By James L. Melton
I have opposed the gap theory since 2001 when God opened my eyes to the record of Scripture that requires no gaps or “pre-Adamite” anything, only a simple belief in what is recorded in the Book. Before that time I had followed the gap teaching of Scofield, Larkin, Pember, Ruckman and many others. In most other areas, I still follow their teachings and admire them greatly. As for Dr. Ruckman, I have spent more time (and money) with his studies than most of my critics will ever spend, so any hint of my ignorance of Ruckman’s teaching or my disrespect to him is wholly unwarranted. I have loved Dr. Ruckman dearly for well over three decades, his bookstore has sold thousands of copies of my publications over the past two decades, and I recommend his materials all the time, just as I recommend the works of Larkin and the Scofield Reference Bible. Furthermore, I spoke kindly of all three of these men in my church history book, and Ruckman and Scofield are two of the men covered in our Great Soldiers of the Cross tract series.
However, God is greater than any man, and it is my belief that God showed me a more perfect way in 2001 when I began to see things in the Scriptures that went against my gap theory beliefs. My tract on the subject was published at that time for the purpose of showing others what I believe God had showed to me, and the tract has remained in print since that time. In addition to the tract, I’ve also posted things on Facebook regarding the gap theory (though not often), and some of that material is now available in print as well.
The following is my latest attempt to lay out the gap theory information in the simplest and most sensible way I know. I’ve never made this subject a basis for fellowship or fighting (though some have), and I count no one less of a believer for holding to the gap theory. Some of my best friends in the ministry believe in the gap theory, but they are all reasonable and mature men who know how to choose their battles well and fight only over the weightier matters. In that same spirit, I present the following for the purposes of instruction and edification, not for strife and division. My only request is that you use or oppose the material in the same spirit.
The following paragraphs will show the reader how the gap theory followers usually reach their conclusions after being led on a subtle step-by-step journey into a fictitious fantasy land while actually believing that they are being led by the Holy Spirit into the wonderful world of advanced Bible knowledge.
(BLOCK CAPS used in Scripture quotations are for emphasis only) . . .
1. The clear and natural flow of Genesis chapter 1 does not include a gap. No mention is made of a time space between verses 1 and 2. Some SUPPOSE that such a space, or gap, exists (usually because someone TOLD them that it exists), but the passage does not say so. The natural flow of the text is that all started at “the beginning” and then progressed through six creative days.
2. Those who suppose that there is a gap between verses 1 and 2 do so in order to explain primarily (1) why the earth was “without form and void,” (2) when Lucifer fell and (3) when his angels fell.
3. Those who suppose that the above explanation is needed do so because they do not believe that the Bible offers sufficient explanation elsewhere. That is, those who subscribe to the gap theory do not believe that Lucifer or his angels could have fallen anytime AFTER Genesis 1:2 because there are no events in the Bible, they believe, that can account for the fall of Lucifer or his angels.
4. Therefore, it is assumed that Lucifer and his angels must have fallen BEFORE Genesis 1:2.
5. With the above assumption in mind, gap theory adherents must now basically change the wording of verse two, at least in their interpretations. Instead of reading that “the earth WAS without form, and void,” as the King James text plainly says (minus the CAPS), gap theory followers interpret the wording to mean that “the earth BECAME without form and void,” although the verse never said this. Yes, even King James Bible believers do this.
6. With the assumption that the earth BECAME without form and void, the gappers now ask the question, “WHY did the earth become without form and void?” The Bible never SAID it became without form and void, so the question is based on an ASSUMPTION, not on a clear Bible statement. The Bible only said that the earth WAS without form and void.
7. Knowing (or being told) that the Scriptures contain no specific place that accounts for and fully explains the fall of Lucifer and his angels, the gapper reasons that perhaps Lucifer and his angels fell BEFORE Genesis 1:2 and AFTER Genesis 1:1, in the “gap,” the “gap” that was never really there until they produced it in their own minds.
8. Having reasoned that Lucifer and his angels rebelled and fell BEFORE Genesis 1:2, the gappers now reason that this fall led to a divine judgment that flooded the earth and RENDERED it “without form and void.”
9. To “prove” that the phrase “without form and void” implies judgment, the gappers run to Jeremiah 4:23 and show where the phrase IS used in reference to judgment: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.” The fact that Jeremiah chapter four has nothing to do with the creation of Genesis 1, but rather the coming Great Tribulation, doesn’t seem to matter to the gappers. Most people probably won’t check the context anyway, so they get away with it. Furthermore, the law of first mention that many gappers profess to believe in is conveniently replaced here with their law of SECOND mention, allowing Jeremiah to define Genesis, rather than the other way around. Studying cross references is one thing; establishing DEFINITIONS is quite another.
