When were DINOSAURS created?
Did Dinosaurs exist BEFORE or AFTER Adam and Eve?

Q. Were DINOSAURS created before or after God made Adam and Eve? Did they live around the time of the FLOOD? If dinosaurs existed as recent as 5 to 10,000 years ago then HOW do we explain fossils that are MILLIONS of years old?

(Submitted by: Steve)

A. We know that dinosaurs existed because there is a significant amount of evidence that they did in the fossil record. One frequent question that people have is where chronologically do the dinosaurs fit in. If man has existed for only a short time period (usually about 6,000--10,000 years ago) then how do we explain the long ages that science has assigned to the dinosaurs? When exactly were dinosaurs created?

This question is a result of misconceptions concerning the chronology as outlined in the scriptures. A common misconception is that EVERYTHING that was created was created when man was formed from the dust of the ground. The Bible reveals that there was a creation PRIOR to Adam and Eve. Even though Man was made on the sixth day of creation he was NOT the first living organism to be created! This is often overlooked because of an improper understanding of the first two verse in Genesis.

Although MAN is only a few thousand years old, the EARTH is much older. How much older? We are not sure because the Bible is silent on the subject. According to scripture, the creation week in the first chapter of Genesis is simply a RE-creation account. The Hebrew word, hayah, translated "was" in the second verse of Genesis the first chapter can easily be translated "became", or "had become." A correct translation of Genesis 1:1-2 is:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth HAD BECOME without form and void (empty, chaotic and confused) and darkness was on the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

An example of hayah translated as "became", or "had become" can be found in the second chapter of Genesis:

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man BECAME (hayah) a living being. " (Genesis 2:7, KJV)

The first two verses of Genesis 1 reveals that the earth was created with various forms of life, including the dinosaurs, and then became a cosmic wasteland. After this occurred we find the earth was covered in a deep mantle of water. ALL life that had been originally created became extinct, including the dinosaurs. The earth was as the scripture says "without form and void." Then God recreated and refashioned the earth to be able to support human life.

Although the Bible is silent on how much time elapsed between the first two verses of Genesis 1 the earth does not necessarily have to be extremely old. The only reason that long ages are necessary is to accommodate the THEORY of evolution, also known as theistic evolution. Since these are not viable options, because God created everything, then long eons of time are not needed. The time period between these two verses is unspecified for two reasons. First the Bible gives no indication, and secondly the dating systems of men are erroneous. These dating systems are based on constants and assumptions that were jumbled by the earth's catastrophic past. These catastrophes included the destruction described in Genesis 1:1-2 and the flood of Noah described in Genesis 6.

The dinosaurs were created by God in a time period that predates Adam. The earth became a chaotic confused wasteland probably as a result of the rebellion of Satan (Revelation 12:7). The dinosaurs went extinct before what is called the "creation week." After the dinosaurs were extinct God recreated, refashioned, and revitalized the earth to support human life. He then created Adam and Eve.