Many people are not aware that the Bible teaches that there is a gap between the creation of earth and the six days of creation. Even fewer realize that it is scripturally obvious that this period is not very long.
For the past half century, most people have either accepted or rejected “the gap” based primarily on whether they believe in an old age for the earth. What both sides seem to have forgotten is that the gap was traditionally accepted by Christian and Jewish Bible students alike for centuries. The idea of a gap did not originate in an effort to harmonize ‘science’ and the Bible, it was something that was believed because it was biblical. Here we will explore that biblical gap, and furthermore why it is short.
What is the gap? #
When many people hear the term gap, they immediately think of evolution and long ages. When I use that term here, I am talking about a space of time between earth’s creation and the six days of creation. It is not intended to imply what may have happened in that period. It is only meant to refer to such a period, regardless of length or events contained.
Before you start to protest that the gap has always implied everything encompassed in the Gap Theory (which we will speak of more in a moment), let me add that even gap opponents admit that there has been historically an interpretation of Genesis which puts an indefinite period of time between the creation of earth and the six days. The concept of the gap does predate the advent of Darwinism and the Gap Theory.
Traditional gap teachings are quite different from the modern Gap Theory to be sure, and this should come as no surprise. These older teachings had a foundation in scripture, while the Gap Theory does not. It is a poor attempt to fit evolution into the Bible, whereas previous teachings rightly started by interpreting what the scriptures actually say, not what they can be made (in some doubting minds) to allow for.
In short, do not assume that when I say “gap,” I am talking Old Earth. I am a “Young Earth” (or rather, Biblical) Creationist through and through, and I don’t believe in the modern secular creation myth of Evolution.
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