Is the GAP Theory for Real?

[John]

I've heard about this and can't find anything but verses that give me some inclination that something happened from Gen1:1 to Gen1:2. Then again you can say the earth was without form because God hadn't formed it into the shape it is/was (before it divided itself) and void because there weren't any inhabitants yet and darkness because of no light created yet and submerged under water that coverd the whole universe. God's Spirit was moving or hoovering over the earth, was this to see what satan had done to make corrections or was it to see what He wanted to finish doing? I don't know.

Now I've heard that the gap means satan did something like maybe tried to create something before God did and we know satan is always trying to get there before God. I've heard the dinosaurs were satans creation and there were no cave people unless satan did that too.

You can look at Jer 4:23 - 27 but was it talking about the Jews and their stiffkneck attitude and God showing Jerimiah what could happen. Ps 115:16 says the heaven even the heavens are the Lord's but the hath He given to the children of men. 1Cor 14:33 says God is not the author of confusion (disorder).

So what is the Gap Theory and it's meaning. My curious mind wants to know and I know somebody is going to help me on this one. Come on Dr Gadsden I know if anyone will you will. lol Brother West!

[Napoleon J. Harris V]

Never heard of the Gap Theory! Wish I could help you. Let me check with some Jewish sources and I'll get back to you

[John]

I heard it from a Baptist Church and it has something to do with God's creation of Gen 1:1 and the reason of without form, void and darkness on the face was satan came and messed something up. I don't know it's what I've heard and more than once. Thanks.

[Napoleon J. Harris V]

I've never heard of satan trying to mess up stuff. I think someone may have been reading in something the original authors never intended. Just my thoughts though. When I get home I will review some info

[Napoleon J. Harris V]

God's discourse with Job has some stuff that might be of intrest to you too man, especially with Gadsen's question about the bohemoth! It might but then again it might not, might just be talking about the leviathan. Dunno, I'll do some digging and see what others have said.
Just ain't never heard of the gap theory. You know most all the OT narratives have gaps so the listeners (originally there were no scriptures) could fill in blanks, this made the story richer and really have a hook. I see you're hooked! Me too, more so with Abraham Sarah and Hagar though

[Dr. Maxcina Gadsden]

All versions of the gap theory impose outside ideas on Scripture and thus open the door for further compromise.

These are the verses where there is supposed to be a gap:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and empty; and the darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).


Where did the “gap theory” come from?
There have been many attempts over the years to harmonize the Genesis account of creation with accepted geology (and its teaching of billions of years for the age of the earth), such as “theistic evolution” and “progressive creation.”

The gap theory was another significant attempt by Christian theologians to reconcile the time scale of world history found in Genesis with the popular belief that geologists provide “undeniable” evidence that the world is exceedingly old (billions of years).



Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), a notable Scottish theologian and first moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, was perhaps the man most responsible for the gap theory.[1] The idea can be traced back to the rather obscure writings of the Dutchman Episcopius (1583-1643), and was first recorded from one of Chalmers' lectures in 1814.[2] Rev. William Buckland, a geologist, did much to popularize the idea.

Although Chalmers' writings give very little information about the gap theory,[3] many of the details are obtained from other writers such as the 19th century geologist Hugh Miller, who quoted from Chalmers' lectures on the subject.[4]

This ruin-reconstruction view is held by many who use Bible study aids such as the Scofield Reference Bible, Dake's Annotated Reference Bible, and The Newberry Reference Bible.

The most notably influential 19th century writer to popularize this view was G.H. Pember, in his book Earth's Earliest Ages,[5] first published in 1884. Numerous editions of this work were published, with the 15th edition appearing in 1942.[6]

The 20th century writer who published the most academic defense of the gap theory was Arthur C. Custance in his work Without Form and Void.[7]

The basic reason for developing and promoting the gap theory can be seen from the following very telling quotes:

Scofield Study Bible: Relegate fossils to the primitive creation, and no conflict of science with the Genesis cosmogony remains.[8]

Dake's Annotated Reference Bible: When men finally agree on the age of the earth, then place the many years (over the historical 6,000) between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, there will be no conflict between the Book of Genesis and science.[9]


The above quotes are typical of the many compromise positions—accepting so-called “science”[10] and its long ages for the earth, and incorporating this into Scripture.

Many people have tried to place a gap of indeterminate time between the first two verses of Genesis chapter 1. There are many different versions as to what supposedly happened in this “gap” of time. Most versions of the “gap” theory place millions of years of geologic time (including billions of fossil animals) in between these two first verses of Genesis. This is the “ruin-reconstruction” version of the gap theory.

