Was their 'life' of some kind of creation on earth before Adam and Eve? Genesis 1:28 Donna, Jack Van Impe explained what he referred to as the "Gap theory" once. I don't remember the details but there was life on earth before Adam and Eve and then angels slept with women and they ended up with the Nephilims? anyway, the seed was corrupted. It was demonic so God destroyed the earth. Therefore, the book of Genesis is not really the creation but re -creation: when God allowed everything to be in existence again. Some gap people believe satan used to dwell in Eden, the Garden of God, before Adam & Eve were created. And then when the rebellion happen satan was kicked out of heaven with 1/3 angels and they came crashing down on the earth and then God had to restore the earth again. They use Ezekiel 28:13-15 as reference ... Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. I believe in the "gap fact" and REcreation. I believe before Adam and Eve that God flooded the whole entire universe because of Satan. And that for a period of time the earth was floating in water like a fishing bobber "without form and void" It's interesting to note that God also told Noah and his 3 sons to be fruitful and multiply and REplenish the earth right after flooding it out in Gen 9 Nowadays there are a lot of good videos on YT teaching this. It might sound like a "do-over," but that isn't what the Hebrew word means. https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/what-does-replenish-the-earth-mean/ Check out different versions such as the NIV. You might get a different perspective. I have several translations and the only one to use the word "replenish" is the KJV. All others read "fill the earth and subdue it". Also, as David pointed out, the Hebrew does not suggest "re" (to do again) as we do in modern English. Since the "gap theory" is just that, a theory, and is not written as fact in the Bible, I would be hesitant to call such a thing factual. Many things are hidden from the human mind and it is easy to pull Scripture apart to support one theory or another, but it is not universally accepted as factual doctrine. When in doubt, go back to the original language and check it's meaning... some things can be lost in translation. I personally believe there was no gap of time, God spoke and "poof" everything came into be-ing. Yeah, I have pondered the gap theory. They use the reasoning that the earth is really old but they don’t take into consideration that God created mature trees and plant life for them to have fruit/berries ready for picking (ahem ... perhaps even Jelly Donuts hanging from the branches :whistle: ) and even Adam and Eve were mature, not young kids. I still believe in 6 days of creation. One of the chief difficulties with the "gap" theory is the Hebrew letter in Genesis which is translated as "and." In Hebrew, it is shaped like a hook; the purpose is to stitch together ideas which are connected. More so than with English, the idea is that these things cannot be separated by a "gap." So, "in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth AND..." There just isn't room for much time there. That's one issue. Another is that the gap theory demands the existence of death prior to the fall of Man. You would have to believe that for a very long time, nature was out of control and animals were devouring one another. https://answersingenesis.org/genesis/gap-theory/the-gap-theory-an-idea-with-holes/ https://www.icr.org/article/why-gap-theory-wont-work/ 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. I am not closed-minded toward different ideas; nevertheless, we need to consider the ramifications of those ideas and ask if they are compatible with what is revealed in the Word of God. I see some very deep contradictions between the gap theory and what we are told in Genesis.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and REPLENISH the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.esis 1:28 King James Version (KJV)
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
