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http://www.kjvbible.org/gap_theory.html2 Peter 3:5-7 is NOT a reference to Noah's flood. There are only two (2) places in the entire Bible where the Earth is flooded by water. One, of course, is at the time of Noah's flood (Genesis 7). The other is at Genesis 1:2 where it speaks about the condition of the Earth at the time just before God said, "Let there be light." Now, if 2 Peter 3:5-7 is not a cross-reference to Noah's flood, then it MUST be a cross-reference to Genesis 1:2 (there is no other alternative - simple logic). And if 2 Peter 3:5-7 is a cross-reference to Genesis 1:2, then the Holy Spirit is calling your attention to something very significant that millions of 'Young Earth' Creationists are blindly overlooking. Specifically, that a glorious ancient world that God created in the distant past (Genesis 1:1), had long since been utterly destroyed, plunged into deep darkness, and overflowed by a raging flood of great waters on a universal scale at the time of Genesis 1:2. The seven-days of Genesis, which follow, chronicle God's methodology of restoring the heavens and Earth and repopulating the world with living creatures, including modern man. There is a time gap between the first two verses of the Bible. It is a time gap that is obscurely declared, but not greatly detailed in the book of Genesis. It is the very first 'mystery' found in the Bible. Knowing that there is a time gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, and WHY there is a time gap, will open more perfect understanding of what the Creation narrative is actually saying, and begins to cut a clear path through the confusion of conflicting theories and interpretations that have occupied the Creation/Science debate.More on that shortly but, for now, it is very important that we first show you the Biblical clues that tell us why 2 Peter 3:5-7 is not a reference to Noah's flood.Clue #1: Compare the phrase "the heavens and earth, which are now" to the phrase the "heavens were of old":What does that mean? Ask yourself this question: When Noah's flood happened did it change anything in the upper heavens? Would a flood on the Earth have any effect on the sun, moon, or stars? The obvious answer is NO. The heavens of Noah's days were the same heavens as in Adam's day; same sun, same moon, same stars. FACT: Noah's flood had no effect on the upper heavens. All of Noah's flood's effects were confined to the Earth's surface and atmosphere. And although the Bible speaks about the "windows of heaven" being opened and water coming down (Genesis 7:11), the context of that reference is the "first" heaven of the Earth's atmosphere. That is where rain comes from. (Keep in mind: The Bible says there are three (3) heavens. See 2 Corinthians 12:2). This explained in great detail later.Again, note the contrasting comparison between the phrases the "heavens were of old" (before the waters of 2 Peter 3:5-7) and the "heavens and earth which are now" (after the waters of 2 Peter 3:5-7). If Noah's flood did not alter the upper heavens, then this verse must be speaking about an event other than Noah's flood. And Genesis 1:2 is our only other Biblical candidate.Clue #2: Notice also in the passage that the earth is said to be "standing out" of the water and "in" the water. In our English language these terms suggest that these particular waters were not confined to the surface of the planet. The Bible says that part of the planet was "standing out" from these waters (that is, the sphere of the planet was partially "overflowed") and the location of the bulk of the waters was external to the Earth itself. The Bible says the planet was "in the water" of this particular flood (think of a round fishing floater bobbing in a flowing stream). In other words, part of the Earth is protruding from the waters and not simply just covered by waters on the surface. The literal English wording of this passage does not describe a flood event confined to the Earth's surface. This passage describes a deluge that raged across the solar system, and beyond (our solar system and outer space are the "second" heaven of the three heavens).Try to draw this mental picture: Think of a dark and ruined solar system with water strewn throughout it like one big messy galactic spill. That is what Genesis 1:2 is speaking about. And imagine the planet Earth drifting awash in this roaring and rolling formless mess. Where would those waters have come from? Well, it is an established scientific observation that dying stars create and give off lots of water (You will find the references to that fact elsewhere in this study). Certainly there must have been lots and lots of stars in the heavens that were "of old" and, if the cosmos had gone dark and the stars died, then there would be excessive water everywhere throughout space. And if that was, indeed, the case, then all those extinguished stars would needed to be reignited to be seen in the present heavens. That is exactly what was done on the 4th day.But, before any reconstruction of the heavens and Earth could begin, God had to do something with all that water scattered across space (Genesis 1:2). That is why the Bible says the waters were divided (Genesis 1:6-7). It was the first order of business after the Lord God turned on the work lights (Genesis 1:3) and began to clear up the mess:"And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so."(Genesis 1:7 KJV)The bottom line interpretation of the Genesis narrative is this: Those seven days of Genesis are not a description of the original creation of all things (Genesis 1:1) but a Divine special regeneration of the cosmos from what was here before the present world of Man. In other words, there are two creation events in Genesis. The first is described in a one-sentence statement at Genesis 1:1 and the second was accomplished in 7 days and very detailed, beginning at Genesis 1:3. This is why the Bible at Genesis 2:4 says:"These are the generations [plural] of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,"(Genesis 2:4 KJV)Again, the Creation account contains the story of two creative events. Only the latter event, the seven days, is outlined in great detail. The first one requires study and searching out and, most importantly, requires FAITH in the infallibility of God's written Word. This Ruin-Reconstruction interpretation of Genesis (better known as the "Gap Theory") was the bread and butter Creation doctrine of the Fundamentalist movement in the early part of the 20th century. The interpretation has mainly been credited to the Scottish theologian, Thomas Chalmers, who began to preach it back in the early 19th century. However there is documented evidence that there were theologians who also held this view long before Chalmers' days. Contrary to Young Earth Creationist allegations, Chalmers did not invent the Gap Theory as a compromise of the Word of God to accommodate science. That gap has always been in the Scriptures since the day Moses penned the book of Genesis. However, only in post New Testament times, and only after man's knowledge about Earth's natural history increased greatly, has the Spirit opened people's eyes to its existence. And only by rightly-dividing, and gaining true knowledge through the Lord Jesus Christ, can the reader start to comprehend the doctrinal significance.For more on this
http://www.kjvbible.org/gap_theory.html
Which reminds me that also Jeremiah 4:22-27 also fits the fact that there are three world ages and the planet is indeed millions of years old.