However, this undermines the gospel as it allows for death, bloodshed, disease, and suffering before Adam's sin. Because most “ruin-reconstruction” theorists have accepted the millions of years dating for the fossil record, they have thus allowed the fallible theories of scientists to determine the meaning of Scripture.

Some put the fall of Satan in this supposed period. But any rebellion of Satan during this gap of time contradicts God's description of His completed creation on day six as all being “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

[Dr. Maxcina Gadsden]

Revelation 12:7-9

Leviathan (Hebrew: לִוְיָתָן, Standard Livyatan Tiberian Liwyāṯān ; "Twisted; coiled") was a Biblical sea monster referred to in the Old Testament (Psalm 74:13-14; Job 41; Isaiah 27:1). The word leviathan has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature.
The word "Leviathan" appears five places in the Bible, with the Book of Job, chapter 41, being dedicated to describing Leviathan in detail:

Book of Job 3:8 "May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan "; NIV

Book of Job 41:1-34: "Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?...He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride." KJV (quoted 1 and 34 only)

Psalms 74:14: "Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness." KJV

Psalms 104:24,25: "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts." KJV;

Isaiah 27:1: "In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." KJV

The king over the children of pride is a reference to Satan (the Accuser). Just as he is referred to in the New Testament as a red dragon in Rev.12 having seven heads, so in Psalm 74:14: "Thou didst crush the heads of the Leviathan,..."

The word Leviathan is also mentioned in Rashi's commentary on Genesis 1:21: "God created the great sea monsters - Taninim." Jastrow translates the word "Taninim" as a "sea monsters, crocodiles or large snakes". Rashi comments: "According to legend this refers to the Leviathan and its mate.

God created a male and female Leviathan, then killed the female and salted it for the righteous, for if the Leviathans were to procreate the world could not stand before them."

The Christian interpretation of Leviathan is often considered to be a demon or natural monster associated with Satan or the Devil, and held by some to be the same monster as Rahab (Isaiah 51:9).

Some biblical scholars considered Leviathan to represent the pre-existent forces of chaos. In Psalm 74:13-14 it says "it was You who drove back the sea with Your might, who smashed the heads of the monsters in the waters; it was You who crushed the heads of Leviathan, who left him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. (JPS edition)" God drove back the waters of the Earth (Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." ([NAS])

Some interpreters suggest that Leviathan is a symbol of mankind in opposition to God, claiming that it and beasts mentioned in the books of Daniel and Revelation should be interpreted as metaphors. The usage of Leviathan in the Old Testament books (Isaiah 27:1) would seem to be a reference to a Semitic mythological beast mentioned in literature of Ugarit, a city-state in North Syria. According to Canaanite myth, the Leviathan was an enemy of order in Creation and was slain by the Canaanite god Baal. The word Leviathan to the ancient Jews became synonymous with that which warred against God's kingdom. This especially included nations warring against Israel such as Assyria and Egypt. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament,1985, SP Publications Inc.)

Leviathan also appears in the Apocryphal Book of Enoch, giving the following description of this monster's origins there mentioned as being female, as opposed to the male Behemoth:

And that day will two monsters be parted, one monster, a female named Leviathan in order to dwell in the abyss of the ocean over the fountains of water; and (the other), a male called Behemoth, which holds his chest in an invisible desert whose name is Dundayin, east of the garden of Eden. - 1 Enoch 60:7-8

Leviathan is also sometimes said to have been of the order of Seraphim. According to the writings of Father Sebastien Michaelis, Balberith, a demon who allegedly possessed Sister Madeleine at Aix-en-Provence, obligingly told the priest not only the other devils possessing the nun, but added the special saints whose function was to oppose them. Leviathan was one devil that was named and was said to tempt men into committing sacrilege. Its adversary was said to be St. Peter.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, Leviathan is the demon of envy and the demon who is first in punishing the corresponding sinners.

In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, William Blake wrote:

But now, from between the black & white spiders, a cloud and fire burst and rolled thro' the deep black'ning all beneath, so that the nether deep grew black as a sea, & rolled with a terrible noise; beneath us was nothing now to be seen but a black tempest, till looking east between the clouds & the waves, we saw a cataract of blood mixed with fire, and not many stones' throw from us appear'd and sunk again the scaly fold of a monstrous serpent; at last, to the east, distant about three degrees appear'd a fiery crest above the waves; slowly it reared like a ridge of golden rocks, till we discover'd two globes of crimson fire, from which the sea fled away in clouds of smoke; and now we saw, it was the head of Leviathan; his forehead was divided into streaks of green & purple like those on a tyger's forehead: soon we saw his mouth & red gills hang just above the raging foam tinging the black deep with beams of blood, advancing toward us with all the fury of a spiritual existence.

