Bible Study About Creation: Exploring Gap Theory, Day-Age, and Six-Day Creation

Today, we’re studying the opening chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1–2) and examining three major creation theories that believers have proposed over the years. We’ll look at the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and the classic Six-Day Literal Creation view.

Along the way, we’ll stick with the majestic language of the King James Version (KJV) as our base text, since many of these ideas arose from studying those very verses.

We’ll also explore how the New Testament echoes Genesis, revealing Christ and God’s plan in creation.

(As we go, remember that all these views share a love for God’s Word. We’ll discuss how each theory lines up with Scripture – or doesn’t – but we’ll do so with respect. Our goal isn’t to spark debate, but to deepen our understanding of God’s creation and how the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, tells one unified story.)

The Gap Theory: A World Before Genesis 1:2?

One intriguing idea some Christians hold is the Gap Theory – the notion that there’s a lengthy time gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.

According to this view, Genesis 1:1 describes an original creation of heaven and earth in the distant past, which was initially perfect.

Something then went terribly wrong, so that by the time we read Genesis 1:2, “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Gap Theory proponents suggest the earth “became” without form and void, implying a catastrophic ruin occurred before God began the familiar six days of creation​.

Here are the key ideas behind the Gap Theory and how it relates to Genesis:

A Prior Creation and Catastrophe:

In the beginning, God created a beautiful, inhabited world (Genesis 1:1).

But possibly due to the rebellion of Lucifer (Satan) and a resultant divine judgment, that world fell into chaos and emptiness.

By Genesis 1:2, the once-lively earth is desolate, covered in water and darkness.

Supporters link this gap to scriptures like Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 (which describe the fall of a proud angelic figure) and even 2 Peter 3:5–6, which speaks of “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, [that] perished” – they argue this refers to a pre-Adamic flood, not Noah’s flood​.

“And the earth was without form…” or “became”?:

The Hebrew word for “was” in Genesis 1:2 can sometimes be translated “became.”

Gap theorists read it as “the earth became without form, and void.” Likewise, the conjunction at the start of 1:2 can be read as “but.”

So, they’d paraphrase Genesis 1:1-2 like: “God created the heaven and the earth perfectly in the beginning, but the earth became formless and empty.”

This suggests a contrast between an initial perfect creation and a subsequent ruined state​.

Lucifer’s Flood and Re-Creation:

Many who hold this view posit that when Satan fell, God judged that pre-world with a cataclysm – sometimes called the “Luciferian Flood” – leaving Earth in darkness and deep water​.

After an unknown length of time (possibly millions of years in this gap), God “remade” or restored the earth in six literal days as described from Genesis 1:3 onward​. In other words, the six days of creation were actually a re-creation of a world that had been destroyed.

Fossils and Geology:

This theory conveniently allows for an old earth with ancient fossils. All those extinct dinosaurs and long eons in the geological record? Gap theorists would say those belong to the earlier world that perished.

Since God started fresh in Genesis 1:3, the plants and animals of our current world (including Adam and Eve) are new creations, unrelated genetically to whatever came before.

This attempts to solve the scientific puzzles of earth’s age and fossils while still affirming six literal 24-hour days for the recent creation of life as we know it.

KJV Clues – “Replenish the earth”:

Readers of the KJV sometimes pointed to Genesis 1:28, where God tells the first man and woman, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth...”. Doesn’t “replenish” sound like refill?

Indeed, some early gap proponents took it as a hint that the earth had been filled by others before Adam​.

However, it’s worth noting that in 1611 the English word “replenish” simply meant “fill completely”​. (The KJV translators weren’t implying a refill; later translations say “fill the earth.”)

So this word alone isn’t proof of a prior creation, but it’s an interesting footnote in Gap Theory discussions.

Alignment with Genesis:

Does the Gap Theory fit with the Genesis text? In one sense, yes, because it doesn’t ask us to reinterpret the six days of creation – those are still normal days in this view, describing God’s work to fashion the world we live in.

The gap is proposed in the white space between verse 1 and 2. So Genesis 1:1 would be the first creation, Genesis 1:2 a result of judgment (not explicitly described, but inferred), and Genesis 1:3-31 the second creation week.

Nothing in Genesis outright denies a gap, but importantly, nothing clearly mentions one either. It’s an argument from silence and hints.

Biblical Difficulties:

The Gap Theory is an earnest attempt to reconcile Scripture with scientific observations, but it has its critics.

