Rightly-Dividing Geology and the Book of Genesis Beyond
the "Gap Theory" of Christian Creationism
| "In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1 KJV) |
| ? |
| "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." (Genesis 1:2 KJV) |
Is there a time-gap between the first two verses of Genesis? On this website you will learn about a controversial, lesser known literal interpretation of the Genesis narrative that does not contradict the scientific evidence for an Old Earth. Commonly called the "Gap Theory" or Ruin-Reconstruction interpretation, it is based on the Scriptural fact that, in the second verse of Genesis, the Holy Bible simply and clearly states that the planet Earth was already here (but in a ruined state) before the creative process of the seven days even begins. Understanding this Biblical mystery begins with the precise wording of this New Testament cross-reference:
| "For this they willingly are
ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the
earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby
the world that then was, being overflowed with water,
perished:
But the heavens and the
earth,
which are now, by the same word are kept in
store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men." (2 Pet 3:5-7 KJV) |
Contrary to popular interpretation, the above passage is not a reference to Noah's flood (see Introduction Pages for specifics). And the only other place in the Bible where the Earth was covered in waters is Genesis 1:2. The ramifications are obvious: The literal wording suggests that the "heavens and the earth, which are now" (made during the seven days) was not the first-time creation of all things, as is traditionally assumed. The Word of God appears to be telling the reader there was a previous populated world on the face of this old Earth before God formed the present world of modern Man. This invalidates the Doctrine of Young Earth Creationism.The Bible itself provides insight into a great mystery in Earth's natural history, at what is known as the Pleistocene - Holocene boundary. Science remains at a loss to definitively explain the Ice Age and the anomaly of the mysterious mega fauna extinctions across the face of the Earth about 12,000 to 10,000 Radio Carbon years ago. Geologic evidence from that period indicates extraordinary global massive volcanism, gigantic tidal waves, seismic activity on a vast scale, and extreme climate swings on the Earth over a geologically brief period of time. It is no coincidence that the Bible at Genesis 1:2 describes the Earth as flooded, desolate, and in darkness in the timeframe closely corresponding to these catastrophic events in the Earth's natural history. Clearly, these two mysteries are linked.
Why the old "world that then was" ended, and why God made a new world and modern Man, requires a study into the ancient origins of Satan and the Angels. The Earth has an ancient natural history that can be deciphered from the geologic record, but it also has an equally important ancient spiritual history that can only be deciphered from Rightly-Dividing the Holy Bible. Knowledge of both is required to correctly reconcile Geology and the Book of Genesis. We pray you will find this material useful in your study of God's Holy Word.
These are the generations [
] of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
(Genesis 2:4 KJV)
Use these Interactive Study Tools found throughout the site: [Popup Blocking may need to be disabled for some of these tools to work properly].Strong's Hebrew and Greek word definitions are available on some key verses and will popup when you click these
types of graphics
Click the Red
Important Note: It is recommended that you bookmark this page now, as the material presented is quite extensive and may necessitate return visits to complete.Diamonds to access an on-line King James Bible for that verse. Click the Blue
Diamonds for a link to an off-site animation or graphic on a the specific geology topic being discussed in the text.
Click Image for selected KJV Bible Resources
| Page Topic and Link | Description of Topic Page |
|
Introduction: Beyond
The Gap Theory of Genesis and the Infallibility of your King James Bible |
Overview on the scriptural and doctrinal
issues and support for the Ruin-Reconstruction ("Gap Theory")
interpretation of Genesis, and why the literal wording of the King James Bible can be
fully trusted to
rightly-divide both the Biblical text and Geologic
evidence. |
|
The "Worlds" and the
"Earth" - The Biblical Time Line |
Continuation of introductory material.
