The Land Before Time??? Where Dinosaurs Fit Into the Bible

As a young child I had a large obsession with dinosaurs. Land Before Time and Jurassic Park were two movies that would be on in the Arians' household on a regular basis. I always dreamed of digging up a T-Rex's head in my backyard. Sadly that dream never came true, and as I grew older my interests started to go into different areas. Recently one of the youth at Remix 316 asked the question did dinosaurs could exist before Jesus? The easy answer could have been a simple yes, but I took this question more as how can Christianity, or if you wanted to get technical Islam and Judaism explain dinosaurs if they believe in Genesis' creation description. Over the past week and a half I have been praying, reading Genesis, and researching, and I believe God has given me the answer to this question.

First things first. If one were to ask an evolutionist when the dinosaurs lived, they would tell you that they roamed the earth nearly 140 million years ago, and became extinct around 65 million years ago. The key to addressing this question is that these scientists are only able to make their best prediction doing scientific research that quite frankly is way over my head. The fact of the matter is that there is no way of knowing for sure that they roamed around the earth millions of years ago.

If Genesis 1:24-31 we learn that on the sixth day God created the animals of the land as well as Adam and Eve. Dinosaurs would have been a land animal, so they would have been created on the sixth day. With God, it is hard to determine how long one of these days were exactly. That's a question that quite frankly I feel will never be answered, but that is content for a different discussion. In verses 29-31 we learn that all animals, including humans were ordered to be vegetarians.

It wasn't until Adam's sin, that death came into the world. There are multiple spots throughout the Bible that prove this point. Here is an example of one.
"Sin came into the world because of what one man did, and with sin came death. This is why everyone must die- because everyone sinned."- Romans 5:12

Now we know that Jesus came to die for that sin so ultimately death will be overcome, but this is why animals, humans, plants, etc die here on earth. If you want more scripture to read about Adam's sin leading to death check out; Romans 8:20-22, Acts 3:21, Hebrews 9:22, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 22:3. (If you need more ask me)

It was at Adam's sin when the big bad T-Rex started terrorizing its victims for food!

As time goes on, Man and dinosaurs do live together, and in Genesis 6:12, we learn that all flesh, (meaning man and animals) became evil. Dinosaurs tended to be violent creatures like many evolutionists have pointed out, and I personally believe that dinosaurs were killing one another, as well as humans who God created in His own image. This is the part in the Bible where God sends the flood and Noah builds the ark.

In Genesis 7:2-9 we learn that God is sending two (seven for clean animals) of every animal to the ark. I believe that this included dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are often thought of as very large, but in reality most really weren't, and there wouldn't have been that many different kinds of dinosaurs. If you asked most dinosaur experts, most dinosaurs were the same kind of dinosaur, they just received a different name because of their geographical region their fossils were discovered in.

For the many dinosaurs that did not get on the ark, they died quickly by drowning when God flooded the world. This quick death, along with the large amounts of sand and water would explain why so many fossils have been found. Their bones would have been preserved quite well. This is why archeologists are able to find many bones of animals preserved in rock around the world in my opinion, not just the dinosaurs. This flood is often believed to have happened roughly 4500 years ago (Big difference from millions of years ago).

I will continue this blog by predicting that dinosaurs were alive around the time of Job (who lived after the flood). In Job 40:15 God is telling Job to look at the behemoth. In verses 15-24 God describes many of the characteristics of the "behemoth." A "behemoth" is described as a huge animal that God made and only He could control. When you read through the characteristics used to describe the "behemoth," one will find many similarities to the descriptions we have of dinosaurs. Here are some of the descriptions strength (v.16), tail like a cedar tree (v.17), bones like tubes of bronze (v.18), the list goes on and on.. Check it out!!

So if dinosaurs existed after the flood what ultimately happened to them? I believe that if you look this question without thinking of any evolutionist theory you will find your answer. At the time of the Flood, many of the sea creatures died, but some survived. In addition, all of the land creatures outside the Ark died, but the representatives of all the kinds that survived on the Ark lived in the new world after the Flood. Those land animals (including dinosaurs) found the new world to be much different than the one before the Flood. Due to (1) competition for food that was no longer in abundance, (2) other catastrophes, (3) man killing for food (and perhaps for fun), and (4) the destruction of habitats, etc., many species of animals eventually died out. The group of animals we now call dinosaurs just happened to die out too. In fact, quite a number of animals become extinct each year. Extinction seems to be the rule in Earth history (not the formation of new types of animals as you would expect from evolution).

The lesson we can learn from dinosaurs is relatively simple. When Adam sinned, death was brought into the world. We all have sinned (check out Romans 3:23), and we all will end up like the dinosaurs someday, if we do not accept the treasure that we have in Jesus Christ. God showed that He was all-powerful by destroying the dinosaurs, and millions of other wicked creatures with water in the flood. It also leads us to realize that God is coming again. He is going to have Jesus come and save His followers, and after being like a thief in the night, the earth will burn up (Check out 2 Peter 3:12 and book of Revelation).

After looking into this topic, I am thankful that God sent His only Son to die for our sins. Without Jesus our lives are worthless, and the human race would be even more worthless than we already are, much like the dinosaurs. It is important to go out and spread disciples of all nations like Jesus tells His disciples to do in the end of Matthew (Matthew 28:19-20). By spreading that love, people will start to see God for what He truly is, Love. It is God's love that was pored out to us as His son hung on the cross. It is God's love and mercy that sets us free from sin, and it is His Son Jesus, which leads us to Him.

In Christ,
Chris