Note: The answer to this question is taken directly from the book In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood by Walt Brown, PhD.

This frequent question, asked in just this way, implies many questions related to dinosaurs—a word meaning “terrible lizards.” When did they live? What killed the dinosaurs? What were they like? What does the Bible say about them? Could so many large animals have fit on the Ark? There were about 300 different types of dinosaurs. Most were large; some even gigantic. One adult dinosaur was as tall as a five-story building. However, some were small, about the size of a chicken.

Many other questions will be answered if we focus on one question, “When did they live?” There are two common, but quite different, answers. Evolutionists say dinosaurs lived, died, and became extinct at least 60 million years before man evolved. Others believe God created all living things during the creation week. So man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. If we look at the evidence, sorting out these two very different answers should be easy.

Did dinosaurs become extinct at least 60 million years before man evolved? Almost all textbooks that address the subject say so. Movies and television vividly portray this. One even hears it at Disney World and other amusement parks. Some will say that every educated person believes this. We frequently hear stories that begin with impressive-sounding phrases such as, “Two hundred million years ago, as dinosaurs ruled the earth, …” But none of this is evidence; some of it is an appeal to authority. (Evidence must be observable and verifiable.)

Did man and dinosaurs live at the same time? Scientists in the former Soviet Union have reported a layer of rock containing more than 2,000 dinosaur footprints alongside tracks “resembling human footprints.”¹ Obviously, both types of footprints were made in mud or sand that has since hardened into rock. If they are human footprints, then man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. Similar discoveries have been made in Arizona.² If it were not for the theory of evolution, few would doubt that these were human footprints.

The Book of Job is one of the oldest books ever written. In it, God tells Job of his greatness as Creator and describes an animal, called Behemoth, as follows:

Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox. Behold now, his strength in his loins, And his power in the muscles of his belly. He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron. (Job 40:15–18)

Marginal notes in most Bibles speculate that Behemoth was probably an elephant or a hippopotamus, but those animals have tails like ropes. Behemoth had a “tail like a cedar.” Any animal with a tail as huge and strong as a cedar tree is probably a dinosaur. Job 40:19–24 describes this giant, difficult-to-capture animal as not alarmed by a raging river. If the writer of Job knew of a dinosaur, then the evolution position is wrong, and man saw dinosaurs.

The next chapter of Job describes another huge, fierce animal, a sea monster named Leviathan.³ It was not a whale or crocodile, because the Hebrew language had other words to describe such animals. Leviathan may be a plesiosaur (PLEE see uh sore), a large seagoing reptile that evolutionists say became extinct 60 million years before man evolved.
Consider the many dragon legends. Most ancient cultures have stories or artwork of dragons that strongly resemble dinosaurs.⁴ The World Book Encyclopedia states that:

The dragons of legend are strangely like actual creatures that have lived in the past. They are much like the great reptiles [dinosaurs] which inhabited the earth long before man is supposed to have appeared on earth. Dragons were generally evil and destructive. Every country had them in its mythology.⁵

The simplest and most obvious explanation for so many common descriptions of dragons from around the world is that man once knew the dinosaurs.

What caused the extinction of dinosaurs? The flood. Because dinosaur bones are found among other fossils, dinosaurs must have been living when the flood began. There are dozens of other dinosaur extinction theories, but they all have recognized problems. Most of the food chain was buried in the flood. Therefore, many large dinosaurs that survived the flood probably had difficulty feeding themselves and became extinct.

Were dinosaurs on the Ark? Yes. God told Noah to put representatives of every kind of land animal on the Ark. (Some dinosaurs were semiaquatic and could have survived outside the Ark.) But why put adult dinosaurs on the Ark? Young dinosaurs would take up less room, eat less, and be easier to manage. The purpose for having animals on board was so they could reproduce after the flood and repopulate the earth. Young dinosaurs would have more potential for reproduction than old dinosaurs.

Most, if not all, dinosaurs hatched from eggs. The largest dinosaur eggs ever found were a foot long. Hatchlings, even after a year of growth while on the Ark, would be quite easy to handle.

Possibly dinosaurs became very large, because they lived to great ages. Preflood humans could live for more than 900 years. If whatever caused man to live so long had the same effect on dinosaurs, they could have grown very large. Reptiles, unlike other animals, continue to grow throughout their lives. Perhaps large dinosaurs, which are similar to reptiles in many ways, were just old.

1 . Alexander Romashko, “Tracking Dinosaurs,” Moscow News, No. 24, 1983, p. 10.

2 . Paul O. Rosnau et al., “Are Human and Mammal Tracks Found Together with the Tracks of Dinosaurs in the Kayenta of Arizona?” Parts I and II, Creation Research Society Quarterly ; Vol. 26, September 1989, pp. 41–48 and December 1989, pp. 77–98.

Before 1986, many thought dinosaur tracks and human tracks were together along the banks of the Paluxy River in Texas. Some, but not necessarily all, of the humanlike tracks were apparently made by part of a dinosaur’s foot. A film, Footprints in Stone, and John Morris’ book, Tracking Those Incredible Dinosaurs, which popularized the man-track idea, have been withdrawn. A few creationists still claim that some of these manlike tracks were made by humans. I believe the Paluxy tracks should be studied more and many questions satisfactorily answered before claiming human tracks are along the Paluxy River.

