How To Understand the Genesis Gap Bible Teaching

The "Genesis Gap" teaching is one that looks at scriptural evidence for a creation and for transpired events on earth that predate Adam (pre-adamic). It refers to a created world that occurred prior to that which was created for Adam; the present earth now occupied by mankind (remade/re-created). In regard to man being given dominion on the earth created at the time of Adam, the Bible says "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Gen 1:26)

1. While many Bible scholars have studied aspects of the Genesis Gap, they have not found specific details as to how long a pre-adamic creation may have been here or what types of creatures may have lived on the earth during that time. They have speculated, however, that it included the dinosaur age, and that Bible scriptures indicate that a dispensation of angelic beings had dominion here, similar to that granted to Adam after his creation.
2. The description of the earth in the first chapter of Genesis is one that indicates chaos and a world in need of being brought back into order. In Genesis 1:1, we see the first statement regarding the creation of earth for mankind and other living things. It says "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Heaven in this usage refers to the outer atmospheres.) It is a complete statement that does not specify when the beginning of creation occurred. The following verse 2 says "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." The word in this verse translated "was" from the original Hebrew is "hayah"  (haw-yaw) also meaning "to exist, be or become, come to pass". The second part of verse 1 also points to a large body of water covering the face of the earth. It states "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." This statement follows the first sentence in the verse calling the earth's surface "the face of the deep". Vast amounts of water would have an eroding effect on land, rather than a binding effect, indicating a flood of the same proportions described in Noah's day may have occurred just before re-creation of the present earth. When God later abates the water off the land, he uses permissive language saying, "...let the dry land appear." The presence of darkness also indicates that light may not have been allowed to shine on the flood-covered earth for a period of time. Light in Bible scripture is described as having already existed in Heaven (the place of God's Throne), previous to earth's creation and that God himself is light. This would point to the fact that God's bringing of light upon the dark earth was not the original creation of light itself. It was instead the bringing of light to the earth by permission - "let there be light" (Gen 1: 3).
3. The pre-adamic Earth may have been destroyed by a judgment from God against angels that rebelled. This aspect of the Genesis Gap is often included when the teaching is presented. It is a well known study that has been included in annotated scripture reference resources including the "Dake Study Bible" and the "Larkin Dispensational Chart". Some Bible scholars believe that an angelic dominion that included an archangel named "Lucifer" (also believed to be the fallen angel Satan) rebelled at one point against the authority of God their creator. This angelic dominion was then removed, resulting in angels being placed into places of punishment with all traces of their habitations on earth being destroyed. In the book of Jude verse 6 it states, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Other scriptures describe a powerful angel that was at one time cast down to the earth and afterward brought down into hell. Isaiah 14:12-15 says, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." A passage in Ezekiel 28: 14-17 says, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee." (Scriptures often addressed both earthly kings and the evil spirits influencing them - double reference.)
4. There is no mention in Genesis of the creation of hell or of a place of punishment for fallen angels. We know from the scripture quoted earlier in the book of Jude and others found throughout the Bible that both fallen angels and evil men are already residing or destined for these places of punishment. Many of these scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments refer to hell as being in the deep regions of the earth, heart of the earth and other words describing it as being below the earth's surface. The book of Revelation states that hell itself will eventually be placed into the "lake of fire", being a separate location. These facts are mentioned to point out that although these places exist, the creation of them is not mentioned in Genesis when Adam's earth was created. The account in fact states in Gen 1:31 that, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." All of these references point to the fact that angels fell and were punished and incarcerated for doing so, prior to the creation of Adam's world. Further indication of this is the fact that Satan was already in a fallen state when he tempted Adam in the Garden of Eden. There is no biblical record of angels falling to earth during this dispensation of mankind, references to the event only state that it did indeed occur and that God judged those angels who did so. The book of Genesis also states that God rested after Adam's world was created, and there are no mentions of him further creating things on or in the earth afterward.

The Genesis Gap teaching not only reveals an earth that may be extremely ancient but also gives some insight as to what the beings referred to as evil spirits are and where--what general time period they may have come from.