THE GAP THEORY

The "gap" theory is one of those things which Christians love to discuss,argue and generally beat to death.Those who believe in the "gap"believe there is an indefinite time period,possibly billions of years,between Genesis ch 1 vs 1 and vs 2. It's a fun topic since we won't have an answer until we reach Heaven and can ask the question in person.It really doesn't matter since it does not affect our salvation or our Christian walk.Many who believe in the "gap" also believe there was a prior creation on the earth and that at some point God chose to wipe it out and start over.

Genesis Ch 1 vs 1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The famous,or infamous,"gap is between these two verses.

Genesis ch 1 vs 2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

There are some scriptures which seem to support these theories;

Notice that the command that God gave to Adam and Eve was to replenish the earth.Genesis Ch 1 vs 28 And God blessed them and said unto them,Be fruitful,and multiply,and replenish the earth,and subdue it:

In 2 Peter ch 3 vs5-7 we have Peters description of an earth that perished completely.This cannot be Noah's flood since the world did not perish in Noah's flood. "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

Finally,the prophet Jeremiah has a vision that is recorded in Jeremiah ch 4 vs 23-26 I beheld the earth,and lo,it was without form and void;and the heavens,and they had no light.I beheld the mountains, and lo,they trembled,and all the hills moved lightly.I beheld,and lo,there was no man,and all the birds of the heavens were fled.I beheld,and lo,the fruitful place was a wilderness,and all the Cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord,and his fierce anger.This seems to be a vision of the destruction of the original earth.Notice the "without form and void"and "all the cities" etc.None of this fits the present earth.

So,it's just a fun discussion and can cause you to do a little digging in your Bible.Don't take things like this too seriously.

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Since putting this up I have been asked what I believe on the subject.I believe there was both a "gap" and a prior creation.Regardless of the above verses,there is one word that can not be explained away and that word is replenish in Gen ch 1 vs 28.To do away with this word you must believe either,that God made a mistake,the King James translators made a mistake or that God has been unable to perfectly preserve his word.Since none of these pass the smell test then replenish stands as written.It is also well worth noting that this same word appears again,in the same context,in Genesis ch 9 vs 1.And God blessed Noah and his sons,and said unto them,Be fruitful,and multiply,and replenish the earth.There is another thing and that is the demons.Surely these were not created as demons and so must be the disembodied spirits of the prior creation.Spirits can not die and there would not have been a Hell to send these spirits to.Remember that hell was created originally for the Satan and his angels.