One big theological concern: death before sin. If animals (and possibly pre-Adamic beings) lived and died in the gap, that means death existed before Adam’s fall.

However, the Bible teaches that death entered the world through sin (Romans 5:12).

Gap theorists might respond that Romans is talking specifically about human death through sin, but the issue gives some Christians pause.

Additionally, the New Testament’s silence on any pre-Adamic world (and its tendency to link all creation to the events of the six days) makes the gap idea feel a bit speculative.

For example, Jesus in Mark 10:6 said, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female,” implying humans were there from creation’s start, not after a long gap. Gap proponents interpret “beginning” differently, but you see the challenge.

In summary, the Gap Theory tries to honor the literal days of the creation week and the scientific evidence of an ancient earth by inserting a backstory before Genesis 1:2.

It’s a fascinating theory that shows how mysterious one little verse (Genesis 1:2) can be!

Whether or not one finds it convincing, it reminds us that “the secret things belong unto the LORD our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29) – there may be more to the story than we initially realize.

The Day-Age Theory: Days That Last for Ages

Next up is the Day-Age Theory – another approach that attempts to bridge the Bible and science, but in a different way. Instead of inserting a gap in the timeline, this view stretches the timeline itself.

The idea is that each “day” of creation in Genesis 1 was not a literal 24-hour day, but rather an extended period of time (perhaps thousands or millions of years long).

So the six days of creation correspond roughly to six epochs or phases in the development of the universe and life on earth​.

Let’s break down the Day-Age perspective and see how it aligns or differs from the Genesis account:

“Day” Doesn’t Always Mean 24 Hours:

Advocates of Day-Age interpretation point out that the Hebrew word “yôm” (day) can have a broad meaning. While it often does mean a normal day, it can also refer to an indeterminate period.

For example, Genesis 2:4 in the KJV says, “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.”

Here “day” refers to the entire creation period, not a single 24-hour day. Another example is in Genesis 2:17, where God warns Adam that “in the day that thou eatest [the forbidden fruit] thou shalt surely die.”

Adam did die spiritually that very day, but physically he lived on for centuries. In other words, “in the day” can imply “when” or “at the time”, not strictly a literal day.

Day-Age theorists also note phrases like “the day of the Lord” elsewhere in Scripture, which obviously mean a period of judgment, not a single sunset-to-sunset​.

Each Creation “Day” = a Geologic/Creative Era:

With this flexibility in mind, the six days in Genesis might be seen as six vast stages of God’s creative work. For instance:

• Day 1 – “Let there be light” could represent the initial burst of light and the formation of the early universe (like the cosmic beginning, often equated with the Big Bang, but guided by God’s command).

• Day 2 – Separation of waters and sky might correspond to the formation of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans in early earth history.

• Day 3 – Gathering of land and creation of plant life could reflect the cooling of earth’s crust into continents and the appearance of early plant forms.

• Day 4 – The sun, moon, and stars are set in place (perhaps describing the sky clearing so they become visible, or a poetic way to mark the establishment of seasons and years as the earth’s rotation and orbit stabilize).

• Day 5 – Creation of sea creatures and birds might align with the age when marine life and flying creatures (pterosaurs/birds) proliferated.

• Day 6 – Creation of land animals and finally humans would correspond to the more recent era of large mammals and the emergence of mankind made in God’s image.

The details of matching Genesis to the scientific timeline can get complex (and not all Day-Age proponents agree on the correlations), but the main point is they see the sequence in Genesis as broadly accurate while allowing that each “day” was much longer than a literal day.

It’s an attempt at harmonization, saying essentially: “God’s two ‘books’ – Scripture and nature – ultimately agree. Maybe we’ve misinterpreted the length of the creation week, so let’s consider that these days could be figurative for long epochs.”*

Scriptural Rationale:

Aside from the use of yôm in Scripture, Day-Age supporters often cite 2 Peter 3:8, which says, “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

This verse isn’t directly about creation, but it does remind us that God’s perspective on time is not like ours – He’s outside of time, and a day to Him could indeed be like a vast age to us.

They also point to the fact that the sun isn’t created until Day 4 in Genesis. So, for the first three “days,” the cycle of evening and morning might not correspond to the sun rising and setting as we know it.

If those early “days” weren’t governed by the sun, could they not have been longer periods? It’s a fair question to ponder.

