GAP

[Diamond7]

I am a creationist and I consider all the creation theories to be valid. But I never realized how important GAP is to that belief. Let me explain. I use BibleHub for my bible and I look at all the different translations. If you go to Genesis chapter ONE first we have Creation in verse one and two. The first day is verse 3,4 &5. This would create a GAP that would make ALL the creation beliefs true. Day one could have been billions of years ago. Day one could have been 13,000 years ago. OR a day could have been 24 hours or the week before we read about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.


For those who want to know more about GAP

1. Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV):
   

   “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

   • Here, we see God’s initial act of creation—bringing forth the heavens and the earth. The earth is described as “formless and empty,” suggesting a state of chaos or unformed matter.
2. The Gap Theory:
   • The “gap theory” (also known as the “ruin-reconstruction theory” or “pre-Adamic gap theory”) proposes that there is a significant gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. During this gap, various events could have occurred, including the fall of Satan, a pre-Adamic civilization, or a cataclysmic event that left the earth in its chaotic state.
   • According to this view, the six days of creation described in Genesis 1:3-31 would then follow this initial gap period.
3. Interpreting the Days of Creation:
   • The days of creation in Genesis 1 are often a point of discussion. Some interpret them as literal 24-hour days, while others consider them as longer periods (such as epochs or ages).
   • Here’s a breakdown of the days:
     • Day 1: Light separated from darkness.
     • Day 2: The sky (vault) created.
     • Day 3: Dry land, seas, and vegetation.
     • Day 4: Sun, moon, and stars.
     • Day 5: Fish and birds.
     • Day 6: Land animals and humans.
     • Day 7: God rested.
4. The Gap Theory and Flexibility:
   • The gap theory allows for flexibility in interpreting the days. It accommodates both a young-earth view (where the days are literal) and an old-earth view (where the days represent longer periods).
   • According to this perspective, the “gap” between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 could be vast, allowing for geological ages, cosmic events, or even the emergence of life before the six days of creation.
   • Some proponents of the gap theory suggest that the fossil record and geological layers represent evidence from this pre-Genesis period.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

I first learned about the GAP concept in 1971. Clarence Larkin taught it in Dispensational Truth, Dake's Bible, and God's Plan For Man.
G.H. Pember presented it in his 1876 work, Earth’s Earliest Ages.
Of course, there is C.I. Scofield with his footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible.
I hold to Theistic Evolution as a logical solution to Creation. The Gap plays an integral part in determining the earth's age.

 

[Diamond7]

Of course, there is C.I. Scofield with his footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible.

I have two very wore out Ryrie Bibles. I know Scofield Bible is very popular. I did not know GAP went back to him. When I first started reading the Bible I had to have a commentary to help me make sense out of what I was reading. Even the beatitudes I cannot understand without a commentary to explain them to me. Good everyone agrees on what they mean.

C. I. Scofield, a prominent 20th-century Bible commentator, is closely associated with the Gap Theory (also known as the Ruin-Restoration theory). Let’s explore this connection:

1. Gap Theory (Ruin-Restoration Theory):
   • The Gap Theory proposes that there is a significant gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.
   • According to this view, a pre-Adamic civilization existed during this gap, which ended in a catastrophic event (the “ruin”) that left the Earth in a chaotic state.
   • God then restored and re-created the Earth during the six days of creation described in Genesis.
   • The Gap Theory accommodates both an old Earth and the biblical account of creation.

 

[trophy33]

Its an ad-hoc solution (deciding what is and what is not literal without any textual rule, adding to the text etc), not known to the original authors or audience.

 

[Diamond7]

Its an ad-hoc solution (deciding what is and what is not literal without any textual rule, adding to the text etc), not known to the original authors or audience.

Many people on this board insist on a literal week of seven 24 hour days. I am just saying GAP is the only way to make that possible. Just like Jesus is the ONLY way to be saved. There is no other way. There is no other option. Our name has to be in the Lambs book of life Revelation 21:27 states that only those written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will enter the New Jerusalem on the New Earth.

