Genesis 1:1-2 Mind the Gap

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… 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.

Today’s post is a bit of a weird one because it is not so much about what the two verses above say but more about what has been proposed to be in between them which is known as the Gap Theory. If you are not familiar with it already, the theory basically attempts to harmonize a literal reading of Genesis with the problem of an earth that the vast majority of geologists now believe to be billions of years old. The most popular version of the Gap Theory is known as the Ruin reconstruction theory which suggests that God originally created a world full of creatures including the dinosaurs and later on a pre-Adamite race roamed the plains as well. Somewhere in this story Lucifer lead a rebellion in the heavens which ultimately resulted in God destroying the world with what is known as the Luciferian flood before starting over again. The Luciferian flood then accounts for the fossil record that we see today. Proponents of this view argue that the word ‘was’ in verse 2 should be translated as ‘became’; changing the sentence to read that ‘the earth became without form’. Personally, I think that the theory falls flat in a number of areas and here is why. 

Scriptural objections

In Exodus 20:11 says that God made 'the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in seven days' which would include Lucifer and all the other angels and demons. And while the angels and Lucifer are not mentioned in the Genesis account of creation; chapter 1:31 does mention that everything God had created was very good which leaves us with 3 options. Number 1 – Genesis is wrong, number 2 – The word ‘everything’ simply refers to the things that were part of the new creation or number 3 – EVERYTHING was very good. By itself it is difficult to decide how encompassing the word ‘everything’ actually is but I think some other scriptures lend support to the third option being the most viable.

Ezekiel 28:12-16 speaks of 'the anointed cherub who was in Eden and perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him'. It seems reasonable to me therefore to say that Lucifer most likely fell sometime between the creation of Adam and Eve and their temptation by the serpent in the garden.

   John also speaks in Revelation 20:1 of a ‘new heaven and a new earth after the first earth had passed away’. If we are indeed living on the second earth and there will one day be a third earth then John was mistaken.

Logical objections

There are a few logical objections I have toward the Gap Theory as well, two of those being major hurdles to overcome. Firstly, several of the reptiles and fish that are around today were supposed to be around during the time of the dinosaurs as well. How could sharks and crocodiles survive after the world was destroyed and recreated to the point where even the sun and oceans were recreated? The second thing that does not make sense to me is why God would destroy his physical creation after Lucifer rebelled. Everything would have been destroyed except for Satan and his comrades. That surely counts as a failed mission.    

Historical objections

Lastly the Gap theory is not very old. The idea only started to develop in the 17^th century and was only fully developed about a century later. The age of an idea does not necessarily mean it is wrong but I am always skeptical of any doctrine or theory which cannot be traced back throughout church history. There should always be at least a thread of the church that held fast to a truth through the ages even if it were a minority and persecuted view. 

Next time I will get into the creation of man. There is so much to look into over there such as the picture of Jesus and his bride, Gods eternal purpose and the image of God in man that it will probably take several posts to cover.Until then, peace.