DINOSAURS, SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE PART #2:
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO THE DINOSAURS?
OPENING QUOTE: “What was the Big Bang?”
In the beginning (you know we had to start like this) the Universe seems to have been an infinitely hot, infinitely dense concentration of energy, (though) we don’t have a working theory of physics to describe how anything behaves in these conditions. Once the Big Bang was underway… Space started to exist, and the clock began to tick. Then something unusual and important happened: the Universe blew up… So where did the Big Bang come from? Unfortunately that’s not a question for which science has a good answer…
Excerpted from The Quirks & Quarks Guide to Space by Jim Lebans http://lifestyle.sympatico.msn.ca (02-29-08).
- they freely admit that they don’t know the answers!
INTRODUCTION: Review main points from session #1
TEXT: “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.” (Genesis 1:1).
Last week we discussed how the Bible is more than just a book of religion and salvation, it is the History Book of the Universe. We considered how the Bible teaches us that:
1. God created everything in the universe about 6,000 years ago.
2. Dinosaurs were created on day six along with all land-dwelling animals (Gen. 1:24).
3. All humans and animals were originally vegetarian (Gen. 1:30)
4. We looked at various Scriptures that described dinosaurs. (CD available)
OPENING TEXT: “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31).
WHY IS THERE DEATH AND SUFFERING?
• This is one of the arguments we often get from unbelievers: “If God is good, then why is there suffering and dying and disease and death in the world?”
• Why did God create a world full of suffering? It was originally ‘very good.’
• Would you complain to Ford about manufacturing a smashed up car? Of course not.
• One day God will fix the Earth – death is temporary.
THE BIG IDEA: If God created everything in the universe, and the original creation was ‘very good’, then why is there death and suffering in the world? “By looking at the Genesis account of the fall of man, we know that we are looking at a fallen, cursed world. Death and suffering is the penalty for sin, and our sins are responsible for all the death and suffering in the world.” (Ken Ham, Why is there Death and Suffering?).
GOD’S COMMANDMENT:
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17).
• Adam and Eve were given the freedom to enjoy the ‘very good’ creation of God.
• They were only given one commandment.
THE STORY OF THE FALL:
“1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, ’You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ’You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ " 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:1-10).
• If God created everything in the universe, and the original creation was ‘very good’, then why is there death and suffering in the world?
• Because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion and sin, we are living in a sin-cursed Earth.
TEXT: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men” (Romans 5:12).
• Before the fall, there was no death or suffering in the world.
• This truth shows us that the “Gap Theory” and “Day-Age” theories are invalid.
• There could not have been millions of years of death and suffering before Adam!
THE STORY OF THE FLOOD:
“Now the LORD observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart. And the LORD said, "I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created. Yes, and I will destroy all the animals and birds, too. I am sorry I ever made them." But Noah found favor with the LORD. This is the history of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” (Genesis 6:5-10).
• Why did God flood the Earth? Death is the penalty for sin.
• “It was by faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about something that had never happened before.” (Hebrews 11:7).
• Now if what we’ve learned so far is true, then dinosaurs lived side-by-side with mankind before the flood. How did Noah fit all of the animals – and the dinosaurs – on the ark?
HOW COULD NOAH FIT ALL OF THE ANIMALS ON THE ARK?
Unbelievers will always say, “Noah could have never fit all of the animals on the ark!” But if you ask them, “How big was the ark?” they will say, “I don’t know.” If you ask them, “How many animals did Noah have to fit on the ark?” they will say, “I don’t know.” Interesting.
1. How Big Was the Ark?
“And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.” (Genesis 6:13-15).
• QUOTE: “The Ark measured 300 x 50 x 30 cubits which is about 459 x 75 x 44 feet, so its volume was 1.54 million cubic feet… This is the equivalent volume of 522 standard American railroad stock cars, each of which can hold 240 sheep.” (522 stock cars x 240 sheep each = 125,280 total sheep).” (Jonathan Sarfati of Answers in Genesis).
