Is the Earth 4.5 Billion Years Old?

There are some who still believe that the Earth is that old. We are not going to give any validity to the Theory of Evolution here because it takes more faith to believe evolution than to believe God created the universe. However, in the religious world, there is a theory called the “Gap Theory” and religious people say that there is “gap” between Gen 1.1 and Gen 1.2. They believe something happened and God had to recreate the earth. Basically, they believe in a pre-Adamic race that fell. Some have never studied it and just repeat what they have been told for years, but does the Bible support such ideas?

First, the Gap Theory is unscientific. It was a Christian attempt to reconcile the creation account with long periods of time that the Theory of Evolution was coming up with. But, evolution itself is just a theory and very unscientific, defying the Second Law of Thermodynamics which basically says that things get worse as they get older, not better. Secondly, it is unscriptural. The Gap Theory would describe Adam walking around on top of a giant, fossilized animal graveyard. Over 800 billion skeletons exist in the Karro formation in South Africa alone. However, Paul says in Rom 5.12 through 8.22 that man’s sin brought death into the world, even of animals. 1 Cor 15.21 also says the same thing. Third, it is unnecessary. The most natural interpretation of Gen 1.1-2 is taking it at face value. One of the rules of biblical interpretation is to take a verse literally unless the context tells you otherwise. Gen 1.1 becomes a summary statement of creation and the remaining verses tell us what God did and for how long.

Now, we are going to present some arguments in support of the gap theory, and some arguments to refute them. Some say, “Gen 1.2 says the earth was without form and void” and speaks of judgment. However, in other passages it simply means “space” (Job 26.7; Deut 32.10; Job 6.18, 12.24; Psa 107.40). Those for the gap theory will say, “The verb ‘was’ in Gen 1.2 should be translated as ‘became.’ ” However, the verb “hayeta” (“was” is found 264 times in the Tanak and 258 times it is translated “was.” The Hebrew verb of being for “became” is “haphek.” Then those who support the gap theory will say, “There is a difference between “bara” (created” in Gen 1.1) and “asah” (made) in Gen 1.7.” However, these words are used synonymously. In Gen 1.21 it says “God created (bara)” and “God made (asah)” in Gen 1.25. In Gen 1.26 it says, “Let us make man (asah)” and “So God created (bara)” in Gen 1.27. They will point out that “darkness” indicates judgment in Gen 1.2. However, darkness here is the absence of light and it is spoken of as “good” in Psa 104.20, 24. Lastly, some will say the Hebrew word “male” should be “replenish”, indicating that the world was once filled. However, the Hebrew word “male” almost always means “to fill” (Exo 40.34; 1 Kings 18.33; Psa 107.9).

Creation science and even secular science has confirmed over and over again that the Earth is much younger than what was once thought. The current erosion rate at Niagara Falls, the dust accumulated on the surface of the Moon, the development of languages and all the archeological finds have confirmed this. Even the genealogies of the Bible indicate an age less than 6000 years old. The Lord himself says he created the universe in six days (Exo 21.12-17). Also, the narrative in Genesis 1 disproves long periods of time. For example, how could God create the plants, trees and vegetation on the third day of creation and surviving for millions of years without the sun, which wasn’t created until the fourth day of creation. The answer is God did it in six, literal days and there is a reason why. Eschatologically it says in Psa 90.4 and 2 Pet 3.8-13 that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. This is Hebrew poetry, but it is alluding to something called the “Seven Thousand Year Plan of God”, and if you want more information on this concept, see our teaching called, “PIctures of the Seven Thousand Year Plan of God ” on this website. What it always comes down to is who are you going to believe.