Heaven will be a place 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 be glorious—far beyond anything we can fully imagine. It will be glorious first of all because it will be perfect. All the sufferings, 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 reflection of the glory of God. Think of it: 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?

Be certain of your future in heaven.