10. Having convinced himself (or having now been convinced by others) that God’s judgment on the pre-Adamite earth caused the earth to BECOME without form and void, the gapper continues in his search for supporting Scripture, or at least what he THINKS is supporting Scripture. Sooner or later he is usually guided by other gappers to Isaiah 45:18, which says, “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.” The gapper, or at least gapper in the making, is then coached to think, “If God made the earth NOT IN VAIN but rather FORMED IT TO BE INHABITED, then that must mean that the earth was perfect in Genesis 1:1 and then BECAME without form and void as a result of God’s flood judgment on the pre-Adamite earth that was under Lucifer’s rule.” None of that is stated in Genesis, but all of that is gradually built up, piece by piece, as the gapper continues his assumptive building program. The fact that the statement “he created it not in vain” (Isa. 45:18) might refer to Genesis chapter 1 as a whole (since the word “created” is found five times in the chapter, and not just in verse 1) never occurs to the pre-conditioned gapper. He’s a gapper in the making, and his fascination with the mysterious subject matter allows for no turning back. I’ve been down this road and have experienced all of this first hand (1984-1986). I’m not exaggerating in the least.
11. The law of first mention is also abandoned with the word “darkness,” since the gapper is coached to DEFINE the darkness of Genesis 1:2 with how he sees the word used in many other places in the Scriptures. Seeing that darkness is usually not a good thing, he assumes that it’s not a good thing in Genesis 1:2. Then he assumes that something BAD must have HAPPENED, such as Lucifer’s rebellion and God’s judgment. Of course, the Genesis account never says this. I am not suggesting that the darkness was a GOOD thing; only that its presence doesn’t have to imply that anything BAD had happened. Your bedroom was dark this morning before you turned on the lights, but you didn’t assume that the judgment of God had struck during the night.
12. The gapper then points out that Genesis chapter one says that the creative acts of each day were all “good,” except for the second day, implying that something on the second day was NOT good, such as Lucifer’s fall and judgment. The summarizing statement in verse 31 is conveniently ignored: “And God saw EVERY THING that he had made, and, behold, it was VERY GOOD. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
13. The word “replenish” in verse 28 is defined by the gapper as meaning “re-populate” or to “re-fill,” although it is used interchangeably with the word “fill” in Genesis 1:22, both coming from the same Hebrew word. The truth of the matter is that TODAY the word can mean to “fill” OR to “re-fill,” but it did not necessarily mean both in 1611. For that matter, the word “replenish” is used only ONCE in reference to God’s creative week (Gen. 1:28), falling a bit short of the Biblical standard of two or three witnesses (Deu. 19:15; Mat. 18:16; I Tim. 5:19), and there is nothing in Genesis chapter one which defines the word as “re-populate” or “re-fill.” This is why the gapper ignores the word “fill” in Genesis 1:22 while claiming that the word is defined in Genesis 9:1. So much for the law of first mention, again.
14. With the information above, the gapper now reasons that the earth BECAME without form and void as a result of God’s judgment on Lucifer and the pre-Adamite earth, so the earth had to be RE-POPULATED.
15. By now, the gapper is fully committed to the gap “fact,” so the rest of the Bible will always be viewed through the lens of the “gap fact.” For instance, the usage of the word “And” at the beginning of most of the verses in Genesis chapter one has a special meaning in the gap world. The capitalization of the word “Heaven” in Genesis 1:8 has a special meaning to many in the gap world, although many proper names that follow the word “called” in the chapter are capitalized, not just the word “Heaven” in verse 8. In the gap world, Isaiah 24:1 is even used to support the “gap fact,” even though the verse says nothing at all about Genesis 1 or the creation. The usage of the word “deep” or “great deep” throughout the Scriptures is often privately interpreted by the gapper to have some connection to Genesis 1:2, even though it may have no connection at all. Of course, these are only a few of the “nuggets” that one is introduced to once he enters the gap world, or the gap TRAP. Everything must now be viewed through the gap.
16. The flood of II Peter 3:5-7 is privately interpreted to be the gap flood of Genesis 1:2, even though Peter had just made reference to NOAH’S flood in the previous chapter (II Peter 2:5-6) and in his previous epistle (I Peter. 3:20). This is done in spite of the fact that Genesis 1:2 says NOTHING AT ALL about a gap or a flood while Genesis 6, 7, and 8 say plenty.
17. The gapper perpetually believes that Lucifer fell before Genesis 1:2, even though Ezekiel 28:13 allows for Lucifer’s history to go no further back than EDEN: “Thou hast been in EDEN the garden of God . . .” In fact, Ezekiel 28:13 and 28:15 clearly state that Lucifer, or the anointed cherub, was created on a DAY: “in the DAY that thou wast created” (vs. 13) and “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the DAY that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” (vs. 15) This means that Lucifer was created on one of the six DAYS of Genesis 1, not before the days began.
18. Ezekiel 28:13-15 also makes it clear that iniquity was found in Lucifer IN EDEN, not before Eden was created. Read the passage carefully and notice that the whole context is on a DAY in EDEN, not in a gap before Eden: “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. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the DAY that thou wast created, till INIQUITY was found in thee.” The gapper might argue at this point that Eden didn’t have a mountain, only to assume that “the gap” DID have a mountain! There is nothing in Genesis that forbids Eden from having mountains and even “the holy mountain of God.” Ezekiel 28 speaks of this place in the context of EDEN, so it’s safer to leave the mountain in Eden than to move it into a fanciful gap that isn’t mentioned at all!