Challenges with Genesis Details:

Critics of the Day-Age view respond that the Genesis account reads most naturally as ordinary days – each day is numbered (first day, second day, etc.) and bounded by “evening and morning,” which strongly implies a normal solar day in Hebrew usage​.

If Moses meant to describe long ages, he had vocabulary to do so, but instead he chose the common word for day and reinforced it with a rhythmic structure (“and the evening and the morning were the Xth day”).

Also, Exodus 20:11 is often brought up: in the Ten Commandments, God himself wrote, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.”

This is given as the reason Israel should honor a seven-day week with a Sabbath. That text loses its straightforward logic if the creation “days” were actually interminably long eras – it would be odd for God to tell humans to work six days and rest one day because He worked six aeons and rested one aeon!

Death Before the Fall?

Another theological sticking point is the problem of death. If each creation day lasted millions of years, and if animals (and early humans, depending on one’s stance) were living through those ages, then they were presumably dying long before Adam and Eve sinned.

The fossil record shows predation, disease (even tumors in dinosaur bones), and extinction.

How do we square that with the Bible’s teaching that originally “God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” (Gen 1:31)?

Day-Age proponents might answer that animal death isn’t morally “evil” in the biblical sense and that Romans 5:12 (“By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin”) is specifically about human death through sin, not about whether animals could die.

Opponents find that distinction forced – they feel all death, human or animal, is an enemy and part of the curse that came through sin (citing passages like Romans 8:20-22, which says creation was subjected to vanity and “the whole creation groaneth,” awaiting redemption).

This debate can get quite passionate! It basically boils down to how comprehensive one thinks the effects of the Fall were.

Critics of Day-Age see a long history of death before sin as undermining the gospel narrative, where Christ conquers the death that began with Adam​.

Faith and Science in Dialogue:

Those who favor the Day-Age theory are usually trying to resolve apparent conflicts between the Bible’s account and modern science’s findings.

They are often firm believers in God’s Word and in His role as Creator, but they also find the scientific evidence for an old universe (13.8 billion years, an Earth ~4.5 billion years, etc.) to be compelling.

This view gained popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries as geology and astronomy advanced. Importantly, Day-Age creationists do not accept atheistic evolution.

They aren’t saying life randomly evolved without God – rather, God actively created new forms of life over progressive stages. One might call this “progressive creation.”

In this view, Adam and Eve are still specially created by God, not the product of animal evolution. So it retains a lot of the supernatural creation elements, just spread out over time.

Harmonizing, Not Undermining:

Sincere Christians can be found on both sides of this theory. Proponents argue they are not undermining Genesis but properly interpreting it – reading God’s “two books” together (the book of Scripture and the “book” of nature).

They point to how interpretation has shifted on other scriptures when evidence demanded it (for example, verses about the earth’s motion were once misread to oppose Galileo’s findings). They caution against a rigid reading that might actually misrepresent what God intended to say.

Opponents, however, worry that once we start reinterpreting the days as long ages primarily to fit scientific consensus, we might set a precedent of “bending” Scripture to fit human ideas.

They fear a slippery slope: if the days aren’t literal because of science, what about the Resurrection or miracles if some future science challenges those?

As you can see, the Day-Age theory tries to take Genesis and expand our timeline while maintaining that Genesis 1 is still a chronological account of God’s creative acts.

It asks us to think of the creation week more like a poetic framework for long epochs. Some Christians find this compelling; others are unconvinced. It’s a classic example of faithful people wrestling with how best to understand God’s Word.

If you’re wondering, “Well, what do I make of it?” – that’s okay! We don’t all have to be expert geologists or Hebrew scholars.

The key takeaway for any believer is to remember why Genesis was written: not to give us a science textbook, but to reveal who God is and who we are in relation to Him.

However long He took, God is still the sovereign Creator in this view, and humanity is still His special creation, bearing His image. Those truths stand firm.

Six-Day Literal Creation: Reading Genesis Straightforwardly

Finally, we come to the most straightforward understanding: the idea that God created everything in six literal, consecutive 24-hour days, just as the Genesis text appears to say.

This is often called the literal creation view or Young Earth Creationism (YEC), since a byproduct of this interpretation is that the earth would be relatively “young” – on the order of thousands of years old, not billions.

This view is probably the most intuitively obvious reading for anyone who picks up Genesis 1–2 without other influences. It also has a long history among Jewish and Christian interpreters.

