As I said last Sunday, nearly every important doctrine can be studied beginning with the Book of Genesis. It might be argued that there are exceptions. Which of these doctrines MIGHT not be found in Genesis? (Angelology, Theology, Hamartiology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology) With these in mind, what was the first wicked question ever asked? “Yea, hath God said?” The record of God’s words began in the first chapter of the Word of God – the Book of Genesis. If we lose confidence in Genesis, we will eventually lose confidence in the entire Word of God.
Obviously, God’s archenemy, Satan, has, from the beginning and throughout history hated and attacked His Word. But during the 19th century, it seems that the nature and intensity of those attacks changed. That was when christendom began to be filled with multitudes of new denominations. That was when the Christ-denying bible of Origin began to proliferate in various new English versions. That was when Charles Darwin launched his attacks upon the integrity of the Word of God. And dozens of new doctrines were initiated. Since those doctrines were unknown for 1800 years, what words might we use to describe them? (mystical, extra-biblical, scientific, heretical, Biblical)
I would like to deal with one of those 19th century new doctrines. You might think I’m wasting our time dealing with this subject. But I am convinced that I am not. It is not that I would “like” to deal with this false doctrine – I feel that I “must” – I “have” to deal with it. This is a very serious heresy which attacks several, if not every, orthodox doctrine in the Bible. If something causes people to doubt the integrity of the plain and simple words of the Bible … If something cause people to question the veracity of Paul or the Lord Jesus, it needs to be addressed. If something kicks out from under sinners the necessity for salvation by God’s grace, it must be exposed. And again, what about those poor Christians who for 1800 years never heard of this doctrine? If this is true, then God was not being kind to those persecuted saints of the 3rd, 6th and 17th centuries.
Our subject for this morning is idea that between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 there are millions or billions of years. It is often called the “Gap Theory.” I have no idea how many people believe it, but I fear that they number in the millions. “How many of YOU have HEARD of the Gap Theory?” By fact that multitudes know the term, we have evidence that it is here – it is a part of modern Christianity. Which of the following well-known theologians were “Gap Theorists?” (John Gill, Thomas Chalmers, Henry Morris, C. I. Scofield, Arthur W. Pink)?
Those who hold to the “Gap Theory” believe that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Most of them think that in the initial creation were millions of animals and a pre-adamic race of people. But “the earth became without form and void,” through one or more of several reasons. And then after an incredible amount of time, God began the restoration of creation, or the re-creation of the universe, during the six days as described in Genesis 1:3-31. In most gappists’ theology, the geologic ages – Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Precambrian, etc. – and the establishment of the fossils people find today, all took place before Genesis 1:2. These people are not usually typical evolutionists, but they pat themselves on the back, believing some of the evolutionary arguments. But the physical facts and scientific evidence prove that the geologic ages and the fossil evidence could – and did – take place in a very short period of time during the flood of Genesis 7. There is absolutely no need for a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2; there is no need for the “Gap Theory.” It is an attempt to bridge Christianity and some of the facts of science.
I. Before we get to the idea itself, let me lay some important ground work.
In Matthew 19, when Christ was talking about the nature of marriage, He referred to Adam and Eve. “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female” – Matt. 19:4. According to Christ Jesus, WHEN did God make the first human male and female? (At the beginning) Those who put billions of years between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 do not believe that God created Adam and Eve “at the beginning.” They can deny it all they like, but they are essentially saying that Jesus was confused about this, or perhaps He was even a liar. At the very least they are casting doubts upon Jesus’ credibility. The “Gap Theory” injures the integrity of the Word of God. That is serious; it must be exposed.
By the way, when Scofield and others began to spread this idea, there was initially little push back. Many fundamentalists just let the idea slide, because they considered it so ridiculous, but in so doing they permitted the evolutionists to run roughshod over Christianity. Silent Christians became guilty for the promulgation of evolutionary ideas throughout every area of society.
