NOW, HERE'S THE VERSE...

I found it a few weeks back but just haven't taken the time to post. Then, this afternoon on Hank Hanagraf (sp?) a woman called in asking about the new heaven and new earth, and another right after that asking about pets in heaven. Hank gave the same proof that I gave in my previous post about how the new heaven and earth are the heaven and earth as it was created in the beginning, perfect and without sin, and WITH ANIMALS! Hank didn't take a stand for or against whether our petted pets will be in heaven, he did say that several respected Bible greats, such as C.S. Lewis thought that they would be. Anyway, for the verses that describe the animals in the new earth, when Christ reigns over it are in Isaiah 10:6-9 (NIV):

"The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea. "

In Romans 8:18-23 (NIV), Paul talks about how the earth itself groans and waits for it's new birth with the return of Christ:

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. "

If God created all of these things the first time, perfect and good and without sin, why would they not be a part of the new heaven and earth? We don't know those answers now and can only go by the hints the Bible gives us, as we can not fathom what heaven is—John describes it as best he can in terms we can understand, but as the Bible says, who can know the mind of God? Here is what John says in Revelation 21:1-5 (NIV):

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things have passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." "

So one thing we do know, we will again walk with God in the cool of the Garden! Amen, come Lord Jesus!