 

[trophy33]

Many people on this board insist on a literal week of seven 24 hour days. I am just saying GAP is the only way to make that possible. Just like Jesus is the ONLY way to be saved. There is no other way. There is no other option.

Its much better to reject such wrong reading of the text altogether than to create ad-hoc "solutions" to keep the wrong reading "working".

Genesis 1 is not a literal account.

 

[Diamond7]

deciding what is and what is not literal

They claim everything is literal. They do not even think Adam was born but that God instantly created Him out of the dirt like a potter makes clay. That is why there is so much conflict and law suits between TE and YEC. Their perspectives are difficult to reconcile. Yet I am saying they are all true from their perspective and they can all be reconciled while you want to pick and choose. I personally have never found anything in the Bible that is not accurate and true. Like DNA the Bible is self correcting. If there were a mistake it would correct itself. This is why I reject the mutation theory because God does not make errors and He does not make mistakes.

In the book walking the Bible Bruce Feller a journalist talks about the soil in the middle east that God formed Adam from.

 

[Diamond7]

Genesis 1 is not a literal account.

It is funny how I can devote my whole life to the study of Chapter One in Genesis. Each day is a new beginning as each day I am only beginning to understand all that is contained within those 34 unique words that make up the first chapter. We could easily spend a lifetime just to study one word in Genesis and at the end we would still only be getting started we would only begin to understand. Of course the one word is the first word: "Beginning" because everything was there in the beginning in that very first moment of time that was less than a trillionth of a second. In the beginning everything in the universe was so condensed that everything was smaller than the dot at the end of a sentence. The Bible breaks creation down into 1) Light, 2) sky 3) land 4) plants 5) animals 6) humans. God devotes a whole day to each of these and then He rests on the seventh day.

Day one, light is physics. Day two the sky is astrology or astrophysics. Day three land is geology. Day four plants is botney. Day five animals is zoology. Day six the study of humans is Anthropology. I studied the physics of light in college and I still continue to study light today. I am just getting started. People do not realize how much the sky effects the light and how the light is refracted and reflected.

• When light transitions from one medium to another (such as air to water or air to glass), it bends or changes direction. This phenomenon is called refraction.
• When light strikes a surface and bounces back, we witness reflection.
• A real challenge is to photograph under water where light is reflected and refracted.
• Even in my art I reflect and refract light and then photograph that.
• Then of course there is the sacred math that goes into design.
• 

 

[trophy33]

It is funny how I can devote my whole life to the study of Chapter One in Genesis. Each day is a new beginning as each day I am only beginning to understand all that is contained within those 34 unique words that make up the first chapter.

One can see whatever he wants. Calling it "understanding" may be misleading.

We really should not use Genesis for a different purpose than it was given for. Searching for mysterious deep meanings in it is limitless and without any rules and checks.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Under the GAP concept, the 6 days of Genesis 1 are considered a "recreation."
For instance, man is commanded to "replenish" the earth just as Noah and his family were commanded to "replenish" the earth.

Genesis 1:28 KJV
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 9:1 KJV
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

The same word is used several times in the OT, where a previously populated area is repopulated.
Isaiah 2:6
Isaiah 23:2
Jerimiah 31:25
Ezekiel 26:2
Ezekiel 27:25

 

[Diamond7]

One can see whatever he wants. Calling it "understanding" may be misleading.

Proverbs 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you. 7Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.

• Understanding goes beyond mere perception. It involves grasping the meaning, significance, or implications of something.
• It requires cognitive processing, reasoning, and making connections between different pieces of information.
• Understanding often involves context, background knowledge, and the ability to synthesize information.
• For instance, understanding a complex scientific theory involves more than just perceiving the words—it requires comprehending the underlying principles.

We really should not use Genesis for a different purpose than it was given for.

I am not "using" Genesis for anything. I am doing a study on what Science says. I believe Science does just as much as the Bible to bring praise, honor and glory to God., Perhaps more because Science has more zeal to know the truth than Religious people do. Also science does not seek to control and manipulate people the way religion and government does.

Science seeks to solve problems and answer questions. When they fail to do this we can turn to the Bible where we have all of our questions answered and all of our problems solved.