Here’s how the Six-Day Literal view aligns with Genesis (and where it stakes its claim against the other theories):

“Evening and Morning” – a Normal Day:

Genesis 1 repeats a pattern for each of the six days: “And the evening and the morning were the first day... second day,” etc.

In ordinary language (and throughout the Old Testament), when we see evening + morning + a numbered day, it signifies a literal day. There’s virtually no place in Scripture where a day with a number (1st, 2nd, 3rd…) means anything other than a regular day.

Those who hold this view point out that if God wanted to communicate long ages or indefinite periods, He certainly could have done so.

Instead, He chose a very specific, concrete way to describe each day of creation – reinforcing the “day” with the cycle of evening to morning​. So, a literal creationist will say: “I’m going to take God at His word here – a day means a day.”

The Plain Reading of the Text:

The narrative in Genesis 1 reads like a historical account, not poetry or allegory. It has a clear structure: “And God said… and it was so… and God saw that it was good… and the evening and morning…”

This doesn’t have the markers of Hebrew poetry (like parallelisms) nor an obvious signal that it’s metaphorical. Therefore, the default assumption is to treat it as straightforward history.

Genesis 2 then zooms in on the sixth day to give details about Adam and Eve – again presented as real people in a real place (the Garden of Eden) with real events (talking, naming animals, etc.).

There’s nothing in the text that screams “this is just symbolic!” So, a literal creationist sticks with the most direct interpretation unless there’s a strong reason not to.

A Young Earth (by Biblical Chronology):

If those days are literal and sequential, one can add up the genealogies and time spans given in the Bible to estimate when creation happened. For example, Genesis 5 and 11 list ages from Adam to Abraham.

While there are some gaps and debates on ancient dating, a common calculation (by Bishop James Ussher in the 17th century) put creation around 4004 B.C.

Many who take Genesis literally would date creation to roughly 6,000–10,000 years ago. This stands in stark contrast to mainstream science, of course.

But young-earth proponents will often question the assumptions behind methods like radiometric dating or point to historical problems in secular timelines.

They propose alternative interpretations of scientific data (e.g., believing most fossils and geological strata came from Noah’s Flood, not eons of deep time).

The specifics get very technical, but the bottom line is that a literal Genesis reading usually goes hand-in-hand with rejecting the idea of millions of years.

No Death Before the Fall:

A huge theological advantage seen in the literal view is that it cleanly upholds a world with no animal or human death (and no bloodshed, disease, suffering) until after Adam and Eve sinned.

In this view, all creatures were originally vegetarian (as Genesis 1:29-30 suggests, God gave plants for food). The first death in creation was when God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve (implying an animal was slain to cover their shame, a foreshadow of sacrificial atonement).

This aligns perfectly with passages like Romans 5:12 (sin brought death) and 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

The literal creation model keeps that linkage clear: death is an intruder into creation, defeated ultimately by Christ. If you accept the Gap or Day-Age ideas, you have to explain what you do with death before sin – and that can get complicated.

The six-day view neatly avoids that issue by asserting no prehistoric death at all. Every fossil is either from after the Fall or more likely from the Flood in Noah’s day.

In the literal framework, all the “very good” that God pronounced on Day 6 means truly, thoroughly good – a pristine world without any decay.

Confirmation from Jesus and the Apostles:

Literal creationists love to point out how Jesus and the New Testament writers treated Genesis.

For example, when discussing marriage, Jesus quoted Genesis 1 and 2, saying “From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6) and “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and cleave to his wife… and they twain shall be one flesh” (quoting Gen 2:24).

Jesus wasn’t giving a science lecture, but His statement assumes Adam and Eve were right there at “the beginning” – not after billions of years of history.

Also, Hebrews 4:4 refers to the seventh day of creation as the day when God rested, tying it into the concept of the Sabbath rest. It treats it as a real day.

Another one: Exodus 20:11’s reference to six days (mentioned earlier) shows that God Himself etched in stone that He made everything in six days.

Those who take Scripture’s authority seriously find it hard to argue that God would reference the creation week as a basis for our week if it were not actually a week.

Harmony of Scripture:

From Genesis to Revelation, a young-earth creationist sees a seamless story. The genealogies connect Adam to Jesus – for instance, Luke 3 traces Jesus’s lineage all the way back to “Adam, which was the son of God.”

