Genesis 1 -- Creation and a Gap?

Genesis 1:1-2
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 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.
KJV

See Genesis 1. Discuss and define your beliefs about the six days of Creation. Was this over a long period of time? Was it six 24-hour days? Was there a "gap" of unknown time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? If so, what occurred during this "gap"? If not, explain in as much detail as possible the fall of Satan and the entrance of sin into the universe.

Many of the proponents of the Gap Theory have developed this argument as the method of introducing Satan and sin into the world. As developed and then promoted via the Scofield Study Bible, this theory accounts for sin via the power of Satan in the world. Their argument is that in the far distant, dateless past God created a perfect heaven and perfect earth. Satan was ruler of an earth inhabited by a race of “men” without any souls. Satan dwelt in a garden of Eden composed of minerals (Ezek 28:13). He rebelled by desiring to become like God (Isaiah 14). Because of Satan’s fall, sin entered the universe and brought on the earth God’s judgment in the form of a flood (indicated by the water of 1:2). While the argument is more comprehensive than this, the generalities are as stated. The animals and plant life of today date from a recreation following this event. However, this flood accounts for much of the fossils found upon earth today. The benefit of this approach is that, as with the generation-day and framework approaches, men may logically account for the scientific discoveries of the past hundred years. It is, yet, another approach to combining science and Scripture without having to account for apparent discrepancies if the Scriptures are viewed in the natural literary context of a day meaning a 24-hour period.

One of the prime forces behind the Gap Theory seems to be a desire to explain the entrance of sin (in the form of the fall of Satan and the angels) into the universe. There is no doubt that Satan fell from God’s grace and has been expelled or has limited access to heaven. Two sections of Scripture are generally viewed as describing the fall of Satan -- Isaiah 14:12–17 and Ezekiel 28:11–19. While the Isaiah passage speaks of Satan “falling” the Ezekiel passage does attribute his decline to iniquity and sin (Ezek 28:15-16). However, neither of the New Testament passages which speak to the fall of the angels (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6) attribute their actions to sin.

The point of all of this is not to debate Satan’s sin. He obviously transgressed God’s divine rule. The point is that Scripture is not very concerned about Satan’s fall. The serpent simply appears suddenly in the Garden of Eden (Ezek 28:13). While Satan is described as being in a Garden named Eden, it appears to be a different Garden than that of Adam and Eve. The Scriptures are concerned with mankind, not Satan. Satan exists and is real. Satan either through the serpent or masquerading as the serpent deceived Eve. In turn, Eve gave the fruit of the forbidden tree to Adam. This is the moment sin entered the confines of earth and the lives of mankind so far as Scripture is concerned.

Romans 5:12 (KJV)
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Paul clearly points to Adam as the key to the entrance of both sin and death into the world. The apostle does not look to Satan as the key for sin's entry into the world. Adam is the culprit, not Satan. For scholars to use the Gap Theory as the key to the condition of the world and the entry of sin in one form or another is to go where the Scriptures do not tread. Indeed, it would not make theological sense to pursue this type of argument. Salvation operates because Jesus can replace Adam as the head of the human race. This is the entire argument of Romans 5:12-21. If sin were in way connected with Satan, the typology relationship between Adam and Jesus would fail.

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