If man was created only 6,000 years ago, what about the long ages assigned
to dinosaurs by science? WHEN exactly were dinosaurs created?
Q. I was just reading an article asking about the dinosaurs. It was written that they were just large reptiles that lived pre-flood and maybe even after the flood. But if that's the case, then we are only dealing with a few thousand or tens of thousands of years ago. What then about the fossils they've found dating back hundreds of thousands or even millions of years ago? Now if Adam was created let's say 6000 -10,000 BC, where did these dinosaur fossils dating back millions of years come from? Wasn't Adam created in the first week of creation?
A. We know that dinosaurs existed because there is much evidence in the fossil record. One frequent question that people have is where exactly 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 they 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 created. In other words if man was created only a few thousand years ago then everything is only a few thousand years old including the dinosaurs. The Bible reveals that there was a creation prior to Adam and Eve. Even though Adam and Eve were created in 6 literal days of 24 hours (the popular creation week), they were not the first living organisms to be created. This is often overlooked because of an improper understanding of the first two verse in Genesis.
In reality, although man is only a few thousand years old the earth is older. How much older? We are not sure because the Bible is silent on the subject. According to the Bible the creation week in the first chapter of Genesis is simply a recreation account. A proper translation of Genesis 1:1-2 should read as follows:
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.
The Hebrew word, hayah, translated was in the second verse can easily be translated became, or
had become. An example of this occurs a few verses later in Genesis 2:7:
"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. "
This scripture reveals that the earth was created with various forms of life, including the dinosaurs, and then it became a cosmic wasteland. In the opening verses of Genesis the earth is 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 Genesis 1 and 2 the earth does not necessarily have to be extremely old. The only reason that long ages are necessary is to accommodate the evolutionary theory or 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 verse is unspecified for two reasons. First the Bible gives no indication, 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.
In summary the dinosaurs were created by God in a time period that predates Adam. The earth became a chaotic confused waste, probably as a result of the rebellion of Satan ( Revelation 12:7). The dinosaurs went extinct before the creation week. God then recreated, refashioned, and revitalized, the earth to support human life. He then created Adam and Eve.
http://www.biblestudy.org/question/dinoexst.html