According to Romans 5:19, when did Paul say that SIN came into God’s creation? (When Adam disobeyed) “For as by one man’s disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous.” According to Romans 5:12, at what point did death come into God’s creation? (When Adam sinned) “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Remember “The wages of sin is death” – Romans 3:23. Death is the eventual result of sin. James 1:15 – “When lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin; and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
Assuming there was a race of people prior to Adam, which of the following happened to them? (They were translated to heaven, they were annihilated, they died)? Of course, there is no Biblical answer to that question. Why not? It might be argued that it is because the Bible doesn’t give us the answer. But the truth is – it is because there is no answer to give; a pre-adamic race of people didn’t exist. But, let’s say, as the Gappists do, that there were people before verse 2, and they died. Since death is the result of sin, we must assume that they sinned. So there was sin before the transgression of Adam. I know that those who believe this theory assume they have answers for this. But their answers come from logic or their imaginations, not from the Bible. The first reference to sin is all about Adam. None of this theory is in the Bible – absolutely none of it – this is all imaginary. And, if the first part of Romans 5:19 is not literal, can we be sure that the second part is true? “For as by one man’s disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous.” To question the Biblical origin of sin, weakens the Biblical solution to sin in the sacrifice of Christ.
What is the Gap theory?
I have read that the idea started with the writings of George Pender in 1876, and that it really caught fire with the notes in the Scofield Bible which first came out in 1917. But another source said it began with a well-known and often quoted Presbyterian preacher, Thomas Chalmers, prior to those men. More important than with whom the idea began is its timing. What took place about the same time as the “Gap Theory?” (The beginning of the Civil War, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the publication of the Communist Manifesto, “On the Origin of the Species”)? I am convinced the primary purpose of the “Gap Theory” is to explain the existence of all the fossils and the geologic ages. If they can be placed between the first two verses of the Bible, people can claim to be Bible believers and scientific at the same time.
The “Gap Theory” is designed to help people’s minds to accept evolution and the Bible at the same time. But when it comes to creation, despite all the good that Ken Hamm, and organizations like the “Institute for Creation Research” are trying to do… It is “through FAITH we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God…” – Hebrews 11:3. I’m not trying to discount quality science or logical thinking, but it is by faith we know that Genesis 1 should be read as a single, complete, literal paragraph of divine revelation.
I hope you know that I am trying to be honest with you. There are different versions of the “Gap Theory” so this may sound a bit different from what someone else. But I am not trying to build a straw man that I can easily knock down. And I am trying to avoid the nasty language I have heard from both sides of the question.
At its most basic level the “Gap Theory” states that God created a perfect universe, because God is perfect. And then the earth became without form and void. The gappists say that the word “was” in verse 2 should be translated “became.” In doing that they are telling their readers that we shouldn’t trust what our Bibles tell us. I have not checked every Bible version in my library, because I think the RSV, ASV and ESV should be enough to summarize most of them. Not one of those three versions says, “The earth BECAME without form and void.” They all agree with the King James, using the word “was.” Furthermore, not one of them even puts a note at the bottom of the page to suggest anything else.
Some of the gappists say that the word “void” means “to cancel,” and it certainly does in many cases. They say that God would never create anything which wasn’t as perfect as Himself. So the original creation was perfect, but then that perfection was voided. Something “forced God” – foolish words – “forced God” to cancel His original work. Most say that the fall of Lucifer was the catalyst for this voiding. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the more secular of the bunch say it was an asteroid or something. But what about that word “void”? Webster give us four definitions, the third of which is the verb “to make void” or “to cancel.” The fourth is a medical term upon which I don’t need to elaborate. But the first two definitions are nouns, which speak of a state of “emptiness” or “a vacancy.” THAT is the meaning of the word here in Genesis 1:2 – “the earth was without form and EMPTY.” That Hebrew word is used in only two other verses and there it obviously means the same thing. Isaiah 34:11 – “the cormorant and the bittern shall possess (the land); the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and (God) shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of EMPTINESS.” Jeremiah 4:23-24 – “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.” In God’s word, before people began to look for alternatives to prove some point they wanted to make, the word “void” meant “emptiness.”