There’s a direct link from the first Adam to the last Adam (Christ), reinforcing that Genesis is history that undergirds Gospel truth​.

All the major doctrines (sin, redemption, marriage, the value of life, the origin of evil, etc.) are rooted in those opening chapters of Genesis. For many, this holistic coherence is a strong confirmation that the literal view is correct.

If we start allegorizing or stretching Genesis, do we risk loosening that cohesive thread? That concern makes people cautious about non-literal interpretations.

Showcasing God’s Power:

Another point often made is that a six-day creation highlights the awesome power of God in a unique way.

Certainly, God could have used long processes or gaps if He wanted – but the fact that Genesis presents Him speaking things into existence instantly (“Let there be… and there was”) shows His unlimited power and authority.

Psalm 33:6,9 echoes this: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made… For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

A literal creationist reads that and goes, “Amen! That’s exactly what happened in Genesis 1!” There is a sense of wonder and worship that comes from picturing God painting the cosmos in six strokes of His brush, so to speak.

It’s quick, decisive, and entirely supernatural. This view leaves no room for naturalistic processes – it’s all miraculous, all God’s direct action. For believers who hold it, it profoundly displays God’s glory.

Now, it’s only fair to mention that not all Christians agree even on this seemingly plain reading.

Some church fathers (like Augustine) speculated that maybe God created everything in an instant and the six days are a literary framework (Augustine’s view was sort of the opposite of Day-Age – he thought the days might not be literal because God could have created faster!).

But by and large, a literal six-day creation has been the majority view throughout Jewish and Christian history until modern science began proposing long ages.

Literalists vs. Others:

In today’s landscape, literal six-day creationists often actively engage in apologetics, trying to show that science can fit a young earth model (with things like Flood geology, creationist cosmologies, etc.).

They are sometimes criticized by other Christians for being “science-deniers” or overly rigid. On the flip side, they sometimes accuse old-earth believers of compromising Scripture.

Here’s the important part for our study: We don’t need to get into those quarrels here. It is entirely possible to hold a six-day view and still respect and love brothers and sisters who think differently on the age of the earth.

What we all agree on is far more important: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen 1:1). We are not cosmic accidents; we’re the handiwork of a loving God.

The six-day creation view has a beautiful simplicity – you read the text, accept it at face value, and praise the Creator for His work.

When we read Genesis 1 and 2 in the warm, poetic cadence of the KJV, it’s easy to feel like a child listening to their Father tell the story of how the world came to be – direct, clear, and filled with purpose.

And indeed, Jesus said we ought to receive God’s kingdom like little children. There’s a childlike faith in believing exactly what God says.

For many, that is the ultimate reason they hold to a literal six-day creation: not primarily to win scientific arguments, but to express trust in God’s Word above all.

Creation and the New Testament: Echoes of Genesis in the Gospel

Now, no matter which view of Genesis 1–2 we lean toward, one thing is wonderfully true for all of us: the rest of the Bible continuously reaffirms and builds upon the creation account.

The New Testament in particular is full of allusions back to Genesis. It sees the creation story not as a disconnected origin myth, but as the foundation for understanding Christ’s mission and our salvation.

Let’s explore a few of these powerful connections between Creation and the New Testament:

The Word at the Beginning:

The Apostle John intentionally opens his Gospel with the same words as Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning...” Why? He’s making a profound point about Jesus. John 1:1-3 (KJV) says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”

This “Word” (Greek Logos) is Jesus Christ. John is revealing that Jesus was present and active in the creation of the world!​.

Genesis 1 tells us “God said… and there was”; John tells us Jesus is that very Word through whom God spoke everything into existence. How awesome is that?

It means Jesus is not just a character who shows up halfway through the story – He was there from the first verse of the Bible​!

When Genesis 1:3 declares, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light,” we can understand that Christ, as the divine Word, was the agent of that creation.

The New Testament leaves no doubt: “For by Him (Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth... all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16, speaking of Jesus)​.

This elevates our view of Jesus – He’s not merely a carpenter from Nazareth; He is Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Creator clothed in human flesh.

John also ties Jesus to creation by calling Him the Light: “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness” (John 1:4-5).

That imagery harks back to Genesis 1 when God’s light pierced the darkness. It’s as if the dawn of creation foreshadowed the spiritual Light Jesus brings to a fallen world.

