Gap Theory?

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DeanM

Well-known member
May 4, 2021
549
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#1
The theory that there was a space of time between Gen. 1 vs 1 and 2. I find that it would explain some things but im not sure. Anyone care to comment?
 

Aldg19

Well-known member
May 11, 2021
579
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#2
I’m generation z
 
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pottersclay

Guest
#3
The theory that there was a space of time between Gen. 1 vs 1 and 2. I find that it would explain some things but im not sure. Anyone care to comment?
From what I've read there is no gap. God said seven days and moses confirms this.

Exodus 20:11 states: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it
 

wattie

Senior Member
Feb 24, 2009
2,987
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New Zealand
#5
The theory that there was a space of time between Gen. 1 vs 1 and 2. I find that it would explain some things but im not sure. Anyone care to comment?
One of the problems with this theory is doesn't it push the age of Adam out from 100s of years to 10s of thousands or millions? Since he is created between those days.

I may be mistaken, but I think Adam was created between those days
 

jb

Senior Member
Feb 27, 2010
4,940
586
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#6
The theory that there was a space of time between Gen. 1 vs 1 and 2. I find that it would explain some things but im not sure. Anyone care to comment?
Yes, I reckon there is a "gap", and this becomes very apparent when you study ALL the Scriptures (and not just Gen chapter 1-3) on the subject...
 

Rondonmon

Senior Member
May 13, 2016
1,285
176
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#9
I never heard of gap theory.
There is a GAP in every verse, be it a minute, 10 minutes, a day, or 9.2 Billion years.

The word used is YOWM, no one can deny who has ever studied the word that it has to mean a DAY, to try and say so is an error, and I can prove this easily by showing it being used in many other various ways. So, to say God said Day when the word us YOWM is to put words in the writer's mouth, Moses said YOWM not day.

My study on this word reveals it is al about the CONTEXT of what is being spoken about, INSERT THE TIME PERIOD !!

#3117 יוֹם yowm {yome}

from an unused root meaning TO BE HOT; TWOT - 852; n m
—Hebrew Word Study (Transliteration-Pronunciation Etymology & Grammar)

1) day, time, year
1a) day (as opposed to night)
1b) day (24 hour period)
1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1
1b2) AS A DIVISION OF TIME
1b2a) a working day, a day's journey
1c) days, lifetime (pl.)
1d) TIME, PERIOD (general)
1e) year
1f) temporal references
1f1) today
1f2) yesterday
1f3) tomorrow
—Brown-Driver-Briggs (Old Testament Hebrew-English Lexicon)

From an unused root meaning TO BE HOT; a day (as the WARM HOURS), whether literally (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figuratively (a SPACE OF TIME defined by an associated term), (often used adverbially):—age, + ALWAYS, + CHRONICLES, CONTINUALLY (-ance), daily, ([birth-], each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever (-lasting, -more), X FULL, life, as (so) long as (. . . live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X REQUIRED, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year (-ly), + younger.
—Strong's (Hebrew & Chaldee Dictionary of the Old Testament)

#3117.
יוֹם
yom (398a); a prim. root; day:—
NASB - afternoon*(1), age(8), age*(1), all(1), always*(14), amount*(2), battle(1), birthday*(1), Chronicles*(38), completely*(1), continually*(14), course*(1), daily(22), daily the days(1), day(1115), day of the days(1), day that the period(1), day's(6), day's every day(1), daylight*(1), days(635), days on the day(1), days to day(1), days you shall daily(1), days ago(1), days'(11), each(1), each day(4), entire(2), eternity(1), evening*(1), ever in your life*(1), every day(2), fate(1), first(5), forever*(11), forevermore*(1), full(5), full year(1), future*(1), holiday*(3), later*(2), length(1), life(12), life*(1), lifetime(2), lifetime*(1), live(1), long(2), long as i live(1), long*(11), midday*(1), now(5), older*(1), once(2), period(3), perpetually*(2), present(1), recently(1), reigns(1), ripe*(1), short-lived*(1), so long*(1), some time(1), survived*(2), time(45), time*(1), times*(2), today(172), today*(1), usual(1), very old*(1), when(10), when the days(1), whenever(1), while(3), whole(2), year(10), yearly(5), years(13), yesterday*(1).
—NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries

AV - day 2008, time 64, chronicles + H1697 37, daily 32, ever 17,
year 14
, continually 10, when 10, as 10, while 8, full 8
always 4, whole 4, alway 4, misc 44; 2274

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Some examples where this word is used in a different way BELOW: Notice it's always used as a PERIOD OF TIME of some sort.

