The Gap Theory of Gods Creation of the Earth

In Prophecy Update Number 148A, I covered the history of what is now

known as The Gap Theory, from its origin by Dr. Thomas Chalmers, in
1814, up to its introduction in Missionary Baptist work in the nineteen
thirties.Some of those, who seem to have an intense dislike of it, often accuse
those who propagate it as believing in evolution, and some of the creation
scientists have actually called it heresy. As I indicated in 148A, I could care
less what people believe about how and when the earth was created, as long as
they believe Genesis 1:1.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Let us suppose that the Gap Theory is correct, and that the earth really is
billions of years old. Just think of all that time, and all the many things that
transpired during those billions of years. And, continuing to accept it is
correct, suppose that God had given Moses a detailed history of all these
events to present to the group traveling with Moses, a group that knew
nothing about when and how God created the earth, what do you think they
would have done to Moses? More than likely, they would have thrown him out
from among them, and left him on his backside in the sands of Sinai. God
chose to give Moses the truth about his creation in an easy simplified form
they could understand and accept. And accept it they did until man began to
run to and fro across the earth, such that his knowledge was tremendously
increased in the things on it, under it, and above it. Now, it is possible for us to
better understand the when and the how of the earths creation.
Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even
to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased.
The Gap Theory is not difficult to understand, and its premises are based on
Biblical linguistics, on the Word of God. It involves three verses of Scripture
in the direct evidence of its validity Genesis 2:1,2 and Isaiah 45:18. And the
Hebrew words, WAS, WITHOUT FORM, and NOT IN VAIN, in these three
verses, constitute the motivational linguistic reasons that led me to accept the
Gap Theory.

Genesis 1:1,2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2]
And the earth WAS WITHOUT FORM, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Isaiah 45:18 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.
WAS, in verse 2, is the Hebrew word HAYETHAH. Many expositors on
this verse claim that the word HAYETHAH is merely a copula. A copula, in
the Hebrew grammar, is a weakened verb form of the word, which merely acts
as the link between a subject, and the predicate of a preposition. However, the
placement of HAYETHAH in this grammatical structure is not
copular. HAYETHAH is indeed a verb, but it is not used in the copular
sense. HAYETHAH means BECAME. The earth was not created in verse 1
as without form and void. It BECAME without form and void in verse 2
for some reason, after it was created in a stable condition in verse 1. The
Hebrew language does not contain a verb equivalent to our English state of
being verb be. The sense of the verb be in Hebrew is indicated by the
absence of a verb in cases where the sense of a verb is required. HAYETHAH
comes from the vocabulary root form HAYAH, which Strong lists as a
primary root, meaning to exist, to be or to become, and states the following:
It is emphatic, and not a mere copula. Nelsons Expository Dictionary of the
Old Testament, says of HAYAH: it means to become, occur, come to pass,
be, and goes on to state: This verb occurs only in Hebrew and Aramaic. The
Old Testament attests HAYAH about 3,560 times. Often this verb means more
than simple existence of identity (this may be indicated by omitting the verb
altogether). In the writings of Moses, the word HAYAH is translated as
BECAME some 22 times in the KJV, and the New International Version of the
Bible carries a footnote stating the WAS in Genesis 1:1 may be correctly
translated as BECAME. Wilsons Old Testament Word Studies also says
HAYAH is frequently translated BECOME. For those of you who know the
Hebrew, HAYETHAH is Qal stem, perfect tense, third person, singular
number and feminine gender. The verb agrees in person, number and gender
with the feminine subject, which is earth, i.e., the earth became. It may be
translated fully as: the earth she became. The first portion of Genesis 1:2,
laid out in the English language of today for the purpose of deriving its
interpretative exposition, is as follows.