Adam as a “Type” of Christ:

The Apostle Paul, in his letters, frequently reaches back to Adam and Eve to explain what Jesus accomplished. In Romans 5:12-19, Paul contrasts Adam and Christ.

He says in effect, “Look, through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all humanity... Likewise, through one man (Jesus Christ) comes the free gift that leads to justification and life for all who receive it.”

He even explicitly calls Adam “the figure of Him that was to come” (Rom 5:14), using the language of typology – Adam was a pattern or foreshadow of Jesus.

How so? Adam was the head of the human race; his actions had consequences for everyone under him (we all inherit a sin nature and a fallen world because of him).

Jesus came as a new head of humanity; His righteous life and sacrificial death have consequences (positive ones!) for all who are in Him (we can inherit righteousness and eternal life because of Christ).

Paul refines this further in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22,45. He writes, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive… The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

Here Jesus is actually called the “last Adam.” He is the start of a new humanity, a new creation. This comparison only makes sense if Adam was a real historical person through whom death came.

Paul clearly treats the Genesis account as historical fact – the entire logic of the gospel for him hinges on it. That’s why, whatever creation view we hold, we must affirm Adam as real and the origin of sin/death, or else the work of Christ is built on a fictional parallel.

Thankfully, Gap, Day-Age, and Six-Day creationists alike all affirm Adam’s existence (they just place him at different points in earth history).

So the typology stands: Adam is a “type” (a prophetic model) of Christ. The Fall in Genesis cries out for the Redemption in the Gospels.

• From the very beginning, God had a rescue plan in mind – the “seed of the woman” who would crush the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15, often seen as the first gospel hint).

Jesus is that promised offspring who defeated Satan at the cross. In short, no Genesis, no gospel – but praise God, He gave us both!

Creation’s Goodness and the Need for New Creation:

The New Testament writers often affirm the goodness of the original creation even as they acknowledge how sin has marred it.

• Paul, for instance, in 1 Timothy 4:4 says, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.”
• He’s combating an early ascetic heresy by reminding readers of Genesis: God made the material world “very good” (Gen 1:31).
• James 3:9 references humans being made “after the similitude of God” (in God’s likeness), recalling Genesis 1:27.
• The concept of Sabbath rest from Genesis 2 also finds a home in the New Testament. The author of Hebrews in Hebrews 4:3-11 speaks about God’s rest on the seventh day and ties it to the spiritual rest we have in Christ.
• Just as God finished His perfect creation and rested, Jesus finished the work of our redemption (“It is finished!” He cried) and now invites us into a spiritual rest – a new creation reality.
• Believers are even described as a “new creation” in Christ (2 Cor 5:17: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”).

This is creation language! It signifies that what God did in the beginning, He’s doing in us – bringing order from chaos, light from darkness, life from lifelessness, through the gospel.

Jesus, Lord of Creation:

The New Testament unabashedly declares Jesus as the Lord/Creator of all. We saw John 1 and Colossians 1 already.

There’s also Hebrews 1:2 which says God made the worlds “by” or “through” His Son, and Hebrews 1:3 that the Son “upholds all things by the word of His power.”

So Jesus is not a mere spectator of creation; He is the divine Word and Wisdom through whom creation came forth, and He is the sustainer of the universe even now.

This means when we read Genesis 1, we can think: Jesus was there. In fact, some theologians even see hints of the Trinity in Genesis 1: God (the Father) speaks (through the Word, the Son) and the Spirit of God “moved upon the face of the waters.”

The New Testament makes the Trinity in creation explicit. Why emphasize this? Because it shows continuity in God’s character and plan. The same God who created us is the one who saves us.

The world was made by and for Jesus​, and when we fell into sin, Jesus came into His own creation to redeem us. It’s a breathtaking continuum: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration – all under the hand of the same Lord.

Parallels Between Genesis and Revelation:

The first book and the last book of the Bible are in beautiful conversation. Consider:

Genesis 1–2 gives us the first creation; Revelation 21–22 promises a New Heaven and New Earth.

In the end, God doesn’t abandon His creation – He renews it. What began in Genesis finds its ultimate fulfillment in Revelation.

In Genesis, darkness is upon the deep until God brings light. In Revelation, we read “there shall be no night there” because God Himself gives light (Rev 22:5). The need for sun and moon is eliminated by God’s glory – a return to pure, unmarred light.

