Gen 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Gen 1:2  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.

Ex 20:11  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.

The Bible is the infallible Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible must be interpreted literally, except when it is clear from the context that it must be taken symbolic or spiritually. The grammatical-historical method is used in the literal understanding of the Bible. It means that a word has the same meaning as it has in our normal day to day usage thereof.

With the rise of modern geological (study of the earth) theories, some Christians were threatened and thought it necessary to interpret the Bible in such a way to get it in line with “scientific discoveries”. These people did not follow the literally interpretation of Genesis 1, so that they have room for the millions or even billions of years required for evolution which are being said to be a science.

Denying that the creation account in Genesis 1 happened in six literal 24 hour days not only does a great dishonor to the Almighty God, but it also leave the door wide open to question other stories that does not fit today’s “science”. We think of Noah’s flood, Jona in the fish and the virgin birth of Jesus.

Satan’s business is to ensure that humans go to hell with him, and he knows that there are two very important things necessary to be saved.

• The knowledge that there is a real God who created everything and has the right to judge man as His creation.
• That God promised salvation to those who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and repent of their sins.

Therefore, Satan is already busy for centuries to blind people for the truth, to argue God out of creation (evolution) and to question the supernatural birth of Christ.

If there is no God, then everyone can decide what is right or wrong and will never come to realize their sin. Like wise, those who put their faith in somebody not supernaturally born through the Spirit of God , will follow a false Jesus and will be lost.

The gap theory.

The gap theory, also known as the ruin re-creation theory, says that God created the earth in Gen 1:1, but due to the fall of satan between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2, God hit the earth with a flood (also called the Lucifer flood) destroying everything. From there then the waters of Gen 1:2. Several incorrect teachings are given to defend this theory.

This theory says, between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 there is a huge gap of billions of years.  The length of the period between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2 may vary according to the amount of time required by the scientist.

In 1948 M Henkel, a student at the Winona Lake School of Theology, did his masters “Fundamental Christianity and Evolution”. He asked 20 Hebrew scholars in the USA if there are any exegetical evidence for a gap between Gen 1:1 & Gen 1:2. Their unanimous answer were, — No!

For the gap theory supporters there is a difference between the words “made” and “created” and “without form” and “void” means evil and judgement, and therefore according to them there must have been a gap.

Àsâ en Bàrà (made and created).

The gap supporters go to great length to try and proof these two words cannot be used interchangeably. They specifically want to proof that àsâ in Gen.1 cannot refer to creatio ex nihilo (creation from nothing).

The reason for this is that if àsâ and bàrà can be used interchangeably, their whole argument disappears that Gen 1:3 and further describes a re-creation process.  It also leaves them with a huge problem with the next verse:

Ex 20: For in six days the LORD made (àsâ) 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.

The meaning that everything was created (and certain things not re-created) and that it happened in six days, are further confirmed in:

Neh 9:6  You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

AND

Ex 31:17  It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed

If àsâ is only re-creation from existing material, it must follow that the heavens and their hosts were also re-created. The followers of the gap theory with their re-creation idea thus have a further problem that not only the earth was destroyed at a certain point in time but also heaven and all the angels with it.  Remember there was no firmament. God only separated the waters on day two so that there could be a heaven. This heaven also includes the third heaven, because it is a physical place, in the north according to Isaiah. The first heaven is what we see where the birds fly. The second heaven is where the sun, moon and stars are. The third heaven is the highest heaven where God’s throne is and the mount of congregation.

Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.

Psa 89:12 The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.

Jes 14:13  For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;.

Mat 5:34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

Job 9:9 is another example of how stars were made (àsâ).

He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;

They also try to convince people that àsâ only means the revealing (appointment) of already made objects, and that these things in creation already existed and only made visible by God in the six days of creation. For example the sun already existed, God only made it visible. It is however very clear from the best Hebrew lexicons (like Brown, Driver and Briggs) that the word àsâ is never used in this connotation with regards to creation. When God said let there be light, it was in the context of darkness on the earth, and it is therefore not logic to suggest that the words “let there be light” meant anything else than light on the earth. The following verses are good examples of when (àsâ) actually means to appoint in the Bible.

1Kings 12:31  He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

1Kings 13: After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.

2 Cron 2:18  And he made seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

The interchangeability of the words is further shown in the Bible by the following use thereof:

1. The heavens and earth created and the heavens and earth made.

Gen 2:4  This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created (bàrà)  , in the day that the LORD God made (àsâ)  the earth and the heavens

2. Wonders made and wonders created.

Ex 34:10  And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do (àsâ)  marvels such as have not been done (bàrà)  in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

3. The hand of the Lord did it the hand of the Lord created it.

 Isa 41:18 20  I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done (àsâ)  this, And the Holy One of Israel has created (bàrà)   it.

It is very clear that àsâ and bàrà in Genesis 1 and other places in the Bible is used interchangeable. To force a difference of meaning on these words to proof a gap is to grab at straws and to violate the sense and spirit in which the words were being used. Likewise the word “formed” does not has any special meaning for the creation of man.  We see that the earth (Isa 45:18), the mountains (Amos 4:13) and locusts (Amos 7:1) were formed.

The words tòhû and bòhû is also not per definition evil nor an indication of judgment.

Some gap theory supporters attempt to proof these words to be connected to evil and judgement, and therefore saying that God would not have created earth like that. They often use:

Isa 34:11  But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.

And

Isa 45:18  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.

And

Jer 4:23  I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light.

From the context of Isa 43:11 and Jer 4:23 it is clearly pointing towards future judgement, has nothing to do with the creation process of the earth. Especially Isa 45:18 is taken as proof that there had to be destruction of the earth.  The context of this verse, however, clearly indicates the reason why the earth was created. It is the same as a farmer buying an open piece of land, untilled and then he sends his workers to cultivate it with the words, “I did not bought this land to be without form and empty (untilled and not planted), but to plant vegetables there”. The land obviously did not become untilled and not planted after he bought it; it was like that when he bought it. Now things are going to happen to make true that what he bough it for. God created earth to be filled and live in, it was and still is His purpose with the earth. It is all this verse is telling us, the “unformed and unfilled” or “without form and void”  in Genesis 1:2 was only one step in the whole creation process. What God created on day one what was perfect for what he had in mind to do.

It is like the dust of the earth from which God created man, unformed and unfilled, but definitely not full of evil and there was no judgement over the dust.

There is no gap between Genesis1:1 and 1:2.