Few doctrines are met with such heated opposition as is “the Gap Theory.” Credited for justifying the interjection of the Satanic, unscientific, Jesuit-devised, false doctrine of “evolution” into the inerrant Biblical record of creation, it is usually dismissed out of hand by many Bible-believing Christians.  (That topic, however, shall be addressed through another post.)  The belief that gaps of time exist between certain verses within specific scriptural contexts is regarded as a “heresy of the futurists,” yet another “doctrine of the Jesuits” to move true Protestants away from historicist eschatology championed by several of the blessed Reformers.  However, as your Editor shall prove below, via a literal reading of the Word of God, the AV1611 English Reformation Bible for English-speaking peoples, there are indeed gaps of time not only between verses, but also between very words within a single verse.

Again, we shall hold to our foremost biblical hermeneutic as taught to us by the Lord Jesus Christ: the literal reading of the Word of God from which supreme maxim we must never depart unless the text so mandates, as in the case of a parable of a vision.  Since the texts we shall review involve no such parables or visions, a strictly literal approach will be maintained.  In the end, it shall be obvious there are indeed gaps of time between Bible verses, and with this understanding, many passages will now be fully understood.  Ten examples shall be reviewed, they being:

I.  Zechariah 9:9-10

9  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, they King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

10  “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.”

Again, in literally approaching our text, we discover the literal fulfillment of verse 9 in the gospel record.  This verse is literally fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ on the day he declared himself “Messiah the Prince” (Daniel 9:25) to national Israel, upon his entrance into his city of Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-10).

However, verse 10 was not literally fulfilled immediately after Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem, for which reason Jesus of Nazareth wept upon approaching the condemned city.  He knew the peace Jerusalem could have experienced in his day, as per Zechariah 9:10, but now to be hid before their eyes (Luke 19:41-44).  Rather, he was murdered by Herod and Pilate (both acting on behalf of Tiberius Julius Caesar), the Romans, Jewish leaders and people of Israel (Acts 4:26-28; 7:52).  Clearly, Jesus the Christ is to have a universal earthly dominion (Luke 1:31-33), but not immediately after his national declaration of being the Messiah.  Therefore, in conclusion, as a result of a literal reading of these two verses, there is a gap of time between verse 9 and verse 10 of nearly 2000 years.  Your editor calls this specific prophetic time gap, “the great time warp” between “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow” (I Peter 1:11).

II.  Isaiah 61:1-3

1  “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2  “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3  “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

Our wonderful Savior and living Word of God teaches there is, in fact, “the great time warp” in this text.  We marvel as we read Luke 4:16-21:

16  “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

17  “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.  And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

18  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19  “To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20  “And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down.  And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21  “And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

In reviewing Isaiah, we discover the Lord stopped in the midst of Isaiah 61:2.  All that he read was fulfilled on this epic day, the very beginning of his earthly ministry.  But why did Messiah stop reading, close the scroll and sit down?  Why did he not continue to at least finish verse 2?  Because his First Coming did not include “the day of vengeance of our God,” and the subsequent comforting of Israel described in verse 3.  The Lord’s stopping in the very middle of a sentence, declaring that all he had read was “fulfilled in your ears,” leads only to the conclusion that the following words would be literally fulfilled at a later time, after “the great time warp,” upon the literal Second Coming of Christ when he would fulfill the promised “day of vengeance” of verse 2, the same “day of vengeance” of Isaiah 63:4:

“For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.”

III.  Isaiah 9:6-7

6  “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

7  “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with justice from henceforth even for ever.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Upon the First Advent of the promised Messiah, Christ Jesus was born as a man-child in Nazareth fulfilling the first phrase of verse 6 (Luke 2:4-7).  This child is also Someone’s Son Who was given to the Nation by Another.  Indeed, Messiah is the only begotten Son of the Father as foretold in Psalm 2:7:

“I will declare the decree: the LORD hat said unto me, Thou are my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”

The Son given was none other then the Son of God as declared in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Understanding the child was born and the son was given at the First Coming of Messiah (“God manifest in the flesh”), yet he was never exalted to the titles so named within the remainder of the verse.  Further, he never sat upon the earthly throne of David, nor did he ever rule over an earthly kingdom forever as stated in verse 7.  Remember, if the first part of verse 6 has been literally fulfilled on earth, then the rest of the verse, along with verse 7, must be literally fulfilled on earth.  Therefore, once again, we have “the great time warp” between phrases within Isaiah 9:6.

IV.  Zechariah 6:12-13

12  “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

13  “Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”

Here again we have a literal fulfillment of a phrase within a verse, but the subsequent phrase, followed by another verse, is yet to be brought to pass.  In verse 12 we read the BRANCH—the Lord Jesus Christ—“shall grow up out of his place.” Clearly, this is a reference to his growing up into manhood from his place in Israel.  He grows up out of his place, in the same way he is described in Isaiah 53:2:

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground: . . .”

But Messiah never fulfills the rest of the prophecy during His First Coming.  Indeed, Christ never builds the temple of the Lord (the Fourth Hebrew Temple as described in Ezekiel 40-43); He never sits in that temple upon his throne (the throne of David) as also described in Ezekiel 43:7, nor has he ever fulfilled both roles as king and priest on earth.  Therefore, once again, “the great time warp” stands between two phrases within verse 12, we again arriving at this conclusion due to a literal reading of the Prophets.

