Question: Do you believe there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Sent:
Thursday, March 08, 2001 6:03 AM
Subject:
Question on Genesis
Hi
Bob -
I
was interested in your thoughts on "The Gap Theory".
Do you believe there
is
a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
There
would seem to me that there are more verses that wend lean me toward a
Gap
than not.
Any
thoughts on what "The Flood" of II Peter 3:6 could have been??
Thanks
-
I
always enjoy reading your answers and love your site!
Keith
Pizzo
Flint,
MI
Answer: (click here to view the answer)
Dear Keith,
I have been a no gap theorist for many years
because of the influence of the Institute of Creation Research.
Recently, I have changed my mind because of Greg Boyd’s book, God at
War, and a friend’s, Pastor Joel Finck’s, information of the
shortness of the gap. But, I still believe most of the scientific
information shows a young earth but an older universe.
With my closed mind, I thought the Gap Theory meant
the world was billions and billions of years old. But, the gap could be
relatively short – a month, a year, a million, a billion etc. The
point of the Gap Theory is that a heavenly host of spirit beings were
created along with a beautiful world. This beautiful world was corrupted
by Lucifer’s sin, and he became the adversary of God, satan.
I now believe the creation that begins with the
account of Gen 1:2, is the recreation of this world. In Ex 20:11
“For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested the seventh day.”, the heavens is coordinated with the
earth and sea. Thus, I think it refers to the atmospheric heavens.
Neh 9:6
You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all
their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in
them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. The
word for heaven in Hebrew is !yIm'V;h'.
It is always found in the plural, never in the singular. Job
38:4-7 says: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me,
if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you
know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations
fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” We can see from
this that the angels, the sons of God, were already created and shouted
for joy.
The Hebrew words, Whbow: Whto mean useless, confusion, wilderness
& emptiness, void, are important in the ongoing controversy. Notice
how it is used: Job 12:24 He
takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness WhtoB].
Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space WhToAl[;
He hangs the earth on nothing'. (Young’s Literal) Stretching out the north over desolation,
Hanging the earth upon nothing. Psa
107:40 He pours contempt
on princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness WhtoB]
where there is no way. Isa 24:10 The city of confusion WhToAty"r]qi
is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in. Isa
40:23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the
earth useless WhTo+'. Jer
4:20-27 Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is
plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered, And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly
children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But
to do good they have no knowledge.” 23 I beheld the earth, and indeed
it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. 24 I
beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved
back and forth. 25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the
birds of the heavens had fled. 26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land
was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of
the Lord, By His fierce anger. 27 For thus says the Lord: “The whole
land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end.
I believe the gap started when satan sinned. I
believe the Genesis account is a recreation of the earth after satan’s
sin caused God to destroy it. We have very little information on that
time, but it is implied by a few passages. The word katabolhv is
explained to be the time when satan was judged.
The
Greek word katabolhv,
foundation, may have two different meanings. Many gap theorists believe
it means, “the overthrow of the world.” Most other theologians
believe it means foundation/establishment. The gap theorists believe the
noun comes from the verb katabavllw.
I certainly agree that is true, but I am presently reevaluating my
position on the idea of the Gap Theory. katabavllw
is defined by B
G D [I edited this.] A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1979, as follows: throw down, strike down tinav someone, pass. kataballovmenoi ajllÆ oujk ajpolluvmenoi
struck down, but not destroyed, 2 Co 4:9. 2. mid. found,
lay (a foundation) qemevlion.
2 Sa 20:15 Then they came and besieged him in Abel
of Beth Maachah; and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it
stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the
wall [katabalei`n]
to throw it down.
The Bible seems to have two spans of time that are
contrasted. They relate to the foundation of the world. God was active
before the foundation of the world and after the foundation of the
world.
First, I want to group all the passages that refer
to the foundation of the world into two groups.
Before the Foundation:
John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also whom You
gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which
You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love.
1 Pet 1:20 He indeed was foreknown before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
From the Foundation:
Mat 13:35 that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I
will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His
right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world:
Lk 11:50 that the blood of all the prophets which
was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this
generation,
Heb 4:3 For we who have believed do enter that
rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter
My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of
the world.
Heb 9:26 He then would have had to suffer often
from the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages,
He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Rev 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship
him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 17:8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not,
and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those
who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the
Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast
that was, and is not, and yet is.
All the actions that happened before the foundation
of the world were related to Christ—His glory, the election of His
body to holiness and blamelessness, and the contingency plan for the
lamb of God to be given when sin happened.
John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also whom You
gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which
You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love,
1 Pe 1:20 He indeed was foreknown before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
From the Foundation:
Mat 13:35 that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I
will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
Luk 11:50 that the blood of all the prophets which
was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this
generation,
Heb 4:3 For we who have believed do enter that
rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter
My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of
the world.
