Let’s read about the animals God created on the 6th day, Genesis 1:24-25 “And God said, "Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal - cattle and reptiles and wildlife of every kind." And so it was, Genesis 1:25, “God made all sorts of wild animals and cattle and reptiles. And God was pleased with what he had done.” While we understand from Genesis 1 that animals and mankind were created on the 6th day, there remains a question among Bible students and scientists about the origin of dinosaurs. Some believe they were part of the 6th day of creation activities. Others take the position that they resulted from hybridization of some reptiles God originally created.
Are there any references to dinosaurs in the Bible? Some people think Job 41:1, NIV, is talking about dinosaurs. "Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope?” Or Job 40:15, “Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.“ There are many other verses in the Bible about dragons that are considered references about dinosaurs, as well. Most Bible scholars suggest that the descriptions in Job are of crocodiles or of hippopotamus. Both lived in the Near East in those days. It is tempting to think that dragons are a faded memory of dinosaurs, but we cannot be sure. We can only speculate.
Are dinosaurs for real? There are no Bible verses that say this for sure, but those who have collected dinosaur remains in the Midwest plains of Canada and the United States or in the Colorado Plateau region have no lingering doubt concerning their reality. Thousands of specimens have been found and excavated.
The fossil remains of dinosaurs indicate that they ranged in size from that of a rabbit to tremendous beasts 20 feet high, 85 feet long, and weighing up to 50 tons. It appears that some were relatively light-footed and walked on two feet, while others were four-footed and moved about in a slow and cumbersome manner. Some were meat-eaters and others plant-eaters. Certain types were water dwellers, while others remained on land.
How did dinosaurs become extinct? Some scientists have a hard time explaining the reason they became extinct so suddenly. What happened? The answer can be found in the Bible, in the story of the world-wide flood in Genesis 7:1 – Genesis 8:1, TLB. “Finally the day came when the Lord said to Noah, "Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteous. Bring in the animals - a pair of each, except those kinds I have chosen for eating and for sacrifice: take seven pairs of each of them, and seven pairs of every kind of bird. Thus there will be every kind of life reproducing again after the flood has ended. One week from today I will begin forty days and nights of rain; and all the animals and birds and reptiles I have made will die."
So Noah did everything the Lord commanded him. He was 600 years old when the flood came. He boarded the boat with his wife and sons and their wives, to escape the flood. With him were all the various kinds of animals - those for eating and sacrifice, and those that were not, and the birds and reptiles. They came into the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God commanded Noah.
One week later, when Noah was 600 years, two months, and seventeen days old, the rain came down in mighty torrents from the sky, and the subterranean waters burst forth upon the earth for forty days and nights. But Noah had gone into the boat that very day with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal -domestic and wild - and reptiles and birds of every sort. Two by two they came, male and female, just as God had commanded. Then the Lord God closed the door and shut them in.
For forty days the roaring floods prevailed, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth. As the water rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely upon it; until finally the water covered all the high mountains under the whole heaven, standing twenty-two feet and more above the highest peaks. And all living things upon the earth perished - birds, domestic and wild animals, and reptiles and all mankind - everything that breathed and lived upon dry land. All existence on the earth was blotted out - man and animals alike, and reptiles and birds. God destroyed them all, leaving only Noah alive, and those with him in the boat. And the water covered the earth 150 days.”
When God directed the animals into the ark, He no doubt directed only those that were like His original created types. There is little evidence that dinosaurs were taken into the ark. That God did not preserve them in the ark and that they died as a result of a world-wide flood is as good an explanation as any.
Why did God not take dinosaurs into the ark? In Genesis 6:12 we find the answer. “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Satan, the being who rebelled against God, cannot create, but he can change. The entrance of sin into the world allowed Satan to corrupt humans and other living creatures. Now we have leaves changed to thorns, teeth changed to poison fangs, genes changed into viruses and useful bacteria into disease producers. Satan corrupted some of the reptiles God originally created into the bizarre creatures we call dinosaurs. God chose not to save them at the time of the Flood. Perhaps God also saw that feeble post-flood humans would not be able to control such large animals. Thus, we suggest that God preserved the air-breathing, land animals, except the very large animals and the corrupted ones.
Source: Kids Bible Info
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