In this book Pember attempted to reconcile the Genesis account of the world's creation with the emerging fossil evidence in geological science about the age of the earth. Pember argued a position known as "The Gap Theory", and which had been previously proposed by the Scottish theologian Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847). In this theory, God originally created the universe but due to the rebellion of some angels led by Lucifer (or Satan) the earth descended into chaos and life was destroyed. Pember's position was that the first chapter of Genesis gave an account of God restoring or recreating the world after the collapse of the original creation. So proponents of the Gap Theory like Pember propose that a "gap" exists between the first two verses in Genesis chapter one which allows for all the extra time needed to include the ancient fossil and geological evidences. The geological fossils were creatures that lived in the original creation and were destroyed when Lucifer fell into sin. The biblical story of Adam and Eve is about a later recreation of the world. Pember's argument for the "Gap Theory" is an example of how some evangelical Christians in the nineteenth century tried to reconcile geological evidence for an old earth with the book of Genesis and without embracing Charles Darwin's theory about the evolution of the species.