My latest book All God’s Creatures: What the Bible Says About Animals, Heaven, and the New Earth will be released from Tyndale House on November 17. It was a labor of love for the past three years—especially love for God first, and Nanci second.
I dedicated the book to Nanci, saying:
“To Nanci, my wife, soulmate, and best friend,
now living with Jesus:
Never has a woman had more love in her heart
for both God and his animals.
It was through you that I first came to love God.
When I saw you fall in love with our dogs,
it made me love you all the more.
Of all the books I’ve written,
I know this will be your favorite!”
The truth is, it is also my favorite book I’ve written. And this will be, if I’m counting right, book #67. Certainly, it is my most unique book.
Authors often say, “There’s no other book like this one,” because they aren’t aware of another book like theirs. But almost always a somewhat similar book exists—they just haven’t seen it.
However, I am an avid researcher, and I look far and wide, search extensively, and dig deeply, so very little escapes my notice. I know that while every book I have written is unique in its own way, other books, written by other evangelicals, are at least in certain ways similar to parts of mine.
For the first time in my writing career, I can confidently say there is no other book out there like this one.
Many of the books I’ve read about whether animals are self-published—not written by Bible scholars, but by lay people who dearly love their animals, tell readers their names, and suggest that it’s hard to imagine Heaven without their beloved dog/cat/horse/hamster/goat being there! I don’t minimize these books in any way; they are usually sincere, warm, and moving. But they normally do not argue a case from God’s Word as much from the feelings of their hearts. But I simply cannot name a serious, scholarly, accessible, Scripture-based, evangelical theology of animals.
(However, this is a long—but to me important—parenthetical statement, since I want to give credit where it’s due. In early 2026, pastor Clinton Archer of Christ Fellowship Church of Mobile, Alabama, submitted an excellent as-yet-unpublished PhD dissertation to Southern Seminary which, when he sent it to me, resulted in me extending my deadline an extra week because while our findings were similar in certain areas, he made several important points I hadn’t. I cited his thesis at least a half dozen times, more than any other source, squeezing them in at the last minute. I told Clint that if—I hope when—it is published I will happily endorse it. And when that day comes, I will rejoice that All God’s Creatures will not stand alone!)
One distinctive of All God’s Creatures is that I start every chapter with a compelling animal story and weave in many other stories as the book unfolds. While I wanted the book to stand up to scholarly scrutiny, I also wanted it to appeal to the average person, who loves animals like Nanci and I do! Most religious books on animals of any substance are written by theological liberals because, I think it’s fair to say, theologically conservative scholars have not for the most part taken animals seriously. (Perhaps we imagine if we did so, we would be buying into evolutionary assumptions or saying animals and people are equals or sounding like “bleeding heart liberals.”)
As for the possibility of animal afterlife, we tend to say, “Animals aren’t created in God’s image, so they can’t be in Heaven.” (Never mind that angels aren’t created in God’s image, and they are in Heaven!) Or “Animals don’t have souls or spirits so they can’t have an afterlife,” when in fact, the Bible uses the same Hebrew word nephesh, translated as “soul” for humans but usually not for animals even when used of both in the same immediate context (e.g. Genesis 1:20,24; 2:7). Furthermore, Ecclesiastes 3:21 clearly speaks of the “spirit of humans” and the “spirit of animals,” using the same Hebrew word ruakh and indicating that humans and animals alike have spirits!
I sought to make this book:
- Biblically faithful, with careful treatment of Scripture.
- Pastorally sensitive, recognizing that people love their animals, especially their pets, and naturally grieve their loss. This is as God would have it, and no one in our churches should be made to feel guilty for doing so! (Unfortunately, people are not always taken seriously when they grieve animals, and sometimes are corrected for it and thought to be unspiritual.)
- Theologically corrective, because our evangelical doctrine of animals is so deficient as to be largely nonexistent, and what we have picked up from comments made in churches and seminaries is often dismissive and not grounded in Scripture.
- Imaginatively rich while maintaining biblical grounding, demonstrating that while everyone speculates about the question of animals in the afterlife, some speculations are not based on Scripture, while others have considerable biblical support.