Discussion of a graphical time-line of Earth's geologic history and
parallel spiritual history, as revealed by the Scriptures. The very important
specific, interpretive difference of word meanings in the English language Bible
text. |
|
Science
and Scripture;
Geology and Genesis |
The main
overview commentary page of the Christian
Geology Ministry website. Discourse on the problems with both Evolution
and Young Earth Creation models and contextual introductions to the
specific topics indexed below. |
|
The Major Creation
Models - Logical Faults and Strengths |
A side-by-side comparison of the major
proposed Creation Models outlining their descriptions, justifications,
logical faults, and strong points. |
|
Sedimentary Rocks,
Fossils Produced by Noah's Flood.... NOT! |
Discussion showing that Noah's flood,
although a real and global event, could not have possibly produced all
the sedimentary rocks and fossils in the earth. We also explain the
reason why no direct evidence of the great flood remained. |
|
Global Dust Spikes, Paleoclimate
Indicators, and Collapse of Civilizations All Correlate to Date of Noah's
Flood |
Paleoclimate indicators show changes in
global temperatures occur at intervals matching the literal Biblical
time line of events (i.e., destruction of the previous world, the
re-creation, Noah's flood, and the days of Peleg). Ice Sheet data
disprove all Young Earth Creationist catastrophic flood models of
mountain building, volcanic activity, and tectonic uplift during the
single year of Noah's flood. Data from the Mount Kilimanjaro and
Huascaran glaciers, along with sediments of Sea of Oman, reveal
evidence of post-flood drought and global weather pattern change. |
|
The "Fountains of the
Deep" of Noah's Flood |
The geophysics of Noah's flood. A
model of the Biblical "fountains of the deep," and the "windows of heaven" and the
geologic process that
could produce a global flood and leave behind little evidence. |
|
More on the 'Windows of Heaven'
of Noah's Flood |
A theory on why the life spans of antediluvian mankind were greater than that of modern man and the atmospheric considerations involved. |
|
The
Days of Peleg and
Historical Changes in Sea Level |
How the descendants of the three sons of Noah migrated to other parts of the world, the event of the "days of Peleg" 101 years after the great flood, and what part this played in the migration and isolation of the races and animals. Also discussed is evidence for sea level changes before and after Noah's flood. |
|
The
Relationship of
Flesh and Spirit; Physical Things vs. Spiritual Things |
Contrasts the physical and spiritual
realms of reality and Biblical doctrine. The relationship between flesh
and spirit. Explains the operation of God and the three-part nature of
man, what happens when you become saved, and how a born-again Christian
cannot loose his/her salvation or commit the unpardonable sin. |
|
The
Pre-Adamite World
and Ancient Origins of Satan, a.k.a. Lucifer |
Lucifer's initial purpose and office of
stewardship over the ancient, pristine, created world and the "sons of
God" (fallen Angels) which were the old world's first inhabitants. How
death initially came upon all creation by Lucifer's rebellion (fall of
the "Anointed Cherub"), which was the first sin before Adam and which
led to the destruction of the Pre-Adamite world. The fossils in the
earth's crust are testaments to the origin of death on the planet
before the world of Adam and his fall. |
|
The Firmament, Third
Heaven, and Structure of All Things Biblical |
An essay explaining the meaning of the
firmament, the Three Heavens structure of all things, and elaboration
on the "sea" which is above the universe and before the throne of God.
This is an extremely important concept for understanding the division
of the waters below and above the firmament in Genesis 1:7 and why
there was "no more sea" to be found in Revelation 21:1. Also,
demonstration of three (3) part structural recurring theme shown in
Noah's Ark, Moses' Tabernacle, and Solomon's Temple. |
| The 4th Day of Genesis- Paradox of the Sun and Stars | Young Earth Creationists claim that the Sun and Stars were first "created" on the 4th Day of Genesis, only about 6,000 years ago. In Gap Theory Old Earth Creationism we postulate that the Sun and Stars were ancient, perished about 12,000 years ago, and then were regenerated ("made") about 6,000 years ago. In either case, how we can gaze into the night sky and see the light from stars millions of light-years away? |
|
Observations of
Geologic Evidence for the Death of the Ancient World |
Death of the Ancient world, the evidence.
