Were the dinosaurs here with the humans or before?
The discussion of the topic of the dinosaurs will probably continue until we see the Lord and He explains this to us. The word, ‘dinosaur’ is not found in the Bible, but there may be a description of these creatures in Job 40:15-18, “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.”
Most Bible scholars believe that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, probably written somewhere between 1800-2000 B.C. So, here in the oldest book there is mention made of a great beast that was an herbivore, is great in size and strength, and had a tail likened unto a cedar tree. Could this have been a dinosaur? I try not to insist upon the things that the scriptures don’t insist upon, so I can’t say for sure that Job is describing a dinosaur. While it is possible, we need to be careful about making such a definitive statement.
The word ‘dragon’ is used many times in the scriptures, such as Jeremiah 51:34, “Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.” The literal meaning of this Hebrew word is, “a marine or land monster.” Perhaps this is in reference to the dinosaur.
When did the dinosaurs exist? Let’s read of the creation of all animals in Genesis 1:24-31, “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 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. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
So we see that animals were created on the sixth day, just as man was created on the sixth day. There is no evidence in scripture that any animals existed before this day. Some seem to think that some animals, including dinosaurs, lived and died before the creation of man. Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” This teaches us that death came by sin. It was only after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden that death became a part of our existence. There was no death before that terrible act of disobedience against the Lord. Animals were created on the sixth day and there was no death until Adam and Eve sinned…of that we can be scripturally certain.
Why aren’t there dinosaurs today? For that, I’ll just quote from the Answers in Genesis website which says, “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).”
There are some things that we just cannot know for certain until the Lord Himself tells us. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” It will be so wondrous when we sit at the feet of our blessed savior as He reveals many of these precious secrets to us. (48.2)