[Dr. Maxcina Gadsden]

Part 2

Leviathan as an animal
In the book of Job, both Behemoth and Leviathan are listed alongside a number of other animals that are clearly mundane, such as goats, eagles, and hawks, leading many Christian scholars to surmise that Behemoth and Leviathan may also be mundane creatures. The animal most often proposed for Leviathan is the Nile crocodile.

Like the Leviathan, the Nile crocodile is aquatic, scaly, and possesses fierce teeth. Job 41:18 states that Leviathan's eyes "are like the eyelids of the morning". Some have compared this verse to a crocodile's eyes, which rise out of the water before the rest of its head, invoking the image of the sun rising over the horizon. Major difficulties of this view are that in Job chapter 41 Leviathan is described as breathing fire like a dragon, and that the crocodile does not seem to fit the descriptions of Leviathan given in other Bible passages, such as in the book of Psalms, e.g. it does not have multiple heads.

Others suggest that the Leviathan is an exaggerated account of a whale. This view faces some difficulty, however, as early Jewish people in the Near East would not have likely encountered whales in such a warm region.

During sea-faring's Golden Age, European sailors saw Leviathan as a gigantic whale-like sea monster, usually a sea serpent, that devoured whole ships by swimming around the vessels so quickly as to create a whirlpool.

Another leading theory is that a Leviathan is a water-dwelling dinosaur. This is plausible to Young Earth Creationists, because the dinosaurs are believed to have been created at the same time as the other animals, merely a few thousand years ago, and thus would have been seen by humans and recorded. It also explains the discrepancies that arise when a Leviathan is described as a whale or crocodile.

[John]

Let me reply to this part first. I was believing that Leviathan was in fact satan (what he looks like now though can be any form) and we couldn't even look at him without passing out was my take in Job 41:9. It's been such a puzzlement ot me dinosaurs and so called people that made grunt noises (Neanderthal or caveman) because I thought Adam and Eve were first (still believe they were) and they weren't a couple of grunting stupid or ignorant people as we were made to believe in school. It goes along with the evolution theory to me. IT's a crock or bunch of horse manure (to me). I think Sig was definite on cocaine and then tricked the whole world with that lie. Ok back on track, I agree it didn't make since that satan had been on the earth and defiled it yet because Adam and Eve weren't created. There are just so many aspects of history and science that let me know that history and science are made up to a degree and confuses us (me especially). I know there are dinosaur bones but why aren't they and cavemen mentioned in the bible? It's so confusing I dont' even know how to talk about it. lol

[Dr. Maxcina Gadsden]

Wow! Everybody feel this way when they get clarification on a topic of interest.

[Dr. Maxcina Gadsden]

Here is some foundation Scriptures: Romans 1:20; Proverbs 8:22 - 31; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 4:11

Now your focus scriptures: Gensis 1:1 and Isaiah 45:18

I want you to go tho this website: http://www.discovery.com/exp/mammoth/discoveries.html
Ok! Read Job 40:15

I want you to tell what a Behemoth is? I do know the answer! (Ha! Ha!)
Its a test!


Will chat later!

[Dr. Maxcina Gadsden]

Behemoth

The text from the Book of Job 40 (King James Version Bible) is as follows:

15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
16 Lo now, his strength [is] in his loins, and his force [is] in the navel of his belly.
17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his thighs are wrapped together.
18 His bones [are as] strong pieces of brass; his bones [are] like bars of iron.
19 He [is] the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach [unto him].
20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
22 The shady trees cover him [with] their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, [and] hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
24 He taketh it with his eyes: [his] nose pierceth through snares.

The passage describes Behemoth in this way: it was created along with man (40:15a), it is herbivorous (40:15b), it has strong muscles and bones, and it lives in the swamp (40:21).

[John]

Man this is good. I have in my bible ( I wish you could see my bible, people say you shouldn't make notes but mine looks like probably how my college books should have looked, maybe would have if I had the same interest, lol) Is 45:18 reference to Gen 1:1,2. I couldn't click on the link it gave an error. I'm going to keep trying though. I'm going to go try to get that link and then tell you what a Behemoth is (if I can). I want to say satan because I wrote that in my bible but I'll wait. But Is 40:15 with that ....never mind I'm way off base with this thought. I'll be back later. I love this.