“Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its 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 birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” (Genesis 1:20-23 NKJV).
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life, and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of heaven, and it was so. And God made great whales, and every living reptile, which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every creature that flies with wings according to its kind, and God saw that they were good. And God blessed them saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.” (Genesis 1:20-23 LXX).
On the Fifth Creation Day, God filled the sky with flying creatures and the ocean with marine life forms. These creatures included fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, and insects. The fossil record show that these creatures were larger in size probably because they lived longer in an environment designed for maximum genetic expression. God created many other life forms during the Fifth Day, but only the fishes and birds are mentioned. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” (Genesis 1:20-23 NKJV). Furthermore, when God created all marine life forms and all flying creatures, this may be the time when God made flying insects also. All of these creatures are made with the ability to perpetuate their kind by biological reproduction. The creatures made on Day Five are the first creatures blessed by God.
LEVIATHAN
The creation of marine reptiles included the ancestors of the Leviathan. The Leviathan is the marine animal described by God in the book of Job (chapter 41) as a terrifying fire-breathing sea monster. The creature is described as a strong beast with a tough outer “armor”. He cannot be pulled out with a fishhook and no warrior dares to fight him. This animal breathed fire and snorted out smoke. The Leviathan is a reference to an extinct animal that was alive and known to those that lived during the pre-flood and early post flood eras. This animal was probably a plesiosaur, such as the Kronosaurus, pliosaur, mosasaurs. Others have proposes it was the giant armored crocodile Sarcosuchus.
Kronosaurus creatures were the greatest and most powerful animals ever to swim in the deep ocean. They were not true dinosaurs, but they were reptile-like and they had large sharp teeth. These gigantic animals were still alive at the time of King David. Psalm 104 says they played where the ships go back and forth. This was probably the Mediterranean Sea. Many reports of “sea serpents” closely match the ancient pliosaurs and mosasaurs. They looked somewhat like huge lizards or crocodiles with flippers or webbed feet. Fossils show their backbones were very flexible. They could probably swim in a snake-like motion. Pliosaurs are extinct clade of marine reptiles. The pliosaurs were short-necked plesiosaurs with large heads and massive toothed jaws. Mosasaurs are large, extinct, marine reptiles. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764. Mosasaurs became the dominant marine predators during the early post-flood era. However, the Leviathans were probably the Sarcosuchus reptiles. These reptiles were extinct genus of crocodyliform. They looked like gigantic crocodiles and they became extinct during the early post-flood era. They were the largest crocodile-like reptiles that ever lived. They were twice as long as the modern saltwater crocodile and they probably weighed up to eight tons.
The creation of flying reptiles included the Pterosaurs. They flourished during the pre-flood and early post-flood eras. Pterosaurs hung by their long, slender hind limbs when at rest. They soared and glided on fragile, membranous wings that were attached to the long fourth finger of each forelimb and extended along the flank. The first three fingers were slender, clawed, clutching structures. Pterosaurs had a long, slender beak and a large brain. Pterodactyls are part of the family of Pterosaurs and they had slender, delicate teeth that were angled forward long metacarpal bones, and a short tail. They were probably able gliders but not efficient as active fliers, and they apparently lacked feathers. Pterodactyls are probably still alive today in the remote regions of Central and South America.
CREATION DAY FIVE ANALYSIS
When God created marine sea animals on the Fifth Day, they were the first complex life forms to occupy the Earth during the creation week. These animals were first vegetarians but became predators after the fall of humanity in the pre-flood age. A few of the great reptiles of the sea could have lived through the Flood without being taken in to the Ark. Noah was told to protect land-dwelling animals and birds, not fish and other creatures that could survive the global floodwaters. Throughout history, many people have reported about animals like plesiosaurs and other types of unknown creatures. Many scientists agree there are probably many more sea creatures to be discovered. Man knows more about the surface of the moon than he does about life in the world’s great oceans. There is enough evidence for the existence of gigantic “sea monsters” living in the past and probably in the present, according to the eye witness accounts of many sailors and fishermen.
CREATION SCIENCE SOURCES
The New King James Version (NKJV); The Alexandrian Septuagint LXX translated by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton; Halley’s Bible Handbook by Henry Halley; Three Views on Creation and Evolution by J.P. Morland & J.M. Reynolds; Understanding Creation by Mark Worthon & Hill Roberts; Understanding The Bible by Kendell H. Easley; The Dead Sea Scrolls by Cr