Dinosaurs and the Bible - Shocking Evidence!

March 09, 2018

Dinosaurs and the Bible - Shocking Evidence!

 

Children from all around the world are captivated by dinosaurs. From television shows, movies, books, theme parks, and toys, the mystery of these ancient creatures continue to stir their imaginations and draw them in to learn more. For some children, this love of dinosaurs might even become a lifelong passion. Maybe some of your children are already aspiring paleontologists, just like Dr. Kendall Park in the Jonathan Park Audio Adventures!

My children are still in the dinosaur-loving phase and always on the hunt for a new dinosaur book or documentary, always open to learning something new. However, the problem I’ve encountered is that most books and documentaries teach about these amazing creatures from an evolutionary point of view. And this worldview doesn’t line up with the Bible’s teachings and the Creation account in Genesis.

It didn’t take my children long to question how dinosaurs (or anything for that matter) could be hundreds of millions of years old when the Bible teaches that everything was created just thousands of years ago. Up until recently, they seemed satisfied with my answer – that according to Scripture, God created all animals on the sixth cay of Creation (about 6,000 years ago), and that this would have included dinosaurs (Genesis 1:24-25).

However, I was recently taken off guard when one of my boys posed a very good question. “If God created dinosaurs just like all the other animals, then why doesn’t the Bible talk about them?”  

Many people (even professing Christians), assume that the existence of dinosaurs isn’t mentioned in the Bible. But when you take a closer look, you’ll discover that the Bible does reference animals that fit the description of what we call “dinosaurs” today.

God talked to Job all about a dinosaur that could have been sauropod (brachiosaurus/brontosaurus)

You will not find the word dinosaur in the Bible because it’s a word that wasn’t created until 1841 by Sir Richard Owen, an English anatomist. Owen created the word from the Greek words “deinos” (terrible, monstrous) and “sauros” (lizard). There are however, several references in the Bible that fit the physical description of the animals we call dinosaurs.  

For example, in Job 40:15 we see God telling Job about an animal He calls Behemoth.

“Look at Behemoth,

    which I made along with you

    and which feeds on grass like an ox.

What strength it has in its loins,

    what power in the muscles of its belly!

 Its tail sways like a cedar;

    the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.

 Its bones are tubes of bronze,

    its limbs like rods of iron.

 It ranks first among the works of God,

    yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.

 The hills bring it their produce,

    and all the wild animals play nearby.   

This Behemoth that God is describing fits the description of what we refer to today as a brachiosaurus (another member of the sauropod classification of dinosaurs). These were huge, plant eating dinosaurs with long tails tapered like a “cedar tree”.

God does not say, “If I would have created something like this animal before man existed”. He says, “Look at the Behemoth I made along with you.” He’s telling Job about an animal that’s still present on Earth – living at the same time as Job. This is not only evidence that God created dinosaurs, but that dinosaurs were alive at the same time as man! In fact, ALL animals, including dinosaurs, were created on the sixth day of creation, just like man.

Dragons are referred to in many places throughout the Bible.

What comes to mind when you think of a dragon? You’re most likely picturing a large, dinosaur- like, fire breathing lizard, right? The kind of creature that you only read about in fairy tales. But- have you ever stopped to think where the legend of dragons actually came from?

Virtually every region of the world has some reference to dragons in their historical and archaeological records. So, this raises a question. How could several ancient civilizations, with little or no means of communication with one another, come up with identical dragon descriptions if they were merely mythical or imaginary creatures.

The Hebrew word for dragon is “tannin” or “tanyin”, and it is mentioned in the Bible almost 30 times. Here are just a few passages that describe this dragon-like animal:

  • Isaiah 30:6
  • Micah 1:8 (newer translations say “jackal”, but the King James version is translated as “dragon”)
  • Jeremiah 51:34

The dragons of the Bible may very well have been part of the classification of animals we call “dinosaurs”.  What’s interesting is that the Scripture actually describes dragons as fire-breathing animals. And while that may sound unbelievable, there’s an insect alive today that can do the same thing.

Believe it or not, the Bombardier Beetle can shoot a substance that resembles smoke or steam from its backside at 212 degrees Fahrenheit!  The chemicals reside inside the beetle until it needs to use this defense mechanism. When combined, they create an explosive chemical reaction.

Paleontologists have discovered dinosaur skull fossils that could be traced back to dragons.  These skulls reveal unexplained hollow cavities that are connected to the dinosaur’s sinuses. Is it possible that these cavities were used to store similar chemicals (like the Bombardier Beetle), and then mixed at certain times to create a combustion reaction? Does this explain how these “giant lizards” could breathe fire?

The Bible also talks about a great sea creature.

Let’s go back to the book of Job and continue reading chapter 41. In this passage, God describes a creature called the “Leviathan”. He describes it as a giant, armored sea creature that breathes smoke from its nostrils. In Job 41:33, the Bible’s description of the Leviathan is fascinating – “Nothing on Earth is its equal, a creature without fear”.  

Since the Bible describes this creature in such great detail, we can only conclude that it existed since everything God has ever spoken to us is true. This would include His description of this great sea creature, spoken about in the following passages:

  • Job 41
  • Psalms 74:13
  • Isaiah 27:1
  • Psalms 104:24-26

 

Researchers have only scratched the surface of deep-sea exploration. There is so much more that we don’t know about past and current sea creatures. However, paleontologists have found fossils of great sea dwelling dinosaurs which proves that there were not only dinosaurs created to live on land, but also in the water.

There is proof that dinosaurs and man lived at the same time, and most likely near one another.

In 1970 there was a discovery of cave paintings in Zimbabwe that depicted dinosaurs. The paintings were made by bushmen who ruled that area from about 1500 B.C., until a couple of hundred years ago. The pictures showed accurate representations of elephants, giraffes, and an Apatosaurus (brontosaurus). These works of art can’t be explained by evolutionary scientists since bushmen are known to have painted from what they experienced in real life!

Seventy years ago, Dr. Samuel Hubbard, curator of archaeology in the Oakland (California) Museum, discovered dinosaur carvings that were drawn by humans on the cliff walls of the Hava Supai Canyon in Arizona. One of these carvings even depicts a Tyrannosaurus. Near the carvings they also found dinosaur tracks preserved in the rock surface.

The Jonathan Park Audio Adventure Series does a wonderful job of weaving these creation account facts into their exciting stories. And while most dinosaur books claim that they’re hundreds of millions of years old, there are also many great books written from a Biblical view from highly credible creation scientists. Here are three books you may want to consider for your family:   

  • Dinosaurs by Design by Dr. Duane Gish
  • Guide to Dinosaurs by the Institute for Creation Research
  • Dinosaurs for Kids by Ken Ham (President and founder of Answers in Genesis)




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