Yes — some people, including Les Feldick, believe in the gap theory, holding that there is a gap in time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
Les states in his Genesis class that he is a proponent of the gap theory and says he will show why in just a moment. In a later lesson, he teaches that the earth in the opening chapters was under water and darkness as a result of a previous judgment, and that from Genesis 1:6 onward God is restoring the earth rather than creating it anew. This restoration-after-judgment framework supports his belief in a gap, though the full exegetical argument is not present in these clips.
Genesis 1:1 — This verse records God's original creation of the heavens and the earth—the starting point before the proposed gap.
Genesis 1:2 — This verse describes the earth as formless, void, and dark, which some teachers see as evidence of a prior judgment.
The Bible opens with two statements. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Verse 2 continues, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." These verses directly present the creation of the heavens and the earth and then describe the earth's condition. The text itself does not explicitly state whether any time passed between these two verses, nor does it describe anything that happened between them. The biblical record simply moves from the creation statement in verse 1 to the earth's formless, darkened state in verse 2.
In Clip 0, Les tells his class, "I'm a proponent of what they call the gap theory, that there is a gap in time between verse 1 and verse 2." He says he will show why he thinks that in just a moment, but the explanation is not included in that excerpt. A supporting clue appears in Clip 4, where Les is teaching Genesis 1:6 and following. He says there is not a single word in those verses that indicates creation as such; instead, God has taken that which was found in the previous verses—"under water, was under darkness as a result of a previous judgment"—and is "restoring everything to a functional operation." This reveals the framework Les uses: the earth's condition in Genesis 1:2 is not the original created state, but the result of a prior judgment. That interpretive framework is what makes the gap theory coherent for him, although the complete step-by-step scriptural argument is not delivered in the provided clips.
In Clip 0, Les defines the gap theory as the view "that there is a gap in time between verse 1 and verse 2" of Genesis 1. He says he is a proponent of this view and promises to show why in his teaching.
Les teaches that the earth found in the opening verses was "under water, was under darkness as a result of a previous judgment." He sees Genesis 1:6-23 as God taking that judged earth and restoring it to a functional operation rather than speaking it into existence for the first time.
When teaching Genesis 1:1, Les says "we don't know when it was," and he does not concern himself with whether it was billions of years or a few thousand. What makes a difference, he says, is who started it all: God.
Les's Affirmation of the Gap Theory
Les states he is a proponent of the gap theory and that there is a gap in time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, promising to explain why.
Who Really Created the Universe? (Genesis 1:1 Explained)
But for here, as God, the triune God, spoke the Word, and out of nothing He created everything, the heavens as well as the earth. Now I think it's rather interesting that way back here in the very first verse of Genesis before the nation of Israel has even been hinted at, before we have any idea of the call of this one man, Abraham.
Why God Established Capital Punishment | Genesis 9 Explained
The Bible doesn't tell us, but it does tell us that now we're going to have, without ceasing, we're going to have seed time and harvest, verse 22, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night. And that has continued, of course, right up to our present time. Now we come into chapter 9. We want to keep moving on as quickly as we can.
Who Spoke from the Burning Bush? The Mystery of "I AM" Revealed
In Genesis 1, in the beginning, God, isn't it? And so it is all through chapter 1 of Genesis. God said this, and God did that. And then all of a sudden, when you get to chapter 4, let's go back and look at it, if you will. Chapter 2, everything in chapter 1 has now been created. It's all been accomplished. Man is on the scene. He's in the garden.
The Earth Under Judgment and Restored
Les teaches that the earth in the opening verses was under water and darkness as the result of a previous judgment, and that from Genesis 1:6 onward God is restoring it to functional operation.
The Days of Noah: Understanding the "Sons of God" & Coming Judgment
2,400 B.C. Verse 1 of chapter 6, And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and I've already alluded to that. You're going to have a doubling, and every time it doubles, it's just going to be that much shorter period of time until it will double again. So men were beginning to multiply, and daughters were born unto them. Then verse 2.
The Question of Time in Genesis 1:1
Les says we do not know when 'the beginning' was and does not focus on billions versus thousands of years; what matters is that God started it all.
Why Every Jew Was Meant to Be a Priest — Exodus 19
Did we? Yeah, I did. Okay, now then let's go on into the Book of Matthew because according to the Old Testament program now, and that's why I put the line up here because I've noticed in my classes during the week I always go up or go down, so I draw the line ahead of time for the television audience, and we've come back here to Genesis 1 again, the creation of Adam, and then in just 11 chapters w…
Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
This verse records God's original creation of the heavens and the earth, the point before the proposed gap.
Genesis 1:2: And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
This verse describes the earth's condition immediately after verse 1, which some teachers, including Les, view as the result of a prior judgment.
Yes. Les says he is a proponent of what he calls the gap theory—the view that there is a gap in time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. He affirms this in his Genesis class.
Les says he will show why in his teaching. A supporting point is that he teaches the earth in the opening verses was under water and darkness as a result of a previous judgment, and that Genesis 1:6-23 describes God restoring that judged earth to a functional operation.
Les says we do not know when it was, and he does not concern himself with whether it was billions of years or a few thousand. He says what makes a difference is who started it all: God.
Watch the Teaching: What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? (The Genesis Gap Explained)