GAP: Theory or Fact

Job 38:4-7
4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Speaking to Job, God rhetorically asks where was Job when he laid the foundations of the earth...verse 4....because this is when the "sons of God"...Angels, shouted for joy.

Angelic history and human history, though terminate simultaneously, they did not begine at the same point in history. Angels were present before humanity and before the foundations of the earth...i.e. eternity past. And the passage indicates that humanity wasn't present, only the sons of God, i.e. Angels.

I do support the time in Genesis between the original creation of the universe which includes the plant earth and the restoration of earth and the subsequent installment of humanity as its inhabitants. Humanity's creation is in response to the Angelic Conflict and the subsequent trial and appeal of Satan. But with this statement I suspect I will get a cacophony of objections or questions.

 

1. At the culmination of all human events, when the chapters of this life would have been written in the light of redemptive history, all GAP theories would be bridged forever.

2. I find nothing in all of the Hebrew Scriptures to support the gap theories. On both sides of the debate, scholars can present their findings behind the Hebrew yom.

3. When I come to the Christian Scriptures, still I come up empty on the gap theories.

4. Can it be that all these gap theories is a case of unbelief and that we finding ourselves disbelieving what God can actually do?

 

For those that use the GAP theory as a segueway into introducing "Evolution" I reject that immediately and possibly that is an issue of faith but I wouldn't be so reckless to throw that suggestion, even with all of them.

But for those exemplary men of faith and sound orthodoxy, men of credit, I would avoid the self-aggrandizing temptation to characterize their belief of the GAP doctrine as a matter of lacking faith.

There of course is a great deal of weight material to support both schools and neither need accuse the other of lacking faith. Those with the capacity for doctrinal conclusions and gleaning from the structural sketches and glimpses of Angelic history and eternity past provided in Scripture, the GAP doctrine is quite consistent with advanced doctrine and categorical conclusions.

 

1. I'm willing to take back my lack of faith assertions, for even B.B. Warfield had similar views.

2. "Adanced doctrine and categorical conclusions" do not have to lead inevitably to the embracing of any form of gap theory.

3. The world of angels is speculative at best apart from the data in Scripture. You should hear Benny Hinn on the world of angels.

 

2. I agree they do not HAVE to lead to lead to that as an inevitable.

The doctrine of Angels is rather significant in Scripture, and I am not referring to the Benny Hinn school of theology which is based entirely on speculation.

 

1. I just thought I'd throw Benny Hinn in the mix of angels to bolster my speculation point.

2. My theology of angels this side of the cross is bound up in Heb 1:14, "Are they not all ministering spirits[ angels], sent out to serve those who will inherit salvation?"

3. Now how this verse plays out in my everyday life, I will never know.

 

TC,
Maybe you could give me your opinion on Creation. We all know that God created all that is, and in six days. Today I toured the Oklahoma Natural Museum of History while at training, and see dinosaur after dinosaur skeleton. How do you think these fossils fit in, for lack of a better way to ask?

 

1. I'll let the Hebrew writer state my view, "By faith By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible" (11:3, NET, emphasis added).

2. As a conservative, I believe the dinosaurs were created along with all the other living creatures of Gen.1:24-25.

3. And I believe that God in his providence allowed their species to die out.

 

1. Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Hugh Ross astrophysicist and apologist? He believes in the absolute authority and inerrancy of the Scripture.

2. He's a progression creationist, who believes in big band cosmology and that the earth is billion of years old.

3. He believes that God used the big band and fine tune it to make earth inhabitable for man.

 

I agree with that. How long ago do you think they died out? How old do you think the earth is?

These questions are to help my understanding. I am not promoting an agenda.

 

1. More and more I'm resorting to the teaching ministry of Jesus to help me understand Scripture and life.

2. With that in mind, when Jesus says that God created them male and female and joined them together, referring to Adam and Eve of course, I think he has the Genesis record in mind; therefore, I will have to go with the young earth view, about 6, 000 years.

3. In another place, Jesus recognizes the Hebrew canon and therefore, I think the Genesis record (Matt 23:35).

 

If the "Gap Theory" wasn't a "theory" then it wouldn't be called a "theory."

 

1. We can comb the biblical documents from now until eternity, speculation will be out bosom buddy. There's not much to work with.

2. But I'll venture to say, that from what sparse data we have, it must have been before this created world of ours.

 

But Isaiah only says what happened, but not when it happened, except to say that there was a casting to the earth.

 

The amazing thing about Scripture is that when man removes himself from the method of interpretation there is only one correct way to view Scripture and that is the way that God laid it out.

I say that because by simply using the "langauge" of Scripture either view can be supported and defended. But when we compare Scripture with Scripture and get the entire view of Scripture an unknown gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 is the only view that makes sense. This is where Lucifer fell with a 1/3 of the angels over this earth following him in his rebellion.

There's so much more that could be said on this topic, but I'll leave that to others for now .