An outline of published works documenting evidence of a catastrophic
extinction episode in the late Pleistocene, and how it relates to the
flood and destruction of the old world (as found at Genesis 1:2) before
the seven days of regeneration in Genesis and the creation of true man. |
|
Life Forms Just Before
End of Ice Age and After Seven Days of Genesis |
Discussion of life forms on the earth in
the world prior to the seven days of Genesis and the type of life forms
placed on earth at the regeneration of Genesis 1:3-2:1. Also showing
that man was created unique and has no evolutionary or DNA links to
Pre-Adamite races of "humanoids" which inhabited the old world, the
spirits of which are possibly the "devils" of the Gospel accounts. |
|
The Sevens of the Bible
in Time and Nature |
Discourse on the law of sevens of the Holy
Bible. How the seven days of Genesis and the seven thousand years of
past and future human history are a harmony of Spiritual revelation.
Also examples of the pattern of sevens in nature. |
|
The Kingdom of Heaven
and the Kingdom of God; the Doctrinal Difference |
Explanation of why the "Kingdom of Heaven"
is a reference to a literal Kingdom on the earth, and how that term
differs in meaning from the "Kingdom of God" in proper context. The
future of Israel in prophecy is also outlined. |
|
Importance of the Exact
English Wording of the KJV Bible |
Why the King James Bible is still a trustworthy
translation today, and an authority for sound doctrine and rightly
dividing the words of truth in the English language. Testing the "Rule
of First Mention" of Bible interpretation against the Gap Theory of Genesis. |
|
Geology and Prophecy -
The Dead Sea Rift |
Faults and tectonic features of the Middle
East, sources of future great earthquakes to come, and volcanic
activity prophesied near Dead Sea area in Israel during the end times. |
| The Lost Rivers of the Garden of Eden | Although the modern-day geology and topography of the Middle-East does not readily reveal the exact location of the Garden of Eden and the four rivers, guidance by faith from the Holy Bible and a forensic study of the region's geology reveals the matter. |
|
The Book of Daniel is unsealing - Focus on the
Middle East and Prophecy! |
On
this page we move away from the geological and creation issues and turn our
attention of focus to the future of our present world and the great period of
tribulation that will soon descend upon this present world of fallen Mankind. What comes next? The specter of nuclear conflict
with Iran. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the "holy covenant" and the End
Times visions of Daniel. The keys to rightly-dividing the prophecies of
Revelations. |
|
A "Virtual Debate" With
"Dr. Dino" and Young Earth Creationism |
Side-by-Side and Point-by-Point Rebuttal
of Dr. Dino's (Kent Hovind) Critique of the "Gap Theory" of Genesis
Creationism. |
|
Featured Research Links |
1): Is There Really Scientific Evidence
for a Young Earth? 2): The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the
Tribulation 3): Without Form & Void: Genesis "gap" observations by
theologians before Thomas Chalmers 4):Radiometric Dating: A Christian
Perspective. 5): Perspectives on Science and Scripture: Doorway Papers
by Arthur Custance. 6): To Gap or Not to Gap - A study of Genesis 1:1-2
by David F. Reagan. 7): An informative
eight-part series of papers on the Gap Theory by Tom McElmurry. |
|
Geology News |
Selected News articles of interest from the Internet about Geology and Geophysics. Also links to latest Earthquake and Volcanic Activity reports and selected Geology links. Real-time, Worldwide Earthquake Listings for the past 7 days. |
All articles written by:
Gaines
R. Johnson
PSC 1280 Box 224
APO AE 09880-9998
|
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Disclaimer: External Links from this website are for instructional or promotional purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the Christian Geology Ministry.
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All original text © 1997 - 2008
Christian Geology Ministry
Materials from this site may be freely copied for personal use or church Bible studies.
They may not be reproduced for commercial use without the express written permission of this Ministry.
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