Shalom All,
Have a read of an excerpt of a passage from
http://objectiveministri...creation/pterosaurs.html and put on your thinking caps. Perhaps it no wonder people see creationists as kooks...
- start -
Pterosaurs in the BibleSauropods and Plesiosaurs are not the only dinosaurs / reptiles mentioned in Scripture.
Isaiah 30:6 tells of a flying reptile like the pteranodon or Rhamphorhynchus.
Isaiah 30:6 (King James Version)
"The burden of the beast of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent..."What is a flying serpent? - The only known reptiles with the ability to fly are the Pterosaurs. In this verse we see them described as living alongside the other animals. The flying serpents are used in the text with other animals we readily recognize. They are not set apart in any way as to conclude they are fictitious. In fact, the verse continues and speaks of men carrying their riches "upon the bunches of camels". This makes it clear that these flying dinosaurs lived alongside mammals, and man.
God created flying creatures such as birds and pterosaurs on the fifth day of Creation. Man and other mammals were created on the 6th day.
This creature in Isaiah is described as a "fiery flying serpent".
The description of them as being "fiery" may be in reference to their color, or as some have suggested a burning sensation left from one of their bites.
Personally I think it may actually have been bioluminescent, this is particularly true of the "Ropen" (see below).
bioluminescent"Emission of visible light by living organisms such as the firefly and various fish, fungi, and bacteria."
The danger of these creatures is evident when Moses -- later leading his people out of Egypt -- was unable to use the protection of ibises, resulting in the Jews being tormented by pterosaur attacks throughout the 40 year Exodus. The attacks were brought under control only after the Lord instructed Moses to create a pterosaur effigy on a pole to scare them off (Numbers 21:6-9, Deuteronomy 8:15).
This leads us to the most authoritative historical source on pterosaurs: the Bible7. The creatures are mentioned or alluded to many times throughout the Old and New Testaments. The Lord even offers them as a type to Himself: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up" (John 3:14).
Other notable references are made by Isaiah, during whose time pterosaurs were worshipped (and possibly tamed8) by the Egyptian pharaohs. Isaiah mentions them twice to symbolize Egypt:
"Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." (Isaiah 14:29)
"The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them." (Isaiah 30:6)- end -