First, I would like to thank Brother George for his study on the baptism of the dead. I too had often been confused by that, what you said made a lot of sense.
So, in the early church did believers participate in a "baptism for the dead" ceremony? Or did I misunderstand you?
I also appreciate Tony's posts, you have a very unique style.
And Brother Chette, you know that you and I are never going to agree on this gap theory. Maybe I should be like Tony and just let it go. As he said, nobody has ever gotten saved by arguing either for or against this gap.
But there are several things about this gap theory that really bother me. Most importantly, it casts doubt on God's Word. I have seen several of those that support the gap make statements saying the word "was" in Genesis 1:2 should more properly be translated "became". Now that bothers me, and bothers me a lot. I believe God has preserved his Word, I believe it to be infallible. That's why I came to this forum in the first place. I believe God is much wiser than all of us, and that God clearly knows the difference between the word "was" and the word "became". God did not say, "And the earth
became without form and void;" the Bible says,
And the earth WAS without form and void;
Now, maybe I am being picky, but this is a pretty big deal to me. We haven't gotten two verses into the Bible, and those who support the gap theory are telling honest Christians who simply take God's Word as literal, that they lack the spirtual discernment to understand the "deep" things of God. Well, all I can say is consider Nehemiah. He believed the earth "became" without form and void;. And look how messed up he was.
And you are not reading Proverbs chapter 8 properly. The whole chapter is about
wisdom and understanding. It was
wisdom and understanding that God possessed before his works of old.
And Proverbs 8 is not chronological. Genesis 1 is chronological. That's why God takes us step by step, the first day, the second day, the third day, the fouth day, the fifth day, the sixth day. There is no mistaking that Genesis chapter 1 is a chronological account.
Now, Genesis chapter 2 is not chronological. In Genesis chapter 2 it tells of Adam being created before the beasts of the field and every fowl of the air. In Genesis 1 the fowls were created before the beasts of the field, and the beasts of the field were created before man. So Genesis chapter 2 is not a chronological account.
And Proverbs chapter 8 is not a chronological account either. So, this is not something to base your gap theory on.
And you forever talk about this timeless eternity between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2 without a single verse anywhere to support it. You say creation "began" at Gen 1:3. Well, I beg your pardon, I believe creation began when God said,
IN THE BEGINNING
I really don't care what you, or some preacher somewhere says. My Bible says everything began in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, and I believe God.