19. From what Ezekiel tells us, we have a CREATION DAY, then a place called EDEN, then INIQUITY being committed. Sound familiar?
20. The gapper assumes that the angels were present before Genesis 1:2 and fell with Lucifer, yet we read in Job 38:7 that “the morning stars sang together, and ALL the sons of God shouted for joy” when God laid the foundations of the earth (vs. 4), and Exodus 20:11 tells us that God did all of this in six days, not BEFORE the six days: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and ALL that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” The “all that in them is” would include Lucifer and the angels, all being created within the six day period. The gapper assumes that Genesis 1:3-31 is a RE-creation, but Genesis never says this, nor is it found anywhere else in the Bible. Both Lucifer and the angels were created within the original six days of Genesis 1:1-31, and they sinned and fell afterwards.
21. Lucifer’s fall occurred in Eden, which is why the wording of Isaiah 14:14 (“I will be like the most High”) is very similar to what Satan told Eve in Eden (“ye shall be as gods” – Gen. 3:5). That is, Lucifer did not sin separately from the fall of man; he sinned when he BROUGHT ABOUT the fall of man through his ambitious and deceptive scheme. We know this true because Ezekiel speaks of his iniquity being found in the context of EDEN (Ezk. 28:13-15), not before Eden. It is in this sense that Satan was “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), although he directly murdered no one. He murdered man spiritually in Genesis chapter 3, and then he led Cain to murder his brother physically in chapter 4. Satan’s fall was in his deceitful dealings with man in EDEN, not anything else.
22. Although most gappers acknowledge that the fall of the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 refers to angels (which it does), most still believe that either these same angels or another group of angels also fell in the supposed gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 as a result of Lucifer leading them astray. This theory is not substantiated in Genesis 1:1-2, nor is it substantiated anywhere else in the Scriptures. No passage that speaks of fallen angels ever places their fall before Genesis chapter 6. II Peter 2:4 speaks of the “angels that sinned,” but the verse doesn’t say that they sinned in Genesis chapter one. II Peter 2:4 says, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;” and then the NEXT VERSE (!) makes the TIMING of their sin quite clear: “And spared not the OLD WORLD, but saved NOAH the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” Only ONE group of angels sinned, and they sinned in the days of NOAH, not in the supposed gap of Genesis 1:1-2. These same angels are mentioned in Jude verse 6: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Notice how the term “the angels” is used, clearly indicating only one group, the group mentioned in Genesis 6:2. Revelation 12:1-9 does speak of Satan and his angels being cast out into the earth, a debatable issue in itself, but nothing in the passage says this happened in Genesis chapter 1. Jesus mentioned “the devil and his angels” in Matthew 25:41, but He said nothing about them sinning in Genesis chapter 1, nor will any other passage that one might produce. The clear record of Scripture is that Satan first sinned in Genesis chapter 3 and his angels first sinned in Genesis chapter 6. There is no need FOR a gap, nor is there any evidence OF a gap.
23. The gap theory holds that the earth was populated before Adam and Eve and then that population (a “pre-Adamite” earth) was destroyed due to Lucifer’s rebellion. This cannot be true because the New Testament is very clear in stating that there was NO DEATH BEFORE ADAM. Please note: “For since BY MAN CAME DEATH, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as IN ADAM ALL DIE, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (I Cor. 15:21-22) “Nevertheless DEATH REIGNED FROM ADAM to Moses . . .” (Rom. 5:14) Death did not reign before Adam because death did not exist before Adam, which is why “every thing” was still “very good” in Genesis 1:31; no sin, no death, no judgment . . . and no judgment gap to cram between verses 1 and 2.
24. In closing, after offering up over 3,000 words in hopes of helping Christians to see the foolishness of this whole gap nonsense, I will attempt to summarize . . .
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. He then further formed and completed His creation through a period of six days. Sometime after that, Lucifer sinned by tricking Eve to sin, and Adam willfully sinned with her. God then promised a SEED to one day redeem man, a promise of Jesus Christ Who would one day defeat Satan (Gen. 3:15). Realizing this, Satan sets out to destroy the promised SEED by having Cain murder Abel in Genesis chapter four. When God replaces Abel with Seth, thus preserving the SEED, Satan eventually concocts a plan to corrupt all flesh upon the earth by convincing angels to cohabitate with earthly women (Gen. 6:2). God again preserves the SEED by sparing Noah and his family while destroying everyone else. This scheme of Satan continues throughout the Bible and turns out to be an unfolding three part plan: Destroy the SEED. If that fails, then destroy the SAVIOUR. If that fails, then destroy the SAINTS. I trust you can find sufficient Scripture for each point in the plan, and I can assure you that none of them will be found in “the gap.”
So, keep calm, my friend, and please don’t overlook the REAL gap:
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and STAND IN THE GAP before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” (Ezk. 22:30) When the trumpet sounds, may we be found STANDING IN the real gap, not ARGUING ABOUT a false one.