Introduction to The Gap Theory
Between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2,
something catastrophic happened. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.” The next verse says, “The earth was without
form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God
was hovering over the face of the waters.”
The images of chaos, disaster, darkness
and devastation says something occurred between verses 1 and 2 that is not
recorded there. What happened in the gap of Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 that
caused the earth to become without form, and void of inhabitants?
As a result of God’s fierce anger, Satan
got kicked out of heaven, that’s what happened. He hit earth at the speed of
lightning, and with such force, that it became without form and void.
God Saw That It Was Good
During creation week described in
Genesis 1:3 through 1:31, everything God created, He saw that it was good. God
did not move forward in the creation process till He confirmed what He had just
completed was good.
The first thing God did in this re-formation
process was to establish light in the physical darkness, because He is light,
and it represents His presence. He called out light and saw that it was good.
He divided the already existing waters of earth from the clouds. He separated
already existing seas and dry land and saw that it was good. He made grass and
vegetation and saw that it was good. He made the sun, moon and the stars and
saw that it was good. He made all the sea creatures, and every living thing
that moves, and the birds, and saw that it was good. He made all animal life,
both walking and creeping and saw that it was good. Then God looked at
everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31).
God did not create the heavens and the
earth and then leave it in a state of chaos… empty and dark. Everything God
created, He saw that it was good. It is written by the prophet Isaiah that
earth was created to be inhabited, not to be formless and empty.
For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed
the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” (Isaiah
45:18)
The Original Creation in The Beginning
In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was
on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of
the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
The heavens and the earth were perfect
in the beginning, until it somehow became without form and void.
I believe there was an original
creation that took place in the beginning, and also a reformation of creation
after something happened that put it in a state of chaos. Both times, I believe
that God used six days to complete the task of making and re-making heaven and
earth.
Matter is not eternal. Without any
pre-existing material God brought the earth and all matter into existence.
All things were made through Him, and
without Him, nothing was made that was made. (John 1:3)
Before time began, the Word (who is
the pre-incarnate Christ Jesus) was already in existence. He is eternal. He is
a part of God. He was in the bosom of the Father. He was involved in the
creationary process. He became flesh and blood through the Holy Spirit and the
virgin Mary.
In a conversation that God had with
Job from the land of Uz, He gives a meticulous account of the earth’s creation
to include the angels singing and rejoicing at its wonderful splendor. They did
not shout for joy over something that was without form and void. When God laid
the foundations of earth, He took careful measurements placing it in perfect
alignment in the solar system. There was nothing left to chance, He used wisdom
to create everything.
“Job, where were you when I laid the
foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined
its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what
were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning
stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)
You, Lord, in the beginning laid the
foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. (Heb. 1:10)
He has made the earth by His power; He
has established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His
understanding. (Jer. 51:15)
The original creation in Genesis 1:1
was a place where dinosaurs lived. What ever fossils scientists have found that
date back millions of years, I believe, did exist on earth prior to the devastation.
Lucifer in The Beginning
Prior to Satan’s fall, his name was
Lucifer which means Day Star - Son of the Morning. He was one of God’s three
archangels. He was in a place called Eden, the garden of God but this was not
the same Garden of Eden that was the home of Adam and Eve. This place existed
many, many millions of years before Adam and Eve… maybe even before time began.
God created Lucifer, and of course, He saw that it was good. Everything was
created by God, including the devil. Lucifer was perfect at his creation, and
beautiful in appearance, probably the most beautiful angel God ever created. The
prophet Ezekiel describes how majestic he was, using the king of Tyrus as a
backdrop.
Son of man, take up a lamentation for
the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal
of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the
garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and
diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The
workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were
created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were
on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery
stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till
iniquity was found in you.’” (Ezekiel 28:12-15)
Lucifer’s Downfall
Lucifer became filled with pride
because of his beauty. Lucifer said he would exalt his throne above the stars
of God. I’m sure that means all the other angels. Angels are often referred to
as stars. In God’s fierce anger (Jer. 4:26), Satan was cast out of heaven and
his beauty was destroyed. The eternal Word, (Jesus pre-incarnate) said He saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven. He was no longer Lucifer (son of the
morning), but he was now Satan (the adversary). He no longer held any authority
in God’s angelic kingdom. Satan along with a third of the heavenly beings are
now adversaries who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom they may
devour.
And He said unto them, I beheld Satan
as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18)
Jesus (the Word pre-incarnate) saw
Satan’s forceful eviction from heaven (the seat of authority). This doesn’t
mean that Satan had no further access to heaven, for other Scriptures clearly
indicate that Satan maintained this access even after his fall (Job 1:6, 2:1).
However, Ezekiel 28:18 indicates that Satan was absolutely and completely cast
out of God’s heavenly government and his place of authority.
You defiled your sanctuaries by the
multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I
brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon
the earth in the sight of all who saw you. (Ezek. 28:18)
The Triumph Over Evil
When the 70 appointed disciples returned
from ministry, they enthusiastically told that the demons were subject to them
in Jesus’s name. But Jesus was not surprised nor impressed. He remembers the
demise of Satan’s authority and power. He gives this authority over the enemy
to His disciples to trample on him and rise above any means which the enemy
would use to hurt them.
Behold, I
give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19)
No weapons formed against us shall
prosper. The enemy has been disarmed and rendered powerless under the mighty
name of Jesus.
Having disarmed principalities and
powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (the
cross). (Colossians 2:15)
So the great dragon was cast out, that
serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he
was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a
loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of
our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our
brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O
heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the
sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows
that he has a short time.” (Revelation 12:9-12)
Bibliography
Holy Bible, The Nelson Study Bible:
New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Inc., 1997, 2011, 2012. Scripture from
any Thomas Nelson Bible translation may be quoted in any form up to 500 verses
or less without written permission.
The King James Version Bible
Commentary.
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc. 1994.
