Hello Big E. I wanted to share with you how I as a so-called “Creationist” have been taught to reconcile the Genesis creation account with the proven existence of dinosaurs millions of years before the existence of Man.
Not trying to convert here, just answering your query from another angle. Also, any quoted research is credited at the end of this post. 
Gen. 1:1-2 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. And the Earth was without form and void.”
The English *{ “without form and void” has been translated from the Hebrew ‘tohu and bohu,’ which could also be translated ‘waste and empty,’ or ‘chaotic, in confusion and in a state of decay.’}
Please note two other passages of Scripture that seemingly clash with Gen 1:2:
a) 1 Cor 14:33—“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace….”
b) Job 38:4,7—“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth….When the morning stars sang and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Note: “Morning stars” and “sons of God” believed to be speaking of angels.
If God “isn’t the author of confusion,” why would He create something “chaotic?” And would the angels “shout for joy” at the creation of something “in a state of decay?”
Ps. 104:30—“Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the Earth.”
What if we were to separate Gen. 1:1 and 1:2 by millions-- perhaps billions–of years, during which dinosaurs could have been created and then later become extinct? Could there be Scriptural evidence to suggest that *{the word “was” in Gen.1:2 should be translated instead as “became” as it is in Gen. 19:26 (i.e. “The Earth BECAME without form and void”)}? And could the remainder of the Genesis account be referring to a RE-creation—a RENEWAL of the Earth?
The first biblical account of the beginning of the universe is found, not in Gen. 1:1, but in John 1:1-3
John 1:1—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God.”
Note: I was taught that this means there were two Beings, both called God–as though you were speaking of members of the same family that are two separate people with the same last name [i.e. There was John (the son), and John was WITH Smith (the father), and John WAS Smith].
Vs 2-3—“The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him, was not any thing made that WAS made.”
Somewhere between this time and the creation of the material universe, God created the angels. We know this because the angels “shouted for joy” at Earth’s creation. (Job 38:7) The angels were created perfect in their beauty, as can be seen from the description of one of the only three angels mentioned by name in the entire Bible.
- {The name Lucifer is translated as “Shining star of the dawn” or “Bringer of Light.”}
Ezek. 28:13-15—"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald and the carbuncle and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
What iniquity?
Isa. 14:12-14—"How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!
"For thou hast said in thine heart, ‘I will ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.’ "
So we see that Lucifer rebelled and attempted to overthrow God. It has been speculated that perhaps about 1/3 of the angelic population joined him:
Rev 12:4—“And his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to
the EARTH.”
At the rebellion of Lucifer and his forces, a “great war” is spoken of:
Rev. 12:7-9—"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against
the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels
"And prevailed not; neither was their place found ANY MORE in heaven.
"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."
Jesus—the “Word” that “became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)” said that He actually witnessed this happening in Luke 10:18, which says, “And He said unto them, ‘I beheld Satan as lightning FALL FROM HEAVEN.’”
I have heard many scientists speculate over the years that the dinosaurs, whose existence is PROVEN by fossil evidence, were killed by a cataclysmic event that changed their whole environment. Some have even suggested that a huge asteroid might have struck the Earth’s surface, causing a multitude to die on impact and countless others by the sheer choking out of any livable atmospheric conditions. Couldn’t a “great war in heaven”—the ULTIMATE battle between Good and Evil—be classified at such a cataclysmic event?
It has been shown through fossil research that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago. Common sense tells us that Man and dinosaurs are incompatible. There is a huge time period BETWEEN their existence. We know that the rebellion of Lucifer happened BEFORE the creation of Man because Satan was already there to tempt Mother Eve in the Garden of Eden. Also, if Man and dinosaur lived at the same time, would not Man have become extinct right along with them? As I see it, Scripture and Science are in AGREEMENT–not conflict–on this matter!
So, in conclusion, I reconcile Genesis and fossils this way:
Gen. 1:1 = The FIRST creation of Earth along with the rest of the material universe, including dinosaurs (though not specifically mentioned).
Gen. 1:2 = The resultant chaos—perhaps millions of years later–after the rebellion of Lucifer and his demons, at which point the dinosaurs could have been snuffed out of existence.
Gen. 1:3-31 = The RE-creation or RENEWAL of Earth and the material universe, including Man (which due to the repeating of the phrase “The evening and the morning were the first [second, third, etc.] day” throughout the account, I am convinced ACTUALLY occurred in 6 literal 24 hr time periods).
<<<* All research and quotes in braces{} are from “Mystery of the Ages” by Herbert W. Armstrong. Published 1985 by the Worldwide Church of God. (No longer in publication.) Scriptural accounts taken from the KJV of the Bible.>>>