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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 | 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. |
Bible Question: Allow me to ask a question concerning the creation account which I learned from other christian leaders. They claim that the earth was inhabited by angels prior to the creation of man and that there are two phases of our planet's creation. First a creation which they support with the text in Gen.1:1,2 which describes the creation of the universe and an earth inhabited by angels;second the creation that describes the involvement of man's creation which they suppose to be the earth's renewal (David's Psalm: "You sent your spirit they were created, you have renewed the face of the earth" Chapter 104:30) after the angels who inhabited the earth sinned and rebelled against God. Their argument was the words, "...and the earth was without form and void and darkness was..." reveals the fact that the earth existed prior to the creation account which involves the creation of man. Having reference from Jude 6:7 they propose that since the angels sinned, they left their positions of authority over the earth and caused its "without form and void" (Authorized English Translation or KJV)state described in Gen. 1:2. This condition if clearly studied from the original text reveal that the hebrew words tohu and bohu is translated "waste" or "empty", and "desolate" whereas the english "was" is also translated "became" i.e. "...and the earth became empty and desolate..." From this view they teach that angels whom God put in charge of the earth did not perform their task of improving the earth but instead behind their rebellion caused darkness and desolation. They conlude this upon the thought that God was a God of order and could have not originated darkness and desolation. How am I going to find if this teaching is true or false, because their exposition seem to give evidence and reveal facts in terms of science and scripture. What portion of God's Word should I focus to study to verify the truthfulness of this teaching. Furthermore I have a strong sense that these teachings dont fully harmonize with God's Word because it substantiates the "millions of years theory" of the earth's existence, when in fact God revealed through the Word that "IN SIX DAYS HE MADE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH" (EXODUS 20)which I believe have occured approximately 6000 years ago? I believe someone can help me out, I am a seeker of truth. |
Bible Answer: Is the Gap Theory Biblical? 'If the Bible actually teaches the gap theory' however, then there might be some reason to try to accommodate it in our theology. But the Bible does not teach it! If there really had been billions of years of animals suffering and dying before Genesis 1:2, why would God say nothing about it? The best they can offer in support of such a notion are some out-of-context quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah, along with an ad hoc translation of Genesis 1:1,2. 'And why would God send such a devastating cataclysm at all? Satan's fall did not occur until after the creation week of Genesis 1, for at that time God had pronounced the whole creation "very good" (Genesis 1: 31). At present, however, "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together" (Romans 8:22) because of the great curse pronounced by God on man's dominion (Genesis 3:17-19), as a result of sin. 'This groaning creation has indeed experienced one global cataclysm—one not inferred from vague hints in out-of-context quotes, but rather one described in great detail in Genesis 6-9 and referred to often and unambiguously in later passages—namely, the worldwide Flood in the days of Noah. Most of the vast fossil graveyards in the earth's crust can best be explained as one of the results of the Flood. 'This awesome spectacle of destruction and death was not part of God's "very good" creation. There was no death in the world until sin was in the world (Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21; etc.). In fact, death itself is "the wages of sin" (Romans 6:23). Our future deliverance from sin and death has been purchased by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, who is "the propitiation for our sins and ... also for the sins of the whole world" (John 2:2). 'But if "death reigned" not "from Adam to Moses," as the Bible says (Romans 5:14), but had already reigned for billions of years before Adam, then death is not the wages of sin but instead was part of God's creative purpose. How then could the death of Christ put away sin? The gap theory thus undermines the very gospel of our salvation, as well as the holy character of God. 'The fact is that no such gap exists between the first two verses of Genesis at all. The second verse merely describes the initial aspect of the creation as "without form and void"—that is, with neither structure nor inhabitants. The rest of the chapter tells how God produced a marvelous structure for His created universe, with multitudes of plant and animal inhabitants for the earth, all to be under the dominion of its human inhabitants created in the image of God. It was only then that God pronounced the creation "finished" (Genesis 2:1). 'It is time for those who believe the Bible and in the goodness and wisdom of God to abandon the gap theory once and for all (as well as the day-age theory, which is even worse) and simply believe what God has said. The gap theory has no scientific merit, requires a very forced Biblical exegesis, and leads to a God-dishonoring theology. It does not work, either Biblically or scientifically. ____________________ To read more go to: www.icr.org Excerpt from "Why the Gap Theory Won't Work (#107)" by Henry Morris, Ph.D. Dr. Henry Morris is Founder and President Emeritus of ICR |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Gen 1:2 | Author | ||
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ministermay | ||
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ministermay | ||
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Honey | ||
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oneness holy | ||
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PeterIII | ||
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kalos | ||
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kalos | ||
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baldeagle |