Archeologists have been able to find and reconstruct skeletons of very large animals so we know dinosaurs did exist at some point. We know that God created all water and air creatures on the fifth day and all land animals with mankind on the sixth day (Genesis 1:22,23,27,30,-31).
22: And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23: And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
30: And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
This means that mankind and the dinosaurs co-existed. In fact, in some of the fossil beds in the United States they have found footprints of dinosaurs in the same clay strata as the footprints of man, supporting the fact that man and dinosaurs lived simultaneously.1
The question is, what happened to them? We know they were still around when the Flood occurred because we have fossil evidence of their existence.
Incidentally, it should be noted that fossils are not being created today. When something dies it decomposes, bones and all. It does not fossilize. The fossils archeologists have found were formed by the cataclysmic nature of the Flood. Scientists will tell you fossilization is a very rare occurrence. For it to happen, the subject must be quickly buried in sediment with just the right amount of water. That sounds a lot like a flood, doesn’t it? As creatures and plants were buried in the mud the pressure of the water must have caused the bones and leaves to fossilize rather than decompose. This does not happen in our day. Even when there is a destructive hurricane that floods half a state, or a devastatingly large avalanche occurs, fossils are not formed. That should provide us with some insight as to just how catastrophic the Flood of Noah’s day was.
The fossils of dinosaurs give us proof they were on Earth when the Flood came. Since the dinosaurs were around during the Flood we know they were brought on the ark:
“And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.” (Genesis 6:19)
Job chapter 40 describes a creature God refers to as “behemoth” (Job 40:15). It was a large and strong creature:
“He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.” (Job 40:17-18)
“Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.” (Job 40:23)
Job chapter 41 describes a fierce reptilic creature referred to as “leviathan” (Job 41:1):
“None is so fierce that dare stir him up” (Job 41:10)
“Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.” (Job 41:14)
“When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.” (Job 41:25)
“He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.” (Job 41:27-28)
We don’t know exactly when the book of Job was written, but it would appear that the above creatures were in existence during its writing. True, it is possible that these creatures were not dinosaurs. All we can know for certain is that the dinosaurs survived the Flood and eventually died out.
The Ice Age likely followed the Flood. This would not have been an ideal climate for such large animals as the dinosaurs. The colder climate would have greatly reduced the vegetation on Earth. This would have had a negative impact on the survival of animals that require large quantities of vegetatation to feed their large bodies. With the extinction of herbivores comes the dying off of their carnivorous predators. Additionally, perhaps the colder climate itself may have been too hard on their bodies. Clearly, this does not entirely explain the extinction of the dinosaurs. This is all, of course, pure speculation but perhaps we have hit on some pieces of accuracy.