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According to the Gap Theory there was a large gap in time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Two aspects of the theory are:

  1. Rather than Genesis 1:1 being a summary for what follows, it is a distinct event in time, followed by another distinct event in time in Genesis 1:2ff.
  2. Satan is thought to have sinned and fallen during the gap, which God judged through a cataclysmic flood (often called Lucifer's flood) that left the world in the empty and void state we read in Genesis 1:2.

What other verses in the Bible support these two propositions?

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  • This is long and complicated. I'm going to try to edit it to make it more focused, but you should check it at the end to check it's still asking what you wanted to know.
    – curiousdannii
    Sep 13, 2014 at 22:32
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    @curiousdannii : I like your changes. One question. What does "Genesis 1:2ff" mean? Is the ff a typo?
    – user10620
    Sep 14, 2014 at 0:21
  • It means and following.
    – curiousdannii
    Sep 14, 2014 at 1:01
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    @Onlyheisgood The original question was definitely focused on the biblical basis for the Gap Theory. While user47368 did say that they welcomed answers against it as well, it is much better to restrict it to only the for side, as discussed in Meta.
    – curiousdannii
    Sep 14, 2014 at 2:05
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    @Onlyheisgood. Editing a question to be the opposite of what was requested was totally inappropriate. curiousdannii was right no limit the original scope to match our site guidelines and did so while preserving the main thrust of the question. If you want to preserve your answer content you need a different question...so ask a different question yourself.
    – Caleb
    Sep 14, 2014 at 5:37

2 Answers 2

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It is uncertain when Satan and the rebellious Angels rebelled against God or even how far the war had progressed before Satan and his Angels were ejected from Heaven.

According to Scriptures which is the basis for Pink's analogy.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

is simply a statement that God was the creator and:

Genesis 1:2 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.

is descriptive of his creation at that time.

Pink apparently deduced from:

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

and

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

That since Revelation says that he was cast into the Earth it had to be without form and void.

This would make more sense if as; some believe, that the Earth was created at the time of their being expelled from Heaven as a place of interment for Satan and his Angels. This also gives more meaning to the bottomless pit also spoken of in the Revelation.

As far as the gap theory goes it's basis in not between Genesis 1:1 and 2, but between verses 1 and 3, and some validity for this theory lies in:

Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and *the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The darkness referred to in verse 5 can only be eternity preceding the creation of light, since God starts that first day with darkness, with the light being the second part of day one. This also gives reason to debate the 24 hour day theory for the creation, since the 24 hour day is based on the cycle of sunlight and darkness which does not come into play until:

Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

This is of course depending upon whether or not Genesis chapter one is chronological, as you have stated in your question. The answer to that can only come from the numerology, that being that God divided his work of the Creation into days and broke it into successive numbers 1,2, and so on. The only logical reason for this is to delineate Chronology.

I can only give you the logic behind my answer to your question, you will have to determine for yourself what you choose to believe, since this is the most concrete evidence I know of and even that is subject to individual interpretation.

Hope this helps.

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Referring to your second point: There are teachings on Ezekiel 28:11-19 and Isaiah 14:12-15 that say that they are actually metaphors for the fall of satan and only on the first sight about the king of Tyree and Babylon, respectively, especially when reading them in parallel. Unfortunately, I don't have any sources for that in English.

Edit: excuse me if my answer is too unspecific or too unelaborated and that these passages might be too controversial, I just thought it might help. If it doesn't, feel free to downvote/delete the answer.

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  • Welcome to Christianity.SE, and thanks for taking the site tour. Thanks also for offering an answer. However, answers here must focus on the specific question asked, rather than speaking of related matters. This is a Q&A site rather than a discussion site. See: How we are different than other sites. Though your answer will likely be deleted, I do hope you'll stick around and browse some of the other questions and answers here. Feb 16, 2016 at 0:30
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    This could be a good answer, but this community is a bit of a stickler for through answers. This is just too short, though I see where your going with it. If you like writing and know the answer, more is usually better on this site.
    – user3961
    Feb 16, 2016 at 2:07

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