No Steak in Heaven?

We were discussing what heaven would be like after listening to Dr. David Jeremiah joking: that with perfect taste buds how good steak will be in heaven. I've never been there, hope to live there someday and piece together what heaven will be like. I don't believe that there will be any steak in heaven!

Before anyone turns their back on God, for many only look for a reason, for having no meat, not eating steak isn't a bad thing! While people are alive because of steak, others die because they eat too much steak.

Let's look at the purpose of heaven. It's life, it's hope and there will be no death. If anyone believes in eternal life, we all know that this applies to human beings, but does it apply to animals?

In the restored earth and New Jerusalem Isaiah had these words from God:

Isaiah 65:25 "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."

Since heaven's purpose is to preserve life, that life includes the animals. There shall be peace within the animal kingdom and that includes us! In heaven, on God's holy mountain, none "shall hurt nor destroy"! Dr. Jeremiah might say that this applies to the Jews, but many commentators may disagree. There will be no death in heaven!

This is reinforced also by Hosea:

Hosea 2:18 “And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. “

The Garden of Eden is symbolic of Heaven. Both are paradises. Before man sinned the appetite was for herbs. Adam and Eve were the first vegans to be honest!

 Genesis 1:29 "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."

"Meat" was the King James era word for "food". Adam and Eve were given seed-bearing plants for food. Heaven will be like that. We shall have heavenly substance. Perhaps it will be God's bread... manna in heaven of which we shall never tire! It won't be steak.

Man's diet was plants; not containing life in a biblical sense, since plant's don't have blood nor nervous systems; until the earth was renewed in Noah's time after the flood:

Genesis 9:3 "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat (food) for you (man from Noah's time); even as the green herb have I given you all things."

God kept animals tame because he had a purpose! It was so that their docility would enable Noah to live with them in peace on the ark. They came on board willingly because God's people were not a threat at that time!  Perhaps they were tame to Noah because evil people were killing them! At any rate, after the flood their docile purpose had been served. They became legal food for God's people.

I do want to note that after they realized their nakedness and were embarrassed, Adam and Eve clothed themselves with fig leaves. They would never have dreamed of using skins because killing of animals at that time wasn't necessary and against God's will!

In summary, since heaven will be a paradise as was the Garden, then there will be no killing at all in heaven. Food will not be meat, but likely some heavenly food of the nature of manna. In heaven there will be animals, but they will not fear each other nor man! In short, man won't have steak to eat in heaven... and I'm sure Dr. Jeremiah will agree on that aside from his joke about it!