Brian Sherring’s first Booklet for The Open Bible Trust tackles a subject not dealt with before in our literature, that of looking for a Scriptural answer to the question of the place of animals in God’s creation and their relationship to man. In considering God’s concern for the animal kingdom, Brian deals with the different conditions under which they lived, from the ‘original creation’ to the pre- and post-fall situations, the effect of the Flood, and the present economy, which the world’s animals share with those who were to “have dominion over” them.
The author looks at the differences between all of God’s “living souls” (man and beast) and considers the hazards in breeding and contamination. The various classes of Genesis 1 are investigated and special consideration is given to the beasts of Job—Behemoth, Leviathan and the Unicorn. Animal sacrifices and exploitation are dealt with and the Lord Jesus Christ is seen as the great Naturalist.
Finally, the place of animals during and after the Millennial Kingdom is reviewed and, following on from what Paul says in Romans 8 about the “whole creation”, Brian attempts to answer the question of the possibility of resurrection for animals.