Genesis

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NASB	Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
AMPLIFIED 2015 2015	Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

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Subject: Time lapse between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:3.

Bible Note: Time lapse between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:3.

I’d like to offer here some extracts from my Bible notes:

Gen 1:2 “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep...,” but God does not create things in darkness, without form and void:

1. tohu va' bohu
Isaiah tells us “God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain [without form]...” (Isaiah 45:18 KJV). The word translated 'vain' is that Hebrew word tohu, and it means formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness etc. It is the same word used in Genesis 1:2, translated “without form” (KJV). The words translated without form and void are the rhyming words tohu va' bohu. (In some parts of the world, people use (or have used) this phrase to describe any scene of utter chaos, pandemonium or disorder – even an untidy bedroom!) Fallen nature tends towards disorder (the second law of thermodynamics), but God is not a God of disorder (I Cor 14:33). His work is perfect (Deut 32:4). His work is glorious (Psalm 111:3). When God creates, he does so in magnificent beauty. He is not an evolutionist – he does not begin a creation in a state of gross chaos, but every moment or grade of his creative work is, in itself, something splendid and majestic. If there is any chaos, if there is anything ugly, rest assured the fault lies with another. But thank God; he takes the formless, the ugly, the useless and the impotent, and transforms it beyond recognition into something beautiful.

2. was, or became
“And the earth was [or became] without form, and void”. The Hebrew word translated “was” may also be rendered “became”. A good lexicon will include possible renderings such as “come to pass”, “happen”, “take place”, “to come about”, among others. Maybe countless billions of years lie between verses one and two of Genesis 1.
This begs the question, what happened during this period of time? Many believe there was a star wars; a great battle in the heavens for the supremacy of the cosmos between Lucifer and Elohim, in which a third (Rev 12:4) of the heavenly hosts raged against their brethren in civil war. Suffice it to say, Lucifer, stripped of his office and title, expelled from the heavens, defeated and humiliated, fell like lightning to the earth (Luke 10:18) with all his cronies.
3. Star wars and desolation
I suspect this destructive battle brought the earth into a state of chaos and confusion (tohu va' bohu), that necessitated its regeneration, rejuvenation, and refurbishment, as described in Genesis 1. This rhyming Hebrew phrase is also found in (Jeremiah 4:23), and in these verses further revelation on the earth's chaotic state of being is imparted.
A. There was no light. (Jer 4:23)
God removed His light (God is light, (I John 2:5) ) as well as the earth's natural light. Without the sun, the waters would have frozen quickly, encasing animals and vegetation alike in tombs of ice.
B. The shaking (Jer 4:24)
Mountains and hills trembled violently. Perhaps this is where the fault lines originated, since the earth in its initial state was whole.
C. There was no apparent life. (Jer 4:25)
There was no man - he had not yet been created - and not even birds were flying in the air. Without the sun, living creatures died. A cataclysmic event of gigantic proportions!
D. Broken cities
These were the remnants of cities destroyed in God's fierce and terrible anger. This, of course, begs another question. Who built them? Many bible scholars believe a pre-Adamic race was upon the earth, but that’s another topic…

Genesis 1:2
...and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

There was a great deal of water around, even before God began to speak. We know from Hebrews 11:3 that it is God’s Word which brings His creation into existence, but no words, as yet, have been spoken, in the Genesis account. The waters and the earth, which was now formless and void, were also created by God before His work in Genesis 1:3-27.

2 Peter 3:4-5
"by the word of GOD the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water"

The earth was formed out of the water, according to this scripture, which is reflected in Genesis 1, but these same waters were the means by which “the world at that time was destroyed.” I do not believe this is referring to the flood of Noah, but the cataclysmic event I described briefly earlier on.

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The so-called “Gap Theory” is by no means theologically bankrupt, and I do not believe that anyone who considers these things as distinct possibilities is stupid or a radical (!). Unfortunately, it’s fascinating but relatively unimportant topics like these which attracts much controversy and division. To coin a phrase: “take it or leave it”. I respectfully submit these views to the forum.

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Genesis

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