Dragons Are Not Dinosaurs In The King James Bible

Genesis 1:20-22, “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”

The older that I grow, thinking over the age of the earth and all available evidence, the more I am convinced of the absurdity of Young Earth Creationism (YEC).

Someone suggested to me this week that the word “dragon” in the King James Bible Old Testament refers to dinosaurs. Oh brother! I did some research and learned that this bizarre claim is popular in the churches today. Something that I have learned about adherents of Young Earth Creationism (YEC) is that they are desperate to prove their agenda. They'll grasp any straws they can find, clinging for life to their bizarre fallacy. They have to do this because they cannot support their false claims with true science or the inspired Holy Bible.

Dear reader, if you rightly divide the Word of Truth, and don't ignore legitimate science, you can only logically conclude that the earth is millions and likely billions of years old. Psalms 102:25, “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) in his classic book, “The Story Behind The Psalms,” says he believes the prophet Daniel likely penned Psalms chapter 102. That is interesting. Daniel lived in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. The psalmist makes the clear distinction of the age of the earth—“Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth...”

Let's examine an important truth from our text passage of Scripture. Genesis 1:21a, “And God created great whales...” “Whales” in this verse comes from the Hebrew: “tannı̂yn tannı̂ym” (pronounced: tan-neen', tan-neem'); a marine or land monster, that is, sea serpent or jackal. The word "tannin" appears in the Hebrew Bible to describe creatures that evoke a sense of awe or fear, often associated with chaos or the untamed aspects of creation. This does not automatically equate to dinosaurs! There are many creatures today that evoke fear (bears, crocodiles, spiders, sharks, et cetera). The word is used in both literal and metaphorical contexts. The word “dragon” is mentioned 22 times in the Old Testament, none of which suggest that dinosaurs co-existed with mankind. A dragon on land was sometimes a jackal, a dog-like animal that wailed (Micah 1:8). The word is used in a broad sense and has multiple applications.

In Exodus 7:9-10, the term “tannı̂yn tannı̂ym” is used when Aaron's staff becomes a serpent before Pharaoh, symbolizing God's power over Egypt: “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”

In Ezekiel 29:3, “tannı̂yn tannı̂ym” is used metaphorically to describe Pharaoh as a great monster in the Nile, representing his arrogance and impending downfall: “Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster lying in the midst of his rivers, who has said, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’”

In the sea, a dragon can refer to a whale, as evidenced in Genesis 1:21. The highly educated 54 King James Bible translators understood this Hebrew term to mean “whales.” The word “dragon” is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament in the book of Revelation, all of which refer to Satan (a monster if ever there was one). It is very dishonest to claim that dinosaurs are mentioned in the inspired Holy Bible as dragons, when the word plainly refers to a creature that evokes fear. That is no better than claiming that the Hebrew word “Sheol” (realm of the dead) in the Old Testament proves that Hell doesn't exist. That is crazy! Beware of lying deceivers who wrest the inspired Word of God to fit their own agenda, those who deceitfully claim that the mention of “dragons” in the Holy Bible is proof that dinosaurs in the Holy Bible.

It is blatant scholarly fraud and wresting of the Scripture, to claim that the word “dragon” in the King James Bible means dinosaur. No Sir, it does not! Remember what I said earlier, that adherents of YEC are desperate people! If people would simply use the brain that God gave them to think, common sense would rule out a young earth. Scientists have discovered at least 300 different species of dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals. You'd have to be intellectually retarded to actually believe that all 300 plus species of dinosaurs just mysteriously died off within the past 6,000 years (the biblical date of the 6-days when God remodeled creation), while the rest of nature has thrived. Here is a list of over 700 names of dinosaurs. Did they all just croak?

Ladies and gentleman, I am tired of hearing professed Christians downplay the importance of right Bible doctrine and scientific facts (truth). It matters what we believe!!! Those people who foolishly adhere to a YEC view are in the same sinking boat as the fools who think the earth is flat and doesn't move through space (i.e., Geocentricity). God only knows how many lost sinners have refused to hear the Gospel from some nut who thought that the earth is flat, or that dinosaurs lived 5,000 years ago, or that our solar system rotates around the earth, when legitimate science plainly denies these blatant lies.

“There's nothing in the world that America needs tonight like she needs preaching!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “The Importance Of Preaching”

Young Earth Creationism (YEC) is a fallacy, a sick joke, a blatant lie. Dinosaurs likely lived 60 to 220 million years ago, as science tells us. I can tell you with all confidence that dinosaurs did NOT coexist with humans! The Bible doesn't teach anything about dragons being dinosaurs!