“But,” someone says, “God would never create something that was not complete and perfect.” That is a nice, God-glorifying thought, but in this case, I’d like them to give me a scripture to prove it. Jesus said in Mark 10:6 – in regard to marriage – heterosexual marriage; the only kind of marriage acceptable with God – “From the BEGINNING of the CREATION God made them male and female.” When did God create our first parents; was it in (1984; 1776; 6,000 BC;)? “The beginning of creation.” And more particularly, what day of the creation week was Adam formed? (Sixth) Let it be known that God’s creation of light, the sun, moon and stars, the world, plants and animals were over a five day span of time. Man was created on the sixth day. In other words, the creation, which Jesus authenticated, was not instantaneously perfect. At first God created a formless, empty, “something,” under a canopy of water. And then He created light, after which He divided the waters under the firmament from the waters above. Following that came the rest of the six days of creation.
Going back to Jesus’ words: “From the BEGINNING of the CREATION God made them male and female.” The gappists have engineered a double creation. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” but then according to their interpretation: Christ began a second creation which is described more fully than the first and which included Adam. I don’t want to sound cruel, but that is pure imagination. There was only ONE creation.
Here is an interesting point, which may, or may not, be important. With the exception of the first verse in Genesis 1, what word introduces every subsequent verse? (And) That little conjunction tells us that each verse immediately follows its preceding verse. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. AND the earth was without form and void.” That conjunction, along with other arguments tells us that God created the EARTH “without form.”
If the gappists want to say there was only one creation followed by a restoration, not only do they deny the words of the Lord Jesus, but they void one of Paul’s important arguments about the responsibility of sinners. Romans 1:20 – “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made… so that they are without excuse.” If there was a pre-adamic world, billions of years prior to the six days of re-creation, and that world was destroyed, becoming void, how is it that we are responsible to know that Creator? Doesn’t Paul tie together our ability to see the “things that were made?” and “the creation of the world?” Seeing the intricate creation around us, we are responsible to recognize the hand of the Creator. But there is no evidence of the Creator of verse 1 if there is gap of billions of years; there is no Biblical record of that Creator, because everything was destroyed; there are no people who could testify of Him.
The arguments of the Gappists.
Even though am I running out of time, I never did intend to fully address the arguments of the Gappists. They talk about a singular “heaven” in verse 1 but a plurality of “heavens” in Genesis 2:1 and elsewhere. There is an answer to that argument, making it no argument at all. (Exodus 20:11) They point to the word “repenish” in Genesis 1:28, saying that Adam was to “refill” the re-created creation. But as Webster tells us: “repenish” doesn’t mean “plenish again.” Webster’s definition for “repenish” is simply: “To fill; to stock with numbers or abundance” as if something never had been filled before. “Repenish” it doesn’t mean “plenish again” any more than “repent” means to “pent again.” Gappists quote Isaiah 45:18 which says that God didn’t “create world in vain.” But what does the next clause say: “He formed it to be inhabited.” The Lord didn’t intend the world to be vain or void. They quote Jeremiah 4:23-29 and II Peter 3:5, but their arguments that these scriptures prove their theory are easily DIS-proved.
It is not that I don’t have answers for their arguments; it is that I don’t need to address those arguments. There is no reason even to consider the subject, except for the fact that so many do, and it has done so much harm. The clear and obvious words of your Bible tell us that Genesis 1:2 immediately follows verse 1, and verse 3 follows verse 2, and so on.
Furthermore, and I’ll conclude with this: I believe that the common interpretation of Genesis 1:1 and 2 more glorifies the Lord than the gap interpretation. And that is my ultimate objective – to glorify my Saviour, my Lord and my God.