The Old Testament saints, though saved by grace through faith, their sin had not been atoned for and ONLY Messiah-Yeshua can make atonement i.e. pay the price for sin via His shed blood. Subsequent to Messiah death, it is recorded in Scripture that Messiah descended to Sheol-Paradise and preached freedom to the captive saints at which time He led them into the presence of God the Father in the Eternal Kingdom; these saints are there now awaiting the resurrection of the righteous where they will receive a resurrected body fashioned after the resurrected body of Jesus Christ. (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:29-31; Luke 16:19-31; Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4; Ephesians 4:8-10; Romans 10:7)

Subsequent to Messiah’s death, burial and resurrection. Everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord today and dies in this body will be instantaneously escorted into the presence of God the Father in a disembodied, spiritual state awaiting the resurrection of the righteous; they will be fully conscious – cognitively aware and more acutely interactive with their environment in the Spiritual World than we are now constrained by Time. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

4) There will be no senility, disease, impairments, disabilities, sorrow, pain, suffering, death, in the presence of our God in His Kingdom. Paradise lost will be Paradise restored in the Name of Jesus Christ our God for everyone who has trusted in Him as Lord.