V.  Isaiah 53:10

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”

The entirety of Isaiah 53:1-9 concerns the Righteous Servant of the LORD, Messiah at his First Coming to earth.  The text speaks not of the nation of Israel as our Orthodox friends would claim, for Israel cannot be stricken for his own transgressions (Isaiah 53:8); only Messiah could be that vicarious substitute, smitten for “the transgression of my people.” Thus, the First Coming of Christ to earth is described in verse 10 up to and including the phrase “when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.” The following phrases in verse 10, as well as verses 11 and 12, have yet to be fulfilled.  As the previous verses were literally fulfilled on earth, so will the subsequent verses be literally fulfilled on earth.  When verses 10b, 11 and 12 come to pass, it will be a result of the Second Coming of Christ to earth, Christ beholding his spiritual seed (born-again Israel, since Jesus Christ has no physical posterity), the Father prolonging Christ’s days, while the pleasure of the Father will prosper in the very hand of Christ as he rules the world with a rod of iron in righteousness.  Finally, after nearly 2000 years, the will of the Father will be done on earth as it is in heaven in answer to the prayer Christ taught his disciples at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:10).  Hence, once again, we behold “the great time warp” between two words within a singular verse of Scripture.

VI.  Luke 21:24-27

24  “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive unto all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25  “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26  “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27  “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

What a brief synopsis of all the writings of the prophets regarding Israel’s Diaspora, great tribulation and Second Coming of Messiah!  Verse 24 was fulfilled in A.D. 70, 38 years after the First Coming of Messiah.  The “times of the Gentiles” are presently running its course, with Jerusalem submitted to Gentile rule, presently, the White Gentile Pope of Rome!  But verse 25 jumps to the signs in the heavens that precede the Second Coming of Messiah, the same signs foretold in Joel 2:30-31 and Isaiah 24:19-23. Verse 26 further describes this time of earthly horror, and verse 27 announces the Second Coming of the Son of Man according to Daniel 7:13.  Clearly our “great time warp” appears once again between verses 24 and 25!

As we now understand the presence of “the great time warp” between verses of Scripture, your Editor’s explanation of subsequent texts will be direct and to the point.

VII.  Daniel 2:40-41

Verse 40 describes the Roman Empire as it existed from 27 BC to AD 476.  The visible Roman Empire, symbolized by two iron legs, ceases to exist but later reappears in the form of feet and toes composed of iron and clay.  Verse 41 begins to describe the kingdom that arises from the fourth kingdom as having feet and toes that are partially iron and partially clay.  During the days of this kingdom, the Revived Roman Empire, Christ establishes his world rule on earth, symbolized as a stone cut out without human hands smashing the feet and toes of iron and clay.  Thus, we have once again our “great time warp” between verse 40 and verse 41 (continuing through verse 44).

VIII.  Daniel 7:7-8

In light of point VII, the same holds true for these verses, further explaining Daniel 2:40-41, the development of 41 continuing through 44.  Verse 7 describes the fourth beast symbolizing the Roman Empire.  When the ten horns are focused upon in verse 8 the prophecy is jumping into the future at the time of the Revived Roman Empire headed by the ten kings and the Man-beast.  During the days of this Revived Roman Empire, Christ returns to establish his millennial kingdom.  Thus, we have once again “our great time warp” between verse 7 and verse 8.

IX.  Micah 5:2-4

In verse 2 the birth of Messiah is foretold, that it would transpire in Bethlehem.  This was believed and understood in Christ’s day (Matthew 2:3-8).  In verse 3, the travail of Israel is foretold during “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7), this same travail being described in Isaiah 66:7-8.  In verse 4 we behold the reign of Messiah, “for he shall be great unto the ends of the earth.” Hence, we have once again “our great time warp” between verse 2 and verses 3 and 4.  Messiah is born in verse 2 and rules the world in verse 4.

X.  Psalm 2:3-4

Verses 1 to 3 declare the rebellion of the kings of the earth against the LORD and against his Messiah.  Their very thoughts are known and denounced, these kings devising to break all restraints of Jehovah.  These verses are cited by the Apostle Peter (Acts 4:25-28) as having been fulfilled at the First Coming of Messiah.  Verses 4 through 9 describe the Second Coming of Messiah, breaking the nations with his “rod of iron.” Thus, there appears once again our “great time warp” between verse 3 and verse 4.

In conclusion, “the great time warp” between Daniel 9:26 and verse 27, as addressed in a previous post, is not unique to Daniel’s prophecy.  We behold this occurrence throughout the writings of the prophets, especially with reference to the two separate Advents of Jesus the Messiah.

Other or Related Posts of Interest:

1. December 6, 2010: EJP on the Existence of Gaps of Time Between Bible Verses
2. It is Now Time for All Bible-Believing Christians to Quietly Leave Washington, D.C.
3. November 19, 2010: EJP to Devote More Time to Business and Family Support
4. The Late Dr. J. Vernon McGee on the End Time Cities of Rome and Babylon
5. Movie Rights to Vatican Assassins III Now For Sale: Time is of the Essence for US
6. EJP Replies to Brother Chris: “Clarifying” the AV1611 Translation in Some Verses
7. Radio: May 5, 2011: Brother Marco Ponce’s Last Broadcast—Only for a Time!