- Full of true and delightful animal stories that entertain, encourage, and enlighten readers.
In All God’s Creatures, I make a clear biblical argument for animals on the New Earth. Scripture teaches that ultimately God’s people are not destined to a disembodied Heaven, but to a resurrected life on a renewed Earth, where God Himself will descend to dwell with humanity (Revelation 21). This doctrine of the New Earth is the solid foundation for considering the place of animals in eternity. I believe the Bible makes clear there will be animals on the New Earth in Isaiah 11 and 65. (While these texts could partly apply to the millennium, that cannot be their ultimate fulfillment because they are speaking of a time when the knowledge of God will be universal and permanent. For example, see Isaiah 11:9, which will not be true of the millennium and can only be true of the New Earth.)
But this isn’t just about the Isaiah passages. Romans 8:19-23 plays a major role in the book. The New Testament also repeatedly talks about God restoring all things. I explore passages such as Matthew 19:28, where Jesus speaks of the “renewal of all things” which we are to anticipate “until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:21). Similarly, Ephesians 1:10 says God’s plan is “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ,” and Colossians 1:20 speaks of God restoring “all things in heaven and on earth.” These passages indicate a future restoration of life that extends beyond humanity to the entire created order on Earth.
Despite writing endorsements myself, I hadn’t sought endorsements for my books for fifteen years. But if they were ever necessary for any book of mine, this is the one, simply because a significant number of people have been taught that there are no animals in Heaven and will naturally push back against the book despite its biblical grounding.
I am grateful that Dr. Wayne Grudem, who became a friend years ago when we taught a theology seminar together at a church, is among the endorsers of All God’s Creatures. (See this clip from when we spoke together, and at the 7:51 mark, he says the Heaven book changed his mind about animals being in the eternal Heaven.) Wayne is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary and arguably the leading theological voice among U.S. evangelicals. His Systematic Theology has sold well over a million copies and is the central theology textbook in over forty seminaries and Christian universities. His book Bible Doctrine, an abridgement of his systematic theology, is also widely used. Both volumes are familiar to innumerable pastors, teachers, lay elders, and serious students in churches in the USA and around the world. Grudem kindly wrote of All God’s Creatures:
In this delightful and fascinating book, Randy Alcorn’s thesis is that in the age to come, God will remove the curse on the natural world—placed after the sin of Adam and Eve—so that animals will be “set free” from their current bondage (Romans 8:21) and will regain the “very good” (Genesis 1:31) nature they had in Eden. Alcorn argues convincingly that many friendly animals will inhabit the New Earth. I hope he is correct in his expectation that God, in his goodness, may even bring back to life our favorite pets. I anticipate that everyone who reads this book will gain a deeper appreciation for the wonderful animal kingdom that God created for our companionship and joy.
Another highly credible endorser is Douglas Groothuis, PhD, Research Professor of Apologetics and Christian Worldview at Cornerstone University and Seminary, and author of Christian Apologetics. One thing I love about Doug as a philosopher is his expertise in teaching logic and analyzing arguments to determine whether or not they hold up logically. I knew he would have very high standards, and I could only hope that All God’s Creatures would live up to them. Doug wrote this:
Given his previous work, we should expect Randy Alcorn to address every topic he writes on from a biblically grounded, theologically astute, pastorally sensitive, and well-documented perspective. This book is no exception. I have long leaned toward affirming that animals will be part of the new heavens and New Earth, but now I am sure of it, given Randy's argumentation. Despite how many Christians have ignored it, this topic is no small matter for Christian theology or apologetics. Randy has done us a wonderful service with this book. Ultimately, All God’s Creatures invites readers to rethink the nature of Heaven and the New Earth, deepen their understanding of Scripture, develop a truly biblical theology of animals, and embrace an expanded vision of God’s eternal plan of restoration and renewal—for people, for animals, and for all creation.
I’ll be sharing more about the book—with some excerpts and more endorsements—in the weeks and months to come!
Note from Eternal Perspective Ministries: You can now preorder All God’s Creatures from EPM, and your book will ship by media mail when it releases this fall.
