Dinosaurs in the Bible
Show Transcript
Intro: Learning about the Bible doesn’t have to be boring. Today, we are going to discuss a really fun topic. DINOSAURS. What does the Bible say about them, were they on Noah’s Ark, and where did they go? So, let’s get started.
I began researching this topic because it was something I was interested in. I was reading Genesis, and I was picturing a T-Rex on Noah’s Ark eating all the other animals. Like the scene in Jurassic Park where they chain up a goat for the T-Rex to eat. Obviously that didn’t happen, but I wanted to know why. I found some pretty interesting information on why that was. Or at least why some people think that was. Now, I want to stop here and put a small disclaimer. There is biblical basis for most of what I will discuss, but a lot of it is just theories and speculation. So, hopefully you can listen to this the way it was intended. As a light topic to get people interested in the Bible. I want people to see that the Bible isn’t boring. It’s a living breathing document with real people and real events. And DINOSAURS for crying out loud.
Most scientists will tell you that dinosaurs and humans were never alive at the same time. If you believe the Bible’s account of creation, and I hope you do, then you know that God created both man and dinosaurs on the same day.
Genesis 1:24-31 tells us
“And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
Some people say that we don’t really know how long these days actually were. Maybe a day represented thousands of years, or even longer. I don’t think that’s the case though. I think it lessens God’s power to call creation instantly out of nothing. Aside from that, there is further evidence that points to a day truly being a day.
Exodus 20:11 says
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
The Hebrew word used in both instances represents a normal single day.
So dinosaurs and men were created at the same time. God’s perfect plan allowed for them to exist in perfect harmony. The animals and people weren’t eating each other at that time. Man didn’t have to worry about hiding from a pack of hungry velociraptors.
Genesis 1:29-30 says
“And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.”
In the beginning, everybody and everything were vegetarians. Doesn’t sound like paradise to me, but I guess God works in mysterious ways.
So, when did all that change? If you’re familiar with the story, then you know there was one plant God didn’t give Adam and Eve to eat. Fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The Serpent tricks Eve into eating from this tree, and Adam follows suit. This triggers the fall of man, which sets up a chain reaction corrupting all of creation. God curses every living creature in Genesis 3:14-19
“The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.””
So God cursed the serpent more than the beasts of the field, implying that they too were cursed. Prior to this corruption of creation, there was no death. As we said earlier, all creatures were vegetarian. After the fall, all of this changes.
I initially thought that this would explain why none of the animals ate each other on Noah's ark, and it still may. Now we are going to veer a little from scripture and into the realm of scientific speculation. I think it's fun to show how God's creation fits with science and history, but ultimately God is all powerful. There doesn't necessarily have to be a scientific explanation for the things he does. Everything could have just been miraculous, and probably was. But, I do think God's master plan does fit well with things that can be explained by science. Not to disprove God's existence, but rather to confirm it.
If you read early in Genesis, you see that there was a water vapor surrounding the earth. There was no rain, because a mist would water the garden. The earth was basically a tropical paradise. The envelope of water vapor surrounding the earth likely acted as a major barrier to the sun's harmful UV rays. UV rays would have been responsible for things like aging, and the oxygen content of the earth.
When the great flood occurs, the water vapor surrounding the earth pours down. This thinning of the atmosphere is likely the reason people lived greater than 900 years pre-flood, then this longevity drastically declines after the flood.
Those long lives before the flood likely allowed people and creatures to grow much larger than today. The increased oxygen levels also reduced a lot of their metabolic needs. They could survive on plants. They didn't need increase hemoglobin levels in their bloodstream.
A quick biology lesson- hemoglobin is the part of your blood that carries oxygen. Your body makes hemoglobin out of things like iron, protein, and folate. The highest concentrations of iron and protein are found in meats. Folate can be obtained through many vegetables.
So, though the corruption of creation did allow things to die, and likely kill each other, prior to the flood there probably wasn't a major necessity for them to eat meat.
The size of the animals, though leads to another question related to the ark. How did these massive dinosaurs fit. It begins with the emphasis on the word "kinds". God didn't put every single animal variation onto the ark. So there likely wouldn't be coyotes, dogs, wolves, and foxes. Just a representative of their group.
As for dinosaurs, there are 668 different dinosaurs, but only 55 different kinds. Most of them weren't enormous either. To represent the entire animal kingdom, creationist researcher John Woodmorappe has calculated about 8000 animal kinds would have been a good representation. Or 16,000 individual animals
Genesis 6:15 put the ark's volume at about 2.21 million cubic feet. Allowing for some space to move around, 16,000 animals would have only taken up about half of that. Leaving the other half for things like food. So the accommodations seem reasonable, though I can't imagine what cleaning the stalls would have been like.
So, based on all of this information, it's likely that the dinosaurs survived at least to after the flood. There is some evidence of this in the Bible.
Two dinosaur-like creatures are mentioned. The first is found in Job. Most chronological bibles place Job sometime after the flood. Job 40:15-24 describes a dinosaur-like creature.
““Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. “He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play. Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh. For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him. Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?”
The other creature that sounds like a dinosaur is the Leviathan. It's described almost like a dragon or sea serpent. The word dinosaur, which means "terrible lizard", wasn't invented until the 1800s. So, it makes sense they would have other words to describe them. This could have just been a large crocodile, or some extinct version, but I like to think it was a dinosaur.
This brings us to our last question. Where did the dinosaurs go? Well, most of them likely died in the flood. Those that survived would have struggled with the new climate. The flood destroyed much of the worlds vegetation. There would have been a lot of competition, so they probably became carnivorous to gain a more calorie dense diet, killing each other off in the process. Or maybe humans became really good hunters. There's no way to really know, but it's fun to guess.
Ultimately, sin entering the world put everything out of harmony. Thankfully, those of us who are believers can look forward to a day when harmony will be restored. Isaiah 11:6-9 says
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Who knows? Maybe God will bring dinosaurs back at that time.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this podcast. If you liked what you heard, or want to learn more about history and science's relationship to the Bible, please subscribe to Sunday School!
Sources
https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/were-dinosaurs-on-noahs-ark/
https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/dinosaurs-and-the-bible/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005272810000575#:~
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/earths-oxygen-levels-can-affect-its-climate-180955572/