Genesis 1:2a And the earth BECAME (HAYETHAH) a desolation

(THOHU) and a waste (VABOHU).
KJV Translation Genesis 1:2a And the earth was without form, and void;
(was is HAYETHAH, without form is THOHU, and void is VABOHU).
THOHU is the vocabulary form TOHU. It describes a state or condition of
desolation and wreckage, and it describes the condition into which the earth
came, apparently after having originally been created in a perfect
condition.The next word is VABOHU, which is parallel with TOHU. The
vocabulary form is BOHU, and it means waste. It is the result of an activity
or a wrecking force, as described in the previous word TOHU. The VA
prefixed to BOHU is simply the coordinating conjunction, and both BOHU
and TOHU are nouns.
So, up to this point, I have offered linguistic proof that the word was
preceding without form and void in Genesis 1:1, can legitimately be
translated as became without violating the inspired Word of God. Now, if
this was the only way I could prove my case, I freely admit that, from a
linguistic standpoint, I would have reservations about it being correct to the
point of definitely stating was should be interpreted as became. However,
the very reason I know it should be understood as became, is that I believe
the word of God to be inspired, and I do not believe it contradicts itself. Let us
now examine Isaiah 45:18, bearing in mind the statement I have just made
concerning inspiration of the Bible.
Isaiah 45:18 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 two English words IN VAIN are translated from the Hebrew word
TOHU, and the NOT preceding it definitely states that God did NOT create
the earth in a TOHU condition. So, if we let WAS, which precedes TOHU
(without form) in Genesis 1:2, stand as the correct interpretation of
HAYETHAH, rather than BECAME, we have a direct contradiction between
the statement of Moses in Genesis 1:1 and the prophet in Isaiah 45:18, which I
do not accept. Some of the proponents for an earth 6000 to 12000 years old
insist that Isaiah 45:18 is not talking about the original creation. I have
listened to, and read the tenets of their claim, and find no valid justification
for it.

Since I am a proponent of the Gap Theory, I feel a certain responsibility to

advance what I believe occurred during a very long period of time that passed
on this present earth from the time it initially became TOHU and BOHU until
God, in Genesis 1:3, began a restoring of it to exist much as we know it
today. As I stated in Prophecy Update 148A, and again in this Update, I dont
care when or how he created it. I am only concerned for those who do not
believe God created it. In my 71 years on this planet I have seen men throw
themselves into debates, arguments, and indignant states of dislike for one
another over this issue of creation. I certainly think the discussion of it is
worthwhile, but I do not intend to waste what time I have left in active service
in debating, arguing, or even breaking fellowship over it. It is a lot like the
rapture, which is certainly worth discussing and studying, but I could care less
as to when you believe Jesus is coming. I am only concerned for those who
dont believe he is coming. That God created the heavens and the earth, and
that his Son, Jesus Christ is going to return for all believers, and then rule and
reign on it, is Christian doctrine. When God created the earth, and when
his Son is returning, is Christian opinion.
As I mentioned in Update 148A, Dr. Fred Stevenson, who taught Hebrew at
the Missionary Baptist Seminary for many years, spoke slower than any one I
have ever known, except Brother Buddy Pennington. And much of the content
in Update 148B comes directly from Dr. Stevensons audio cassettes, which
were recorded during his classes at the seminary. Dr. Stevensons words were
transcribed directly by Brother Joe Barker from the cassettes. Dr. Dennis
Richey, the pastor of Glendale BC, used his transcription in the preparation of
his Doctoral Thesis he presented to Landmark Missionary Baptist Institute,
which is sponsored by Glendale Baptist Church in Mauldin, South
Carolina. His Father-in-Law, Dr. J.O. Phillips, and myself, are strong
advocates of the Gap Theory.
I did not intend to ever place on our web pages what I believed about the
Genesis creation account, because it so controversial and naturally tends to
generate strife among the brethren, but over the last three years I have been
flooded with requests as to what I believed concerning it. So, in the next few
Updates, Lord willing, I intend to write what I believe about the dinosaurs,
cloning, when man was created, and several other subjects in question about
the long period of time that I believe passed between 1:1 and 1:3 in
Genesis. These are things I have taught at Dardanelle MBC for almost 30
years, but until the late nineties I stayed off controversial subjects like

creation and the rapture as I traveled to some 800 churches, and 21 colleges,
universities, and seminaries.