The gap theory addresses the apparent discrepancy between the biblical account of a 6,000-year history of mankind and the geologic and fossil records suggesting a world millions or billions of years old. It proposes that between the last word of Genesis 1:1 and the first word of Genesis 1:2, there exists a gap of unknowable time. This theory outlines four key points: first, in the beginning, the Eternal God created the entire physical universe out of nothing, as stated in Genesis 1:1. Second, God placed lucifer, later known as satan, on a throne as ruler of the earth, where he governed millions of angels for an indeterminate period. Third, after possibly millions or billions of years, lucifer rebelled, leading one-third of the angels in an insurgency, resulting in a catastrophic battle that left the earth in chaos, as described in the early part of Genesis 1:2. Fourth, God renewed the earth and created mankind approximately 6,000 years ago, as reflected in Psalm 104:30, where it is written that He sends forth His Spirit to create and renew the face of the earth. Further support for the gap theory comes from linguistic interpretations of the Hebrew text. A small mark in the Masoretic text after Genesis 1:1, called a rebia, indicates a pause, suggesting that the conjunction introducing Genesis 1:2 should be translated as "but" rather than "and." Additionally, the word translated as "was" in Genesis 1:2 can also mean "became" in other biblical contexts, supporting the idea that the earth became without form and void. The Hebrew terms tohu and bohu, translated as "without form and void," imply desolation, confusion, and ruin, which contrasts with the perfection of God's initial creation, as affirmed in Deuteronomy 32:4 and I John 1:5. Isaiah 45:18 further states that God did not create the earth in vain, using the same word tohu, reinforcing the notion that the earth became chaotic due to a subsequent event rather than being created in such a state.

Scientists often date fossils, such as dinosaur bones and those termed human or early man, to thousands or even millions of years before the creation of Adam. None of the facts discovered by science contradict the Bible, though many theories proposed by scientists to explain their facts are at odds with God's Word. As part of the message of the soon-coming Kingdom of God, it is explained that there was a previous world of immense duration over which angels were given rule. It is evident that this previous world ended in chaos and destruction due to the rebellion of the angels. Whatever forms of breathing, physical life existed at the time of that titanic destruction would have died in it. Then followed a week of re-creation, and on the sixth day of that week, God created man and endowed him with human spirit. Any accurately dated fossils older than 6,000 years would consequently be pre-Adamic.