2 Kings 17:37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore(YOWM); and ye shall not fear other gods.

Genesis 4:3 And in process of time(YOWM) it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting(YOWM).

Ezekiel 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year(YOWM).

Exodus 13:10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year(YOWM).

Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth(YOWM), seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis 40:4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season(YOWM) in ward.

Joshua 24:7 And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season(YOWM).

1 Kings 9:3 And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually(YOWM).

Genesis 29:14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space(YOWM) of a month.

Leviticus 26:34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long(YOWM) as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

Deuteronomy 28:29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore(YOWM), and no man shall save thee.

Deuteronomy 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always(YOWM), that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually(YOWM).

Genesis 41:1 And it came to pass at the end of two full(YOWM) years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

CONTINUED
 

Rondonmon

Senior Member
May 13, 2016
1,285
176
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#10
CONTINUED

I could go on and on, but I think this shows enough variation and instances which show us that the Hebrew word YOWM is used for a PERIOD OF TIME of many sorts. Of course, it is going to be used for a day more than any other word because God is going to use "SPECIFIC MENTIONS OF DAYS" more than any other period of time. Whenever a Prophets says that there will be so and so many days of this or that he used the word YOWM. But when it was meant as EVERMORE he also used the word YOWM, and when it meant a YEAR they also used the word YOWM, etc., etc.

So God uses the word YOWM and it's up to us to EVENTUALLY figure out what "PERIOD OF TIME" He(God) meant by that !! The Hebrew language had only 4000 or so words and no vowels at the time, it was a primitive language of course. We shouldn't allow the professors of that time (Pharisees, Scribes) to sway us into saying this has to mean ONE DAY, it was a period of time and it's up to us to figure it out in the end. All men knew back then, comparatively speaking, was that we had days/years/months. So they had to see it as something, what was it going to be? Day, Year, Month, Evermore, Perpetually, Full, Always, X Required, Space of time, etc., etc. They sure didn't have a clue about how big the universe is like we do, they had no concept of billions of years like we do.

So God created the Universe in a period of 7 YOWMS...........which as shown above means periods of times in various ways. We have to figure it out, we can't allow the dog to lead us here, we have to lead the dog. We can't allow the word DAY (YOWM) to force us to look at things in a way which it drives people away from the Gospel. We want to understand the facts, therefore we can reach people in truth. I have seen many young people tell me, hey, anyone that thinks the universe is 6000 years old, I don't want to hear about your God dude, you live in la-la land. But when I speak in terms of knowledge, they listen and say so you believe in Evolution, and I say why would I? God created the Universe over a 13.7 billion year period, as He so desired? It makes them think, OK.....It opens a door to gaining them via what I see as facts. But if we say the Universe is 6000 years old we have no hope to reach many of them at all. And that is my job, that is why I researched it, I hated science in school, but it's my job to reach the masses with truths, so I dug in.

Morning and Evening mean the beginning and end of a day, or of a period of time.

As per the Day of the Lord, that is the Day God's Wrath starts on one day, but the Day of the LORD lasts 3.5 years does it not? The 7th Day of God's rest is still in effect, it has lasted 6000 years so far.

YOWM is always inserted for a PERIOD OF TIME, it's up to us to understand what that period of time means in each instance.

God Bless

We translated YOWM to mean DAY, then say God said Day when He really said YOWM which I prove above does not have to mean DAY. And it didn't mean day because the Universe i 13.7 billion years old. The first YOWM lasted 9.2 billion years.
 