In Genesis, God separates waters and establishes earth; in Revelation, it says “there was no more sea” (Rev 21:1) – not necessarily literally no water at all, but the chaotic sea that often symbolizes danger or separation is gone; everything is stable and at peace.

Genesis introduces the Tree of Life in Eden, which humans were barred from after sinning. In Revelation 22:2, the Tree of Life reappears, accessible to all, bearing fruit every month for the healing of the nations. What a callback! It signifies full restoration – eternal life with God, just as He intended.

Genesis describes how God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden (in the cool of the day). In Revelation 21:3, a loud voice declares, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.” In the new creation, God forever dwells with us. The intimacy of Eden is regained, even surpassed.

And of course, Genesis shows the tragic entrance of sin and death; Revelation shows their ultimate defeat: “And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying… for the former things are passed away” (Rev 21:4). This is possible because of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who appears in Revelation as the one who was slain and yet lives, bringing everything full circle.

These parallels teach us that the Bible is one grand story. Creation is not some irrelevant preface – it’s the seedbed of all theology.

The New Testament writers knew this; it’s said that the NT contains at least 60 allusions to Genesis 1–11 alone (and over 100 to the book of Genesis as a whole)​.

Every New Testament author refers back to Genesis in some way​.

Jesus Himself in the Gospels references Genesis numerous times (about marriage, Abel’s murder, Noah’s Flood, Lot’s day, etc.), always as real history carrying moral and spiritual lessons for us.

Christ, the Beginning and the Ending:

In Revelation 22:13 Jesus says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – in our terms, He’s saying “I am A to Z.”

He is the Beginning, meaning He was there in the beginning (as Creator) and is Himself the source of all things. He is also the End, meaning the goal or consummation of all things – everything is heading towards Him, to honor Him.

Creation exists for Christ. Colossians 1:16 affirms this: “all things were created by Him and for Him”.

When we grasp that, we realize creation’s story and the salvation story are all about Jesus’s glory. He is the thread that ties Genesis to Revelation.

Typology – From the Garden to Calvary:

The NT also invites us to see “types” or foreshadows of Christ in the creation account beyond Adam himself.

One beautiful example: Adam was put into a deep sleep, and God opened his side, taking a rib to create Eve, his bride (Genesis 2:21-22).

On the Cross, Jesus, the last Adam, fell into the sleep of death, and his side was pierced. From that wound flowed blood and water – symbols of the sacraments (blood for atonement, water for cleansing/baptism) – through which Christ is even now forming His Bride, the Church.

Paul makes a profound connection in Ephesians 5:31-32. He quotes the Genesis 2:24 line about a man leaving his father and mother to be joined to his wife as “one flesh,” then says “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

In other words, the marriage of Adam and Eve was always pointing to the greater marriage of Christ and His people!

God had Jesus in mind from the start. When Adam saw Eve and exclaimed “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” it was a picture of Christ looking at His redeemed Church, united with Him.

Such patterns, woven throughout Scripture, give us goosebumps – it’s amazing to see the intentional design.

None of this would hold weight if Genesis were just a fairy tale; but because it’s true, the symbolism built on it is profoundly true as well.

We could go on (there are so many connections – Noah’s ark as a type of salvation in Christ, the “rest” of the 7th day foreshadowing the rest we have in grace, etc.), but these examples suffice to show that the New Testament constantly looks back to the creation account.

Far from treating it as an embarrassing ancient myth, the NT authors treat Genesis 1–2 as the God-breathed truth that undergirds everything. They see no conflict between Jesus and Genesis – in fact, they present Jesus as the Author of Genesis!

So whichever creation theory one finds most convincing, we should all be able to join in what the New Testament emphasizes: God made the world good, we messed it up with sin, and God sent His Son to redeem and ultimately restore all that was lost.

Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration – it’s one beautiful story of love and glory to God.

Conclusion: Trusting the Bible from Genesis to Revelation

Wow, we’ve covered a lot! From a mysterious gap of ages, to days that span millennia, to a vibrant six-day creation week – and then all the way to the New Testament and back to the beginning again.

If your head is spinning a little, that’s okay. Deep study of Scripture can feel overwhelming, but it’s also deeply rewarding.

Here are a few final encouragements to wrap up our study:

Hold Your Views with Humility:

Christians have grappled with these questions for centuries. It’s possible to love Jesus and believe in a young earth; it’s also possible to love Jesus and think the earth is old.