2. How Many Animals Did Noah Have to Fit on the Ark?
“And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.” (Genesis 6:19).
How many animals approximately would that be? “The total number of land-dwelling mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibian species is less than 20,000 or so. The number of "kinds," the Biblical designation, is probably much smaller. For instance, of the 9,000 bird species, approximately 400 are hummingbirds, with only minor differences in color, size, and habitat. Very likely, they all come from only one or a few kinds, thereby dropping the total number.” (John Morris, Institute for Creation Research).
• Many experts say that there are about 8,000 kinds of animals.
How did they fit the dinosaurs on the ark?
• Average size of a dinosaur = about the size of a sheep. Only a few grew to big sizes.
• “Dinosaurs lay eggs, and the biggest dinosaur fossil egg found is about the size of a football.” (Ken Ham, What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?).
• Even the largest dinosaurs were very small when first hatched.
• Noah took young animals on the ark.
• Interesting note – there are about 270 flood legends today – where did they originate?
QUOTE: “Hudson Bay Gouges Shed Light on Flood”
Two Canadian scientists probing the depths of Hudson Bay have discovered deep gouges on the sea floor and other evidence shedding new light on a colossal flood that occurred more than 8,000 years ago… Quebec researchers have reconstructed the "catastrophic outburst" of a vast meltwater lake at the end of the last ice age, an event already known to have disrupted global climate and which, according to some theorists, triggered flooding around the world -- perhaps even inspiring the biblical story of Noah’s Ark. (from The Winnipeg Free Press - 02-25-08).
THE FIVE REAL DINOSAUR AGES: (www.answersingenesis.org)
• Formed - 6,000 years ago dinosaurs were created alongside of all land animals
• Fallen - through Adam and Eve’s sin, death and destruction entered the world
• Flood - 4,400 years ago God judged the world’s wickedness in the flood
• Faded - after the flood, animals including dinosaurs died out; faded/forgotten
• Found - from 1800 AD to present, dinosaurs bones/fossils found
WHAT ABOUT FOSSILS AND GEOLOGY?
GEOLOGY DEFINIED: Geology is the scientific study of the origin, history, and structure of the earth; the structure of a specific region of the earth’s crust.
• The geologic evidence supports the idea of a global flood
• The Biblical account of the flood answers some questions that the evolutionists cannot:
1. What caused fossilization?
2. How the geologic column was formed?
• We believe that fossils and the geologic column were caused by the flood.
QUOTE: “The rocks of the earth’s crust now contain the fossil remains of unnumbered billions of plants and animals, buried in water-transported sediments which quickly became lithified. This “geologic column” has been grossly distorted by evolutionists into the record of an imagined 3-billion year history of evolution during the geological ages. Actually, it represents the deposits of the Flood with the fossil order primarily depicting the relative elevations of the habitats—and therefore the usual order of sedimentary burial in the Flood—of the organisms of the pre-Flood world. Many modern geologists are again admitting the necessity of catastrophic formation and burial to explain the (fossils) in the geologic column. The reason why very few fossil men (also very few fossilized flying birds) are found in the rocks is their high mobility and ability to escape burial in sediments. When eventually drowned, their bodies would remain on the surface until they decayed.” (Henry Morris, The Defender’s Study Bible).
CLOSING CHALLENGE:
“3 First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at the truth and do every evil thing they desire. 4 This will be their argument: "Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he? Why, as far back as anyone can remember, everything has remained exactly the same since the world was first created." 5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth up from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the world with a mighty flood.
• Scoffers – unbelievers – doubt the account of God’s creation and the flood.
7 And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish…
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise (the Bible’s ‘big bang’), and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! 12 You should look forward to that day and hurry it along – the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God.” (2 Peter 3:3-13).
Are you "in Christ" - God’s "Ark"?
For more sermon outlines or audio sermons, visit:
www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor’s Blog: http://thelandofpromise.blogspot.com/