Heb 9:26 He then would have had to suffer often
from the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages,
He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Rev 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship
him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 17:8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not,
and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those
who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the
Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast
that was, and is not, and yet is.
Things that are spoken about, that occur from the
foundation of the world do not pertain to the body of Christ. They
pertain to the Israelitish kingdom promised to David, with its promises,
secrets and works.
Mat 13:33-35 Another parable He spoke to them:
“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in
three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”34 All these things
Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did
not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter
things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His
right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world:
Heb 4:3 For we who have believed do enter that
rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter
My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of
the world.
Another use of the phrase from the foundation of
the world relates to time. We have three references that fit into this
concept.
Heb 9:26 shows that Christ would have been a
frequent sufferer. The 25th verse shows that: “not that He should
offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every
year with blood of another”, then Heb 9:26, “He then would have had
to suffer often from the foundation of the world; but now, once at the
end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself.” Therefore, from the foundation emphasized how often it would
happen.
On the other hand, two verses in Revelation show
that something never happened. i.e. Their names were never written in
the Book of Life of the Lamb slain.
Rev 13:8 “All who dwell on the earth will worship
him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world.”
Rev 17:8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not,
and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those
who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the
Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast
that was, and is not, and yet is.”
These verses show that some people never had their
names written in the book of life. In order to have their names written,
they would have to believe in the gospel that God told them. These
people never believed.
Another thing about these verses in Revelation must
be observed. Both of these prepositional phrases, “from the foundation
of the world”, modify when the names were not written in the Book of
Life. Many have never believed. Because they never believed, their names
were never written in the Book of Life. Some had their names written in
the Book of Life. If they did not overcome, some were threatened with
having their names blotted out: Rev 3:5 “He who overcomes shall be
clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the
Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before
His angels.”
In contrast, here is a syllabus that I used when I
believed in the gap theory.
GENESIS
There
are a number of ways to interpret Genesis, and especially the first
three chapters. Poetic, allegorical, scientifically inaccurate,
literally. Scientifically inaccurate. Age-day, theistic evolution.
Age-day
1.
Adam was the federal head of mankind.
2.
Adam lived more than two of these age-days.
Gap
Theory
Gen
1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth
was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
1.
The word was, hayah, said to be became.
Gen
2:18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone;
I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Gen
3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which
the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said,
You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Ex
3:14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus
you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’
“
Gen
1:2 The earth was without form, and void.
2.
They say God did not create it this way. It became this way at
the katabole.
Deu
32:10 “He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland (tohu), a
howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as
the apple of His eye.
Isa
45:18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who
formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create
it in vain (tohu), Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and
there is no other.
Isa
45:19 I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did
not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’(tohu); I, the LORD,
speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Isa
49:4 Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for
nothing (tohu) and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the LORD,
And my work with my God.
3.
katabole does mean foundation.
Mat
13:35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept
secret from the foundation of the world.”
Eph
1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
Heb
6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of
Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again (kataballovmenoi) the foundation (qemevlion)
of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Heb
11:11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive (eij" katabolh;n spevrmato")
seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged
Him faithful who had promised.
4.
Ex 20:11 For in six days the LORD made (asah) the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
This
couldn’t be a make over because the heavens weren’t katabole like
the earth was.
1:3
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God
saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the
darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Ex
20:9 Six days (yom in the plural is always a literal day) you shall
labor and do all your work, 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Gap
theory. The gap theory places a lengthy period of time between
Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, basically as an accommodation to science. In that
way gap theorists can hold to the antiquity of the earth yet understand
the words of Genesis 1 and 2 literally, adhering to twenty-four hour
days of creation. The gap theory teaches that there was an original
creation (some place the gap prior to v. 1; others place it between 1:1
and 1:2) and as a result of Lucifer’s rebellion and fall, the earth became
chaos. The phrase “formless and void” (Gen. 1:2) describes the
chaotic earth that God judged. Millions of years took place between
Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, in agreement with scientific evaluation concerning
the age of the earth.
The
problems of the gap theory have been well documented. The grammar of
Genesis 1:1–2 does not allow for a gap. Verse one is an independent
clause. Verse two is composed of three circumstantial clauses,
explaining the condition of the earth when God began to create, and it
is connected to verse 3. There is no break between verses 1 and 2. The
gap theory also depends on “formless and void” meaning evil or the
result of a judgment; however, its usages in Job 26:7 and Isaiah 45:18
do not suggest this. Gap theorists also draw a distinction between the
Hebrew verb bara
(Gen. 1:1), suggesting it means creation ex nihilo (out of nothing),
whereas asa (Gen.
1:7, 16, 25, etc.) means a refashioning. A careful study of these two
verbs reveals they are used interchangeably; asa
does not mean to refashion.
The
gap theory is not built on exegesis but is rather an attempt to
reconcile the Bible with the views of science.