The Gap theory blog
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
The making of the earth over and over again
The making of the earth over and over again

It is clear from scripture that the earth is old, not life though, but the earth. Let me explain to you why.

According to the bible, there is a gap after verse 1, it is clear from the use of hebrew words in the verses and verses elsewhere.

It says in Job 26.13:

Job 26:13 13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

This verse sets the scene of Genesis 1.2, "and the earth was without form and void, and the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters".

The verse garnished is a word describing making something clear og clean, the same act Gods Spirit does with you and I. The verse do not describe creation, and it is not the darkness He makes bright, that is done later.

What I think it says is this, that the crooked serpent, lucifer, destroyed Gods creation and God had to interfere to make it good again. The verse sets the cleaning up and the crooked serpent being pierced (NKJ) to the same event, in other words, the earth had a created order which was made a ruin.

This is echoed in Hebrews 11.3:

Heb. 11. 3 the writer makes this significant observation: "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God"

The word "framed can be translated to repair", reparere, "to restore", in other words, like the earths clothing is being changed over and over.

Psalm 102:25-26 25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:

A jewish writer, Luis Ginsberg have written the following:

"Nor is this world inhabited by man the first of things earthly created by God. He made several other worlds before ours, but He destroyed them all, because He was pleased with none until He created ours."

In other words, there is also a tradition that says that this indeed has occoured.
Comments:
Just a verse to support what I have said

Psalm 104:30 (King James Version)

Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
 
I read much of your information, Mr. Madsen. Sorry, but I'll have to discount anything extra-biblical as mere speculation.

Do you really think our God is such a bungler as to create and destroy those pre-Adamic races you postulate? You are talking about our omnipotent God who foresees and manages all things. Is this what you call "knowing God?"

Your ideas about astrology seem somewhat bizarre. What does all this have to do with truth?

I would be interested to see how you view God's plan of redemption for fallen man as well as for Christ's sinless life, crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Do you believe that Jesus died upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and to purchase a place for us in Heaven, or is there some other formula . . . ? You speak of my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I'm perplexed about yours.

On a more positive note,I am glad you don't believe in the day/age theory. I believe you are sincere in your beliefs. You obviously wish to impart what you have learned, but when I compare what you have written with the purity and simplicity of the Word I am dismayed. Aren't you just one more person trying to harmonize man's and God's ways/so-called science.

There was no death and suffering before Adam and Eve's fall. There were no pre-Adamic races. Earth was void and without form. There was an inhospitable environment devoid of life. Darkness and water were upon the face of the entire globe.
 
I cant help but smile at you young earthers disrespect for other peoples views, like as if you with your WE ARE THE BIBLE kind a views, it is easy to say, this is what the bible says, and forget it could be no more that your own view, please read the front page again please http://www.creationdays.dk/index.php

as to my relationship to God, well, I think you are hitting very much above the target, but if you want to do that, well, that is fine by me.

as to redemption, I have made a article just for you that explains why God could wipe them all away.

http://www.creationdays.dk/critique/The_problem_of_redemption.php

You are also welcome to post in the forum

God bless
 
I'm sorry that so many people have bought into this gap theory. It came about in the 18th century to fit the Bible into science.

That is the wrong way around. We should read the Bible and see how the world around us fits into what IT says.

Compromising with stuff like this only weakens us in the eyes of unbelievers. Rather than believing God's plain truth, we prefer man's perverted thoughts. It is important to have a high view of the Bible and to critigue man's ideas.

God invented language and is able to comunicate his message to us. He has not hidden basics truths. There is only one creation, as the Bible says. God doesn't make mistakes or change his mind or go to plan B. He knew what would happen from the start and had already planned for it.

That is one of the reasons we were created in his image. We are a finite copy of our infinite God. God only ever appears on earth as a man.