In Uzbekistan, 86 consecutive horse hoofprints were found beside supposedly 90 –100-million-year-old dinosaur tracks. Evolutionists have almost as much difficulty believing that horses and dinosaurs lived together as they do man and dinosaurs. Horses allegedly did not evolve until many millions of years after the dinosaurs became extinct. [See Y. Kruzhilin and V. Ovcharov, “A Horse from the Dinosaur Epoch?” Moskovskaya Pravda (Moscow Truth), 5 February 1984.] For a report of a quadruped that left hoof-shaped prints alongside 1,000 dinosaur prints, see Richard Monastersky, “A Walk along the Lakeshore, Dinosaur-Style,” Science News, Vol. 136, 8 July 1989, p. 21.
3 . Leviathan is also mentioned in Psalms 74:14 and 104:26 and in Isaiah 27:1. Both Leviathan and Behemoth are described in the apocryphal book II Esdras. II Esdras 6:49–53 says these beasts were created on the fifth day and given separate territories because of their large size.
4. Lorella Rouster, “The Footprints of Dragons,” Creation Social Science and Humanities Quarterly, Fall 1978, pp. 23–28.

5 . Knox Wilson, “Dragon,” The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, 1973, p. 265.

Here is more information on this book

Simon surnamed Peter died 33-34 years after the death of Christ. According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary there is satisfactory evidence that he and Paul were the founders of the church at Rome, and died in that city. The time and manner of the apostle’s martyrdom are less certain. According to the early writers, he died at or about the same time with Paul, and in the Neronian persecution, A.D. 67,68. All agree that he was crucified. Origen says that Peter felt himself to be unworthy to be put to death in the same manner as his Master, and was therefore, at his own request, crucified with his head downward.

James the son of Zebedee: He was put to death by Herod Agrippa I shortly before the day of the Passover, in the year 44 or about 11 years after the death of Christ. From Acts 12: 1-2.

John: No death date given by early writers. Death date is by conjecture only and is variously assigned as being between 89 AD to 120 AD

Andrew: No accurate death date given. A variety of traditions say he preached in Scythia, in Greece, in Asia Minor and Thrace. He is reported to have been crucified at Patrae in Achaia.

Philip: Again, the Bible does not say when he died nor do we have accurate information. According to tradition he preached in Phrygia, and died at Hierapolis.

Bartholomew: There is no information concerning his death, not even by tradition

Matthew: He must have lived many years as an apostle, since he was the author of the Gospel of Matthew which was written at least twenty years after the death of Christ. There is reason to believe that he stayed for fifteen years at Jerusalem, after which he went as missionary to the Persians, Parthians and Medes. There is a legend that he died a martyr in Ethiopia

Thomas: The earlier traditions, as believed in the fourth century, say he preached in Parthia or Persia, and was finally buried at Edessa. The later traditions carry him farther east. His martyrdom whether in Persia or India, is said to have been by a lance, and is commemorated by the Latin Church on December 21 the Greek Church on October 6, and by the Indians on July 1.

James Alpheus : We know he lived at least five years after the death of Christ because of mentions in the Bible. According to tradition, James son of Alpheus was thrown down from the temple by the scribes and Pharisees; he was then stoned, and his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club.

Thaddeus: No information in the Bible. According to tradition he was stoned to death while preaching in Persia.

Simon the Canaanite – No information either in the Bible or by tradition.

Judas Iscariot: Shortly after the death of Christ Judas killed himself. According to the Bible he hanged himself, (Matthew 27:5) at Aceldama, on the southern slope of the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, and in the act he fell down a precipice and was dashed into pieces.

The Bible also lists the 12 apostles in Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:13-16 with slight differences in the names. Most Bible scholars agree that Thaddaeus was also know as “Judas, son of James” (Luke 6:16) and Lebbaeus (Matthew 10:3). Simon the Zealot was also known as Simon the Canaanite (Mark 3:18).

Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, was replaced in the twelve apostles by Matthias (see Acts 1:20-26)

There is constant controversy over who might really have written each book and what changes might have occurred throughout the centuries.  For example tradition states that Moses wrote Deuteronomy as his last writing before his death.  Since the book ends with his death we acknowledge that someone other than Moses added the fact of his death to the book.  However, more and more tradition is being borne out so the traditional list of authors is presented here.

You can find a table showing who wrote each book of the Bible, when, where and the time frame of the Bible timeline it covers in the two previous Bible Question entries: Books of the Old Testament and New Testament Books.

BIBLE FACTS:
The system of chapters was introduced in A.D. 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de
S. Caro, while the verse notations were added in 1551 by Robertus
Stephanus, after the advent of printing.

A Bible in the University of Gottingen is written on 2,470 palm leaves.

According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of
Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles
that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United
States is about 168,000 per day.

The Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours.

There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different
Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in the King James Version.

