OceanSide church of Christ
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THE GAP THEORY
Victor M.
Eskew
Since the days of
After
One theory that rose out of a desire to reconcile creation and evolution
was the Gap Theory. This theory has
also been referred to as The Ruin and Reconstruction Theory, The Pre-Adamic
Cataclysm Theory, and the Restitution Theory. This theory focuses upon Genesis
1:1-2. “In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.
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.”
The proponents of the Gap Theory believe that Genesis 1:1 speaks of an
original creation of the heavens and earth. It was during this time that evolution
worked its magic upon the earth. In
Genesis 1:2, they say, God speaks of a cataclysmic event that destroyed that
previous world. The Gap Theorists
believe that the word “was” in Genesis 1:2 should be translated “became.” In other words, the text should state:
“And the earth became without form
and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep…” It was following the destruction of that
first world that God began the history of mankind as told in the
Bible.
Do you doubt as to whether anyone actually believes such a theory? In his book, Gleanings in
Genesis, Arthur W. Pink sets forth the theory in two paragraphs. Please read what he has to
say:
“’In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth,’ and we cannot but
believe
that these creations were worthy of Himself, that they reflected the
perfections of
their Maker, that they were exceedingly fair in their pristine
beauty. Certainly,
the
earth, on the morning of its creation, must have been vastly different
from its chaotic
state as described in Genesis 1:2.
‘And the earth was without form
and void must
refer
to a condition of the earth much later than what is before us in the
preceding verse.
It is now over a hundred years ago since Dr. Chalmers called attention to
the fact that
the word ‘was’ in Genesis 1:2 should be translated ‘became,’ and that
between the first
two verses of Genesis 1 some terrible catastrophe must have
intervened. That this
cata-
trophe may have been connected with the apostasy of Satan, seems more
than likely;
that some catastrophe did occur is certain from Isa. 45:18, which
expressly declares
that the earth was not created
in the condition in which Genesis 1:2 views it.
“What is
found in the remainder of Genesis 1 refers not to the primitive creation
but to the restoration of that
which had fallen into ruins.
Genesis 1;1 speaks of the
original creation; Genesis 1:2 describes the then condition of the earth
six days before
Adam was called into existence.
To what remote point in time Genesis 1 conducts us,
or as to how long an interval passed before the earth ‘became’ a ruin, we have no
means
of knowing; but if the surmises of geologists could be conclusively
established there
would be no conflict at all between the findings of science and the
teaching of Scrip-
ture. The unknown interval
between the first two verses of Genesis 1, is wide enough
to embrace all the prehistoric ages which may have elapsed; but all that
took place
from Genesis 1:3 onwards transpired less than six thousand years ago”
(pp. 10-11).
Once the theory is
understood, some begin to imagine that it is plausible. It accounts for the long span of time
needed for evolution. It
“harmonizes” science and Genesis 1.
It allows one to view the days of Genesis 1 as literal, 24-hour
periods. All of this sounds good,
but the question remains: “Is the
Gap Theory really true?”
The answer to this question is:
“NO!” First, changing the
word “was” in Genesis 1:2 to “became” is unwarranted. Not one of the scholarly translations of
the Bible so translate the verse.
In his commentary on Genesis, Harold Stigers explains why it was not
translated “became.” He
writes: “The construction of
‘became void,’ etc., is not justified by Hebrew syntax. When the verb ‘to be’ (hayad) is to be
constructed as ‘became,’ the addition of the prepositional lamedh is required
with the following word to provide this meaning, and this preposition is absent
here (A Commentary on Genesis, p. 49).
Second, the Gap Theory is called into question by the closing verse of
Genesis 1. “And God saw every thing
that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the
sixth day.” In an article entitled,
“Creation and the Gap Theory,” it is shown how Genesis 1:31 brings doubt to the
truthfulness of the Gap Theory. “If
Jehovah’s original creation had become contaminated through Satan’s rebellion,
and thus was subsequently destroyed – the new creation rested on a veritable
graveyard of corruption – it is difficult to see how God could have surveyed the
situation and then used the expression ‘very good’ to describe it” (http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/reprints/creagap.pdf).
Third, some of the Gap Theorists include mankind in that “original
creation” of Genesis 1. If it is
the case that man existed prior to the sixth day of creation (Gen. 1:26-27),
then I Corinthians 15:45 is false.
This passage declares that Adam was the first man. “And so it is written, The first man
Adam was made a living soul…” Was
the inspired penman mistaken? Did
the Holy Spirit misspeak? Surely
not! I Corinthians 15:45 excludes
any pre-Adamic race of men.
Fourth, we have one verse in the book of Exodus that demolishes the Gap
Theory. “For in six days the Lord
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is…” (Exo. 20:11). This verse plainly declares that “all”
was created in six days. If
everything was created in six days, then nothing was created before those six
days.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7). Walking by faith involves hearing and
heeding the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).
God’s Word teaches that everything was made in six, literal, 24-hour
days. Let’s believe God. Genesis 1 does not have to be harmonized
with the theory of evolution at all.
In fact, evolution is not true science. It is merely a theory that seeks to do
away with God. When it comes to the
creation, God has spoken: “For in
six days the Lord made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested on the seventh day…” (Exo. 20:11).