We shouldn’t doubt someone’s faith just because they interpret the “days” differently. All three views we discussed affirm that God is the Creator who made the heavens, earth, and life by His will and power.

That’s the non-negotiable truth we all share. By all means, study and come to your own conviction – but extend grace to those who differ.

Remember, “we see through a glass, darkly” in this age (1 Cor 13:12). One day in heaven, we can ask God exactly how He did it, and I suspect we’ll all be in awe (and probably all a bit wrong in our pet theories!).

Scripture is Always Trustworthy:

Each of these theories was born from a desire to reconcile what we observe with what we read in Scripture. Sometimes our interpretations differ, but the Bible itself remains absolutely trustworthy.

It has proven true and life-giving for generation after generation. We see its truth in prophecy, in historical consistency, and supremely in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

So if you ever feel confused about creation, don’t let that shake your confidence in God’s Word. Dig deeper, ask God for wisdom, but stand on the certainty that “the word of our God shall stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Genesis is not a throwaway part of the Bible – it’s the foundation. And as we saw, the New Testament authors stood firmly on that foundation​. We can too.

The Harmony of God’s Plan:

It’s incredible to see the harmony between the Old and New Testaments.

• The same God who in Genesis says, “Let there be light,” in the Gospels says, “I am the light of the world.”
• The God who breathed life into Adam is the Resurrection and the Life who breathed on His disciples and said “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”
• The drama that began in a perfect garden, was lost by sin, will end in an even more glorious city-garden where “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8) reigns.

This tells us that God is sovereign from beginning to end. History is His story. Despite the detours of evil and suffering, His plan has never been thwarted.

He declared the end from the beginning. When we study creation, we’re not just learning facts about how mountains or stars came to be – we’re gaining insight into God’s character and purposes.

He is powerful (to make everything from nothing), He is wise (the intricate order in creation reflects His mind), He is loving (making a world to host us, and walking with us in the cool of the day), and He is redemptive (not giving up on creation when we fell).

Worship the Creator:

Last but not least, our exploration of creation theories should ultimately lead us to worship.

However God chose to create, it was His miraculous handiwork. Stand in awe like the Psalmist who said, “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

Or as another psalm declares: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork” (Psalm 19:1).

In the busyness of analyzing Hebrew words or paleontology or timelines, let’s not miss the childlike wonder of Genesis 1:1 – God made everything. He made it on purpose and for a purpose.

And the apex of that purpose was to display His glory and share His love with us, culminating in sending Jesus to die for our sins and rise again as the firstborn of a new creation. Hallelujah!

In the end, creation is all about Jesus. “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36).

From the dawn of time in Genesis to the everlasting light of Revelation, our Lord is the Author and Finisher. We can trust Him with the mysteries.

We can discuss theories amicably, but more importantly, we can join together to adore our Creator and Redeemer. He’s the one who hung the stars and also hung on a cross for us. How worthy is He of our praise and our trust!

Thank you for sticking with this lengthy study. I hope it’s enriched your understanding and faith. Keep digging into Scripture like a treasure hunt – because in the pages of the Bible, from first to last, you will encounter the living God.

God bless you, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you as you seek Him in both the Old and New Testaments. “In the beginning, God…” – and in the glorious ending, God. To Him be the glory, now and forever. Amen.

Citations:

• answersingenesis.org (Answers in Genesis – summary of Gap Theory beliefs)
• answersingenesis.org (Answers in Genesis – Gap Theory scriptural supports like “replenish” and 2 Peter 3)
• gotquestions.org (GotQuestions – definition of Day-Age Theory as days = long periods to harmonize with science)
• gotquestions.org (GotQuestions – “yôm” can mean longer than 24h, e.g. Genesis 2:4 usage of “day” for whole creation period)
• biblehub.com (BibleHub Q&A – critique that long ages with death before sin conflicts with Romans 5:12)
• biblehub.com (BibleHub Q&A – “evening and morning” with numbered days implies literal 24-hour days in Genesis)
• biblehub.com (BibleHub Q&A – note on Genesis genealogies connecting Adam to Jesus, underscoring the historical link from creation to Christ)
• discovercreation.org (DiscoverCreation article quoting Creation.com – every NT author references Genesis, ~60 allusions to Gen 1–11 in NT)
• pursuegod.org (PursueGod study – “Jesus is present from the first verse of the Bible… Genesis 1:1-3, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-16”)