A number of verses in the Bible (KJV) contain all but 1 letter of the
alphabet: Ezra 7:21 contains all but the letter j; Joshua 7:24,
1 Kings 1:9, 1 Chronicles 12:40, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Ezekiel 28:13,
Daniel 4:37, and Haggai 1:1 contain all but q; 2 Kings 16:15 and
1 Chronicles 4:10 contain all but z; and Galatians 1:14 contains all
but k.

BIBLE STATISTICS:
Number of books in the King James Bible: 66
Chapters: 1,189
Verses: 31,101
Words: 783,137
Letters: 3,566,480
Number of promises given in the Bible: 1,260
Commands: 6,468
Predictions: over 8,000
Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses
Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140
Number of questions: 3,294
Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1)
Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words)
Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: “Jesus wept”).
Middle books: Micah and Nahum
Middle verse: Psalm 103:2
Middle chapter: Psalm 117
Shortest chapter (by number of words): Psalm 117 (by number of words)
Longest book: Psalms (150 chapters)
Shortest book (by number of words): 3 John
Longest chapter: Psalm 119 (176 verses)
Number of times the word “God” appears: 3,358
Number of times the word “Lord” appears: 7,736
Number of different authors: 40
Number of languages the Bible has been translated into: over 1,200
OLD TESTAMENT STATISTICS:
Number of books: 39
Chapters: 929
Verses: 23,114
Words: 602,585
Letters: 2,278,100
Middle book: Proverbs
Middle chapter: Job 20
Middle verses: 2 Chronicles 20:17,18
Smallest book: Obadiah
Shortest verse: 1 Chronicles 1:25
Longest verse: Esther 8:9
Longest chapter: Psalms 119
Largest book: Psalms
NEW TESTAMENT STATISTICS:
Number of books: 27
Chapters: 260
Verses: 7,957
Words: 180,552
Letters: 838,380
Middle book: 2 Thessalonians
Middle chapters: Romans 8, 9
Middle verse: Acts 27:17
Smallest book: 3 John
Shortest verse: John 11:35
Longest verse: Revelation 20:4
Longest chapter: Luke 1
Largest book: Luke

There is constant controversy over who might really have written each book and what changes might have occurred throughout the centuries.  For example tradition states that Moses wrote Deuteronomy as his last writing before his death.  Since the book ends with his death we acknowledge that someone other than Moses added the fact of his death to the book.
     Below is a table showing when each book was written, where, by whom and the time covered on the Bible Timeline. This is in order of when each book was written. [The symbol “a.” means after,  “b.”  means before and “c.” means circa or about.]

Many different calendars have been used since man began tracking time.  Most start with some epoch event or person.  The use of BC and AD for numbering calendar years was invented by Dionysius Exiguus in 525 AD.  His purpose was to determine the correct date for Easter under the direction of Pope St. John I. 

Prior to this time, one method for determining Easter was based on a 532 year calendar cycle stemming from the Alexandrian era.  Other methods were also used which led to the confusion.  Dionysius was asked to determine a method for calculating Easter that would then be used by the entire church.

Dionysius did not want to perpetuate the name of Alexander, the Great Persecutor.  He decided to start his 532 year cycle from the year associated with the foundation of Rome.  At that time Christ’s birth was supposed to have occurred immediately preceding the year of the founding of Rome.  Today, based on historical evidence relating to Herod and astronomical evidence relating to eclipses and star novas, most historians believe Christ was actually born a few years earlier.

Dionysius named the years relating to his cycle, BC meaning Before Christ which starts with year 1 (moving backwards in time) and AD meaning Anno Domini, the year of Our Lord referring to the year of Christ’s birth (moving forward in time.)  This is also a year 1.  There is no year 0.  (That’s the reason purists insists the 21st century actually began January 1, 2001.   For example the first year began in 1 AD and ended the beginning of  2 AD so the first year of the 21st century begins in 2001 AD and ends with the beginning of 2002 AD)

It took about 400 years for the dating system devised by Dionysius to reach common usage.

The three most widely known Bible timelines are the Septuagint timeline based on a Greek translation of the Old Testament, the timeline of Josephus a Jewish historian who published his Antiquities of the Jews in 93 AD, and Bishop James Usshers chronology published as Annals of the Old Testament in 1658 AD.

Beginning in 1701 AD The King James Bible included the dates determined by Bishop James Ussher as part of the commentary.

How were the King James Bible Timeline dates calculated?

Ussher’s chronology was determined in three ways. First were dates easily calculated directly from information contained in the Bible, next others were calculated by using information from the Bible with secular histories and finally others had to be calculated using only secular histories of people named in the Bible.

The first dates from Creation to Solomon, are easily calculated from the Bible itself using the genealogy from Adam to Solomon. After that it becomes harder. The histories in the Bible are a series of incidents in a bit of a jumble with no straightforward timeline. Rather than a linked genealogy with birth and deaths related only the Kings are included and often only how long they reigned.

Bishop Ussher used cross references from secular histories that gave the dates for other nations and kings mentioned in the Bible to determine when Bible events happened. For example knowing that the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC Ussher could calculate the date for Jehoiachin’s exile.

What are the Bible chronology dates?

You can find my detailed list of Ussher’s Bible timeline with World History dates here.

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