Don't get too bogged down with meanings of Hebrew words. God does choose his words carefully. First you read the literal meaning, then, if indicated by the words or their order, you can look for added meaning. But you need to know what you are doing, if you go beyond the plain reading. You need some training in Hebrew and Hebraic thought.

Re: Genesis 1. In the beginning or at first, creating the heavens and the earth, light and dark, evening and morning...day one. NOT the first day, but day one. Then he divided the waters with sky, evening and morning...the second day. NOT day two, but the second day. And the third day, forth day etc.

There is nothing about other days or animals and people. There is NOTHING hidden there.

This is what the Bible, God's word, says, it is not my view and I am not being disrespectful of your views. I am respecting God's word and his message to us.

Unless you have a very good and important reason for the Gap Theory (I haven't heard of one yet) then I wonder why you promate it.

Shalom
 
Hi Nicola

the view goet back to at least 200 before BC, so all that nonsense with Thomas Chandler making it up, is not true.

About the rest, go to http://www.creationdays.dk

God bless

Ole
 
Although I agree with don daniels' comment that much of this is speculation, it is non-sequitur to assert that it should therefore be "discounted". When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, this was a seemingly clear contradiction to His earlier promise that He would establish His covenant with Isaac (GEN 17:21) and that through Isaac Abraham’s descendants would be named (GEN 21:12). Despite this, Abraham REASONED that God could raise Isaac from the dead, despite the fact that 1) God had given no such indication, and 2) there was no precedent for it. Although this was merely “speculation” on Abraham’s part, he is commended for it in HEB 11:17-19.

Peter notes that Old Testament prophets made “careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Messiah within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Messiah and the glories to follow” (1PE 1:10,11). He then goes on to say that even angels observe mankind in an attempt to better understand God’s truth (1PE 1:12). All this truth being sought is extra-Biblical.

Re: nichola’s assertion that God “has not hidden basics truths”, that is clearly inaccurate. Remember all the Biblical “mysteries” (truths previously hidden but now revealed) hidden from the Old Testament prophets -- such as the coming Church. The Bible is one continuous record of God providing truth progressively. We have no way of knowing what other mysteries will be revealed to us later. What more will we learn when Y’shua returns?

Obviously we must believe God’s Word with absolute certainty. As such, we understand that anything extra-Biblical is subject to error. But we also must accept that even what seems “Biblical” can be wrong. It is NOT that God’s Word itself is in error, but that our understanding of it may be flawed. When man’s “truth” appears to contradict our understanding of God’s Word, We are compelled to assess the validity of both man’s truth AND our understanding of God’s truth.

God blessed mankind with the ability to gather data, organize it into information, and then use that information to speculate, hypothesize, and eventually to deduce truth not originally revealed. Since the Bible is not a theology textbook, nearly ALL that we know about God was learned through this process.

If we are going to have an honest debate about the merits of things like the gap theory, we have to focus on that topic rather than dismiss the arguments simply because they are speculation, or because we presume God has told us all we need to know, or even because the theory happens to have extra-Biblical support of its Biblical evidence.

Best Regards,

- Michael
 
Isn't an old earth, with some evidence of progression from simple to complex life forms, a necessity for free thought? Without it, atheistic evolutionists would be forced to believe in God!
For God to be a God of free will, there has to be a gap. Correct?
I agree with those who think 'literalists' are those who read the Bible once, get a first impression. and never change their mind. Who weakens the faith, Nicola?
 
Ole, would it not be better to assume that GOD destroyed the previous creations and NOT the Devil. Why does He have to bring dinosaurs to extinction on account of the Devil?
The Bible only says Death has to come from Sin but doesn't say God can't demand Death as a result of, or for, some other reason.
 
Here's a little tidbit, which illustrates how far off the mark the traditional interpretation of the Bible is:

Its a fact that when Adam was created in 4004 BC, the world's population was between 5 and 7 million people.

If you want the interpretation that proves the Bible is true, Google the phrase (Does scientific evidence support the existence of a Divine Creator?)

 
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