What does the Bible have to say about dinosaurs?

God's Word, although not directly mentioning dinosaurs, does not at all exclude the idea. Here is why: some scholars, historians, theologians, etc. agree that Adam lived approximately 6000 years ago. Most theologians teach that this is the same age of the universe and earth because Adam was created on the 6th day. But we have fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals dating millions of years old, obviously contradicting the teaching of 6000 years.

This does not prove that science and God's Word are incompatible. If God is real, then the author of the natural realm is also the author of the Bible. They would have to mesh, fit somehow, as God is incapable of falsehood (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18, Numbers 23:19). I believe that what I'm about to unfold for you will enlighten your understanding of some time periods in God's Word that, for centuries, have been unclear and grossly misunderstood, misinterpreted, and mistaught, altogether misrepresenting who God is and how beautiful and symmetrical and accurate his Word is.

Consider a section in II Peter 3.

II Peter 3:6: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: This is not speaking of Noah's flood.

This Scripture is speaking of the fall of Lucifer which totally incapacitated Earth and decimated all life forms. The word "perished" (apollumi) means "utterly and finally ruined"

This is something greater than Noah's flood. So from this verse we see a key phrase: "the world that then was" That is a world of an earlier time.

II Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now...

Here is a second set. The word "now" (nun) means "the actually present time;even now; at this instant."

Later in II Peter 3 we see another piece of the puzzle.

II Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

This is the third heaven and earth mentioned. We have "the world that then was," "the heavens and earth, which are now," and lastly "new heavens and a new earth." Three in number.

Three heavens and earths- not in space but in time. One after the other. The third will be in the future, as Revelation 21:1 points out.

Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earn were passed away; and there was no more sea.

The word "first" that occurs here is not necessarily refereeing to the "world that then was" from II Peter 3:6. the word "first" is the word protos which in some cases does mean first, but here the meaning is former, which based on what we saw in II Peter 3 would be referring to the prior set, the second heaven and earth.

Going back to Genesis.

In Genesis 1:28 where the Word is summarizing the formation and fabrication of man, Adam, God's call for them is to "REplenish the earth."

There must have been some form of life that existed and ceased to exist before Adam and Eve and the lifeforms mentions in Genesis 1:20-25,

b. because the scripture says Adam and Eve were to REplenish the earth, to plenish it again.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

1st John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Is it logical for a God of light, perfection, order, love, and beauty to work on creating a heavens and earth and the end result is without form, void, and dark?

The creation of Genesis 1:1 was not haphazard, sloppy, formless, dark, crooked, void, empty, etc. It was a perfect, harmonious, light, and beautiful creation.

The Word "was" following the word "earth" in Genesis 1:2 should have really been translated "became."

If we read the transition from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 1:2 with the added understanding that the word "was" is really the word "became" it fits with what we would expect God to create.

To further substantiate this point, consider the vision of the prophet Isaiah as recorded in:

Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

the word "in vain" from the phrase " he created it not in vain" is the Hebrew word tohu which is the same word as "without form" from Genesis 1:2. Clearly God created the heaven and earth not in vain, he created it with form, he did not create it in the state that it was in in Genesis 1:2, formlessness, it became that way.

So just to frame this out even clearer: Genesis 1:1 is literally on its own compared to the rest of the chapter. Genesis 1:1 is the first heaven and earth, while Genesis 1:2 and onward is the second heaven and earth. the second heaven and earth is obviously the same rock, the same elements, from the first heaven and earth, just refashioned. If this were not the case we would not have the fossils and prehistoric evidence that have been discovered over the face of the earth.

So Genesis 1:3-2:4 is just a reframing,reorganizing, replenishing of what once was from the original of Genesis 1:1.

Between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 was eons of time. As far as we understand it was basically however much time is between the creation of matter, I know the scientific realm has approximate ages for this point, and the creation of Adam. So dinosaurs, cavemen, cave paintings, mammoths, all those things would have to fit within that expansive timezone unspoken of between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. We know time went by between those two verses even though nothing is specified. We know there was a war in heaven, and Lucifer fell;

Revelation 12:3 and 4 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

and his fall racked and ruined that life on earth. Then God turns the lights back on and rebuilds, re-initiates his creation, with one difference, and enemy of God in the world, Satan. Then the Story unfolds from Genesis 1 and 2 and mankind then needs a redeemer, and Christ was that for us.

After the return, and reign of Christ, the third heaven and earth begins, which is the true restoration of "the world that then was" Paradise will be restored, and this time, with no adversary, no death, no crying, no fear. That is our hope.

Technically it is paleontology and not archaeology that is concerned with prehistoric fossils.

There is a (mostly) good book that deals with creation and evolution (among other things) in a complimentary way: http://www.amazon.com/Science-God-Convergence-Scientific-Biblical/dp/1439129584

There is also the Six Dawns essay which does essentially the same thing from an Orthodox perspective: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75080212/The-Six-Dawns-by-Dr-Alexander-Kalomiros

Essentially, the focus is on this particular verse:

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20-21 ESV)

We now know from paleontology that some sea creatures evolved into amphibians and reptiles, and some reptiles into dinosaurs, and ultimately some dinosaurs into birds. So the entire age of the dinosaurs is glossed over in this one verse. One could argue that since dinosaurs were extinct by the time this passage was written, their inclusion would have been confusing at best to the people of the time.

Historians believe that dinosaurs lived before humans. Therefore dinosaurs could be simply mentioned during the 2 days when God created the animals. Gen 1:20-25

God could consider dinosaurs simply animals, and there would be no reason for him to explicitly mention them.