Q. I've been reading a lot of great articles lately about the fossil records and the Bible. What about dinosaurs and the Biblical record? Can they be fitted into the correct Biblical timeline, or are they a total fabrication used by the Satan to deceive mankind?? (Submitted by: Rich) A. The scriptures indicate that humans lived a long time in the world before and immediately after the flood. Adam lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5), Noah live 950 years (Genesis 9:29) and many other long life spans are indicated in Genesis. Note especially the genealogies in Genesis 4 and 5. After the flood the life spans declined. For details on the length of the declining life spans see Genesis 11:10-32. The fossil record indicates that organisms existing thousands of years ago (pre-flood) grew large. The fossil record has examples of giant cave bears, giant sloths, giant dire wolves, etc. From a biological point of view many reptiles also have the unusual proclivity of getting larger as they age. Therefore dinosaurs are simply large reptiles that have lived a long time. These reptiles/dinosaurs existed before the flood and to a lesser extent after the flood. The Biblical record and fossil record indicate that the present planetary ecosystem is incapable of producing and supporting large bodied reptiles (dinosaurs) and mammals. The Bible states that not only would mankind be destroyed but also the earth was to be wrecked (Genesis 6:13). Apparently before the flood destroyed the antediluvian ecosystem the earth could produce large bodied long living reptiles which we have named dinosaurs.
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