What is the Gap Theory?

Response

Genesis 1:1–2 states, “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.” The gap theory suggests that God created a fully functional earth with all animals, including dinosaurs and other creatures found only in the fossil record. Subsequently, something occurred to devastate the earth entirely—most likely the fall of Satan to earth—resulting in the planet becoming formless and empty. At this juncture, God commenced anew, reconstructing the earth in its paradisiacal form as further detailed in Genesis. The gap theory, distinct from theistic evolution and the day-age theory, is also known as old-earth creationism, gap creationism, and the ruin-reconstruction theory.

In young-earth creationism, Genesis 1:1 is regarded as a synopsis of the entire chapter 1 in Hebrew narrative form. God created the heavens and the earth. Subsequently, verse 2 initiates a meticulous breakdown of the step-by-step process summarized in verse 1. Nevertheless, the assertion that “the earth was formless and empty, [and] darkness was over the surface of the deep” «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. », (Genesis 1:2) can be perplexing. The concept of God creating a useless and shapeless earth is an uneasy stance for some conservative theologians, prompting consideration of the gap theory or an old-earth perspective.

According to conservative advocates of the gap theory, Genesis 1:1 portrays God’s original creation—flawless in every aspect. Subsequently, between verses 1 and 2, Satan rebelled in heaven and was expelled. Satan’s transgression “ruined” the initial creation; that

His rebellion brought about its destruction and eventual death, and the earth was reduced to its “formless and empty” state, ready for the “re-construction.” The length of time involved—the size of the “gap”—is not specified but could have lasted millions of years.

Of course, Satan must have fallen before Adam did; otherwise, there would have been no temptation in the garden. Young-earth creationists say that Satan fell sometime after Genesis 1:31. Gap creationists say that Satan fell between Genesis 1:1 and 2.

One difficulty of the gap theory is that it requires that creation suffer death and destruction before Adam’s fall. Romans 5:12 says, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” The gap theory counters by positing two worlds. Satan’s sin brought death to the original creation, whatever that was like; and Adam’s sin brought death to the re-creation, the realm of mankind. Through Adam’s sin, evil entered our world and the realm of man was cursed. But rebellion already existed outside the realm of mankind (in the spiritual realm), since Satan and his angels had already fallen (Isaiah 14:12-14;Ezekiel 28:12-18). Sin could not enter the realm of man until man chose it. And Satan, via the serpent, successfully tempted man to make that choice.

Objections to the gap theory include the idea that, if something important had occurred between Genesis 1:1 and 2, God would have told us so, rather than leave us to speculate in ignorance. Also, Genesis 1:31 says God declared His creation to be “very good”—a statement difficult to square with the theory that evil already existed because of Satan’s fall in the “gap.”

It is possible to hold to a literal, six-day creation week and still hold to the gap theory—the gap theory does not require evolution to be true, since the gap falls before the eEvents of Day One in Genesis 1:3. That is why some conservative scholars believe in the gap theory, although its acceptance has decreased since the days of proponents C. I. Scofield and J. Vernon McGee.

However, many who support the gap theory do so to harmonize old-earth, evolutionary theories with the book of Genesis. Yet, it appears to be a strained reconciliation. The straightforward reading of Genesis 1 does not suggest a time gap between the first two verses. Genesis 1:1 states that God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:2 explains that when He initially created the earth, it was formless, empty, and dark; it was incomplete and uninhabited. The remainder of Genesis 1 describes how God finished the formless, empty, and dark earth by filling it with life, beauty, and goodness.