Feb 5, 2015
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#11
In my point of view, there definitely is a Gap peried. If we look at Genesis verse 1, we find the Creation of the Heaven and the Earth. I believe that the Gap fits in between verses 1 & 2. Now lets ask ourselves some questions. God is a PEFECT God right. He doesn't make mistakes. He He does something, He does it right the first time. Now He created the heavens and the earth. Did He really created it in a caotic state first the makes His mess right? I don't think so. When he created Adam, did He created a Sinner the fix himafterwards? So what happened then? Man Became corrupted. The same thing with the earth. The earth became corrupted, empty, caotic. So whats the cause for man to became corrupted? SIN!, What was the cause for the earth to became empty, caotic? SIN!. Now just think of it. When Adam & Eve opened their eyes on the 7th day in the Garden of Eden, were they alone? No, there was somebody else there, Satan. But now where does Stan come from? Question is, did God created the the devil, Satan? NO, certaily Not! So what did God created then? A perfect cherub without sin. So what happened to this cherub? He became corrupted with Sin. See when Adam and Eve met him, they met him as Satan, the Devil and NOT Lucifer the cherub.So there's a history that is missing that fits the Gap period, the Fall of Lucifer becoming Satan. Before Adam and Eve, Lucifer was ruling the earth with 1/3 of angels under his command. lucifer was Not in heaven, God placed him on earth in Eden. That was long before Adam's time before the earth became empty and caotic. The Bible doesn't tell us about the history of the angels coz that doesn't concern us. The is written for man, what concers man. But God didn't completely left us in the dark. In Isaiah and Ezekiel He gives us a hint of that history that perfectly fits the Gap period.
In Ezekiel, It says that there was a covering cherub in Eden. This was Not the Eden that Adam knew.Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. "every precious stone was thy covering" this discription doesn't fit Satan when Adam met so this must be before Adam's time, gues where? Eden But this was Not the Eden that Adam knew coz Lucifer was walking amongst fiery stones " thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire." Lucifer was NOT in heaven, he was here on earth in Eden before it was overthrown coz of his and his angels sin I leave some room for objection and questions before I continue
 

JohnRH

Junior Member
Mar 5, 2018
532
258
63
#12
The theory that there was a space of time between Gen. 1 vs 1 and 2. I find that it would explain some things but im not sure. Anyone care to comment?
No gap.
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is ... Ex 20:11 (KJV)
 

Rondonmon

Senior Member
May 13, 2016
1,285
176
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#13
No gap.
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is ... Ex 20:11 (KJV)
Isn't ONE DAY a gap? Isn't one minute a GAP? These understandings boggle my mind. They astound me that I am living amongst people who really believe the universe was created in 6 days. I prove above YOWM doesn't mean day, yet you just believe as you will. LOL
 

DeanM

Well-known member
May 4, 2021
549
315
63
#14
It would explain a lot. Fossils millions of years old and dinosaurs themselves as well as why the earth was without form. Some say the first earth was destroyed during the fall of Satan.
 
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eternally-gratefull

Guest
#15
The Gap theory is a theory I bought into and defended with all my might when I first heard of it. it explained secular science that appeared to show an old earth, it states the time between vs 1 and day one of creation could be billions of years,

after deep study I have since retraced my belief in this theory, I believe vs one is the original state of creation, each day God takes that origional state and shapes it and places life on it (including mankind) the earth was created in an “aged” state that was capable of sustaining life, and God did it in days not billions of years (he can do that) as for what science sees, it can all be explained by the catostrophic flood of Noah, which is what I was studying when I changed my view

it is good to be open minded. I was freed from a lot I could not understand, which now I can grasp it
 
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eternally-gratefull

Guest
#16
It would explain a lot. Fossils millions of years old and dinosaurs themselves as well as why the earth was without form. Some say the first earth was destroyed during the fall of Satan.
Fossils can be explained by the flood, the earth was destroyed in the flood
 
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eternally-gratefull

Guest
#18
Yes but how does the flood explain the age of fossils?
No one knows what earth was like pre flood. We just assume they are that old. Carbon dating is based on the fact everything is the same since the begining. Peter himself warned us in the last days scoffers will mock based on this assumption Forgetting the flood

2 Peter 3: 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
 
Nov 26, 2012
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#19
From what I've read there is no gap. God said seven days and moses confirms this.

Exodus 20:11 states: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it
Moses supposedly wrote Genesis. So Moses said it, then Moses confirmed it.
 
Nov 26, 2012
3,095
1,050
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#20
The Gap theory is a theory I bought into and defended with all my might when I first heard of it. it explained secular science that appeared to show an old earth, it states the time between vs 1 and day one of creation could be billions of years,

after deep study I have since retraced my belief in this theory, I believe vs one is the original state of creation, each day God takes that origional state and shapes it and places life on it (including mankind) the earth was created in an “aged” state that was capable of sustaining life, and God did it in days not billions of years (he can do that) as for what science sees, it can all be explained by the catostrophic flood of Noah, which is what I was studying when I changed my view

it is good to be open minded. I was freed from a lot I could not understand, which now I can grasp it
I don’t think the Creation story is supposed to be understood as a textbook. I’m totally on board with Him creating everything but it doesn’t make sense as written. It surely didn’t take millions of years...but days? What was the rush? I really don’t think there was one. If we serve an Almighty God who is in such a hurry, then why be so patient now? If He likes things so perfect so quickly then why wait until we completely mess this world up before He returns to fix it?