THE GAPS OF THE GAP THEORY

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The first two verses of the Bible are intriguing to many people. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” But when we read the next verse, creation does not seem to be in order yet: “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.” (v. 2). Some believe that there is “something” in between these passages. According to some scholars, there is a long gap between verse 1 and verse 2 that is not mentioned in the text, which makes them seem inconsistent. They suggest that the first verse describes the original creation, while the second describes what happened to it as a result of Satan’s rebellion and fall. This view is known as the Gap Theory. Others call it the Ruin-Restoration Theory or Ruin-Reconstruction Theory, because it suggests that the Genesis account is not the story of the original creation but of God restoring everything from the chaos that had just taken place.

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Throughout history, a number of scholars have promoted this theory. Its roots can be traced back to Simon Episcopius (1583–1643), and later to G.H. Pember (1837–1910), who popularized the view in his book Earth’s Earliest Ages. But it became even more widespread when the view was included in popular Bible study tools such as the Scofield Reference Bible, Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, and others. The theory is attractive to many because it seems to offer a solution for reconciling the Genesis creation account with modern scientific discoveries. If millions of years could fit between verse 1 and verse 2, then the existence of million-year-old fossils could be explained! Experts have long debated how old the earth really is. For those who cannot accept the traditional biblical view of an earth around 6,000 years old, the Gap Theory can be quite appealing.

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There are several versions of the theory, but essentially they all say the same thing: there is a gap between the original creation and the Genesis creation story. Still, most scholars find this view problematic. There are “gaps” in its arguments, which make it unreliable.

1. The Conjunction Waw

The biggest weakness of the view is that it has no grammatical support from the text. In the original Hebrew, verse 2 begins with the conjunction waw. In many modern translations this is left untranslated because it doesn’t change the meaning of the passage. Some versions, however, include it, which is why verse 2 starts with “and” (e.g., “And the earth was formless,” NASB; ASV). Advocates of the Gap Theory argue that waw in this verse is a “consecutive conjunction,” meaning it introduces a sequence of events. They claim the verse should actually read, “And then, the earth was formless” or even, “The earth became formless.” They also argue that the waw here is the same as in verse 3: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

The problem with this explanation is that the waw in verse 2 is not the same as the waw in verse 3. Yes, verse 3 uses a consecutive waw, but verse 2 uses a conjunctive waw, which has a different form and function. What is a conjunctive waw? Its purpose is to introduce various kinds of clauses, but not sequential ones. In verse 2, it simply introduces circumstantial clauses—describing what was happening, not what happened next. What was happening? Three things: (1) The earth was formless and empty, (2) darkness was over the surface of the deep, and (3) the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. To put it simply, the theory cannot be supported grammatically.

2. Chaos

Another argument says that the terms formless, void/empty, and darkness in Genesis 1:2 indicate judgment that caused chaos in creation. They point to passages that use similar language, such as Jeremiah 4:23 (“I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light”) and Isaiah 34:11 (“He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness” Note: The “confusion” here could also mean “formless”). However, the problem is that in both Jeremiah and Isaiah, the context is clearly about God’s judgment on Judah (Jer. 4:3) and on Edom (Isa. 34:9). In Genesis 1:2, there is no hint of judgment! The prophets used “formless and void” as imagery of judgment because God’s punishment would be like a “reversal of creation,” bringing chaos. But this cannot prove the supposed judgment the Gap Theory assumes.

Peter also discussed God’s judgment on heaven and earth in 2 Peter 3. He mentioned the flood (v. 6) and the coming judgment by fire (v. 7). If there really was a prior judgment that caused chaos before Adam, we would expect Peter to mention it too—but he did not.

3. Contradicting Passages

There are clear biblical statements that the Gap Theory seems to contradict. For example, Exodus 20:11 (echoing Genesis) says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days (whether taken literally or figuratively is another discussion). If God had already created the earth earlier and only “reconstructed” it in Genesis, then this verse would be inaccurate.

The Gap Theory also suggests that creatures died before Adam, explaining fossils as remnants of that earlier chaos. But the Bible clearly says that death entered only after Adam sinned (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21).

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When carefully examined, the Gap Theory does not stand up to scrutiny. To be sure, there are still many unanswered questions about the Genesis creation story. And in the face of uncertainty, speculation is not wrong. But it is unreasonable to contradict plain biblical truth just to come up with answers. Love rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6), and so we must search for it and hold fast to it. Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

Rhodes, R. (2013). “Is there any merit to the so-called “gap theory” regarding God’s work of creation (Genesis 1:1-2)?” π˜‰π˜ͺ𝘨 π˜‰π˜°π˜°π˜¬ 𝘰𝘧 π˜‰π˜ͺ𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴. Harvest House Publishers
Waltke, B. (n.d). “π˜›π˜©π˜¦ 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘒𝘡π˜ͺ𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘀𝘀𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘡 π˜ͺ𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴π˜ͺ𝘴 1:1-3 π˜—π˜’π˜³π˜΅ 𝘐𝘐: π˜›π˜©π˜¦ π˜™π˜¦π˜΄π˜΅π˜ͺ𝘡𝘢𝘡π˜ͺ𝘰𝘯 π˜›π˜©π˜¦π˜°π˜³π˜Ί.” Dr. Michael Heiser. Retrieved from https://drmsh.com/TheNakedBible/WaltkeRestitutionTheory.pdf
Ham, K. (2007, September 6; last featured December 20, 2019). “𝘞𝘩𝘒𝘡 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘡 𝘡𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘒𝘱 & π˜™π˜Άπ˜ͺ𝘯‑π˜™π˜¦π˜€π˜°π˜―π˜΄π˜΅π˜³π˜Άπ˜€π˜΅π˜ͺ𝘰𝘯 π˜›π˜©π˜¦π˜°π˜³π˜ͺ𝘦𝘴?”. Answers in Genesis. Retrieved from https://answersingenesis.org/.../what-about-the-gap-and.../ blueletterbible.org+15answersingenesis.org+15answersingenesis.org+15
Morris, H. M. (1987, December 1). “π˜›π˜©π˜¦ 𝘎𝘒𝘱 π˜›π˜©π˜¦π˜°π˜³π˜Ί—𝘒𝘯 π˜ͺπ˜₯𝘦𝘒 𝘸π˜ͺ𝘡𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴?”. Answers in Genesis. Retrieved from https://answersingenesis.org/.../the-gap-theory-an.../...


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