Dinosaurs — Where Do They Fit?

Both old earth and young earth creationists acknowledge the existence of dinosaurs and the Bible mentions them several times. The behemoth and leviathan of Job 40-41 are obvious references to dinosaurs. Then there are the occasional references to literal “sea monsters” and “dragons” in other passages (I’m not referring to the figurative references), which are translated from the Hebrew word tannin (tan-NEEN) in the Old Testament. Psalm 74:13 and 148:7 are good examples. Keep in mind that the term ‘dinosaur’ wasn’t coined until 1842 by Britain’s leading paleontologist, Richard Owen.

Young earth advocates argue that there’s no need to place dinosaurs between the supposed gap of Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, as gap theorists do, because dinosaurs were created by God during the creation week (Genesis 1:21). As such, contrary to the staunch claims of academics, humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time, which can be observed in ancient art from around the world and explains the legends of warriors fighting dragons.

Several examples of ancient art (and fossils) offering evidence of humans and dinosaurs coexisting can be observed here. One of the pics shows an obvious stegosaurus appears alongside other conventional animals, like a deer, a rat and a monkey.

So how did the dinosaurs die out with a possible vestige still living today in the vast oceans and perhaps even remote areas of the earth, like mokele mbembe (moh-kay-lay um-bem-bay), which reportedly dwells in the Congo River basin? Ken Ham says:

According to the Bible: Dinosaurs first existed around 6,000 years ago. God made the dinosaurs, along with the other land animals, on Day 6 of the Creation Week (Genesis 1:20–25, 31). Adam and Eve were also made on Day 6—so dinosaurs lived at the same time as people, not separated by eons of time.

Dinosaurs could not have died out before people appeared because dinosaurs had not previously existed; and death, bloodshed, disease, and suffering are a result of Adam’s sin (Genesis 1:29–30; Romans 5:12, 14; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22).

Representatives of all the kinds of air-breathing land animals, including the dinosaur kinds, went aboard Noah’s Ark. All those left outside the Ark died in the cataclysmic circumstances of the Flood, and many of their remains became fossils.

After the Flood, around 4,300 years ago, the remnant of the land animals, including dinosaurs, came off the Ark and lived in the present world, along with people. Because of sin, the judgments of the Curse and the Flood have greatly changed earth. Post-Flood climatic change, lack of food, disease, and man’s activities caused many types of animals to become extinct. The dinosaurs, like many other creatures, died out. Why the big mystery about dinosaurs?

You can read more here.

Much as large, threatening animals like lions, tigers, bears, crocogators and pachyderms have been killed or driven out of populated areas by humans, so the last vestige of land-dwelling dinosaurs were slain or driven out. Those that survived largely died out due to the other factors Ken notes above.

How Old is the Earth? (The Gap Theory vs. Young Earth Creationism)