A lot of people including myself really like fantasies with dragons and/or dragons themselves. You see them everywhere in popular culture. In every fantasy tale you can think of. It seems like almost every fantasy story has a dragon, and dragons are portrayed in various ways.

So, I'm making this journal to talk about the controversy surrounding dragons within members of the Church. While there are faithful Christians that like dragons and Christian authors that have used good dragons in their stories, there is also a crowd of Christians that says that dragons are evil and that if you like dragons then you like satan and you're going to hell. Well, let's be fair and investigate these claims. The bible verses they quote have to do with how satan is described as a dragon in the book of revelation. Revelation 12 is the dragon chapter.

12 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

(KJV)

This is a controversial chapter when it comes to determining whether dragons are good or evil. Why does Satan choose the form of this creature? I think I know what the issue here is. It's more than just the fact that satan takes the form of a dragon. It's also because of how dragons are often just generally portrayed negatively. Popular books and fantasy films such as The Hobbit often portray dragons as evil monsters that burn down villages with their fire breath, kidnap princesses, and be greedy with gold. Dragons are portrayed as an obstacle. Something that humans have an aversion to because they don't want to get eaten or worse. It's just human nature to flee from something that we believe will hurt us.

Do you want to know what other animal that satan has taken the form of? He took the form of a serpent in the garden of eden, at the very beginning of creation. He was the one who tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit by saying "Did God really say that? Did he really say you couldn't eat from that tree?" Serpents are known for being untrustworthy. And humans also have an aversion to venomous snakes because they're dangerous. They could kill you with their venom or squeeze you to death. Yet at the same time, in the book of Numbers, Moses puts a bronze serpent on a pole and those who looked at the bronze serpent were healed, after God punished them with fiery flaming serpents for speaking against him. So in the bible, there were good serpents and bad serpents. If you read the king james bible, there are also some old testament verses that show dragons in a more positive light. Psalm 148:7 in the King James declares "Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:". So this means that dragons were commanded to praise God. There are two sides of the same coin here. There are many other positive dragons verses in the King James, but I just wanted to briefly touch on it.

But there are beneficial things to being fascinated with dragons. If anything, dragons can actually help us prove that the earth is young. But how? Well, ever wonder how there are so many myths and legends about dragons? Those legends had to come from somewhere. And I believe I know where. Let's read about a creature called the Behemoth in Job 40:

15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.

17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.

18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.

19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.

20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.

21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.

23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.

24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

There are many interpretations of this verse, but perhaps the behemoth is in fact a species of dinosaur. Interestingly, the word dinosaur wasn't coined until the 19th century. So what did people before then call these creatures? They called them dragons. In the next chapter of Job, Job 41, we read about a dragon-like sea creature called the Leviathan.

41 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?

4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?

5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?

7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?

8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.

9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?

11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

13 Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?

14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.

15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.

17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.

18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.

23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.

24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.

26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.

27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.

28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.

29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.

31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.

32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.

33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.

34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

A common interpretation of this verse is that the Leviathan is an alligator. But there are other more plausible interpretations. Perhaps the leviathan is a loch ness monster or a plesiosaur. If you look hard enough, you will find dinosaurs in the bible that were called dragons by people of long ago. There's evidence that dinosaurs co-existed with humans. And that's why we have these legends.

Granted, dragons in fiction can be used in a very bad way. Many media that include dragons, whether as main characters or plot devices, often have some bad stuff in them like witchcraft and worldly philosophies. Arguably, for example, fantasies like dungeons and dragons and harry potter. If you like things like dungeons and dragons and harry potter then I won't condemn you. That's between you and God. But I do believe there's some ungodly stuff in them. I'm not making this video to make you think, "yay, dragons aren't evil! Let's get our hands on anything with dragons in it!". You still have to make healthy choices.

The purpose of this journal is to show you that it's not wrong to be fascinated with dragons, just in and of themselves. If anything, it's beneficial to be fascinated with these creatures. By learning about and studying these fascinating creatures, we can unlock the knowledge we need to prove the earth is young, to prove that the bible is real history. So don't suppress this knowledge. Let your fellow Christians be free to explore and gather information on dragons and dinosaurs. As long as you aren't sinning by being fascinated with these creatures, there's no reason not to like them and be fascinated by them. I've only scratched the surface of these wonderful creatures. If you think I should make this a series and go deeper into the legends and lore of dragons and dinosaurs, let me know what specifically you want me to discuss, in the comments below. God bless everyone!