Rough Notes:
WHERE THE PAST AND THE FUTURE MEET
The changes which have occurred in the past as a direct result of planetary catastrophes were dramatic and profound. Each cataclysm resulted in a new "age" or "world" wherein the survivors set about picking up the shattered remains of empires and cultures. Most never rose to power or prominence again. As one might guess, the same will hold true the next time around, in the last days although rather than build upon the old order of things, the survivors of the coming calamity will build a new order, prescribed by the Son of God...
A primary result, then, of all the catastrophes prophesied for the last days will be greatly altered conditions on the Earth and in our solar system generally.
. . . now he [God] hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:26, 27)
Certainly, "all things will be in commotion." Everything will be "shaken." Nothing physical will remain untouched by tragedy... Faced with accounts of great changes to come so great in fact that the heavens and the Earth could be considered "new"-what can be learned from prophecy about the changes that are to take place? What can we expect to see that will be so very different from what is seen today? The answers have been elusive, but now are at hand.
Definitive answers to these questions lie in prophecies of the future. But though there are numerous prophecies concerning latter-day events and the conditions to exist afterward in the Millennium, much of their message is cryptic and laconic. Even with the interpretation supplied by Velikovsky's theories of catastrophe, much of prophecy remains indecipherable to most investigators. In order to better understand those prophecies, an additional key must be obtained.
The restoration of all things
...the end result of the latter-day cataclysms will be ultimately to renew the Earth and restore it... Words such as "renew" and "restore" suggest a return to some previous condition or status; they imply that future conditions on the Earth and in the heavens will resemble those that existed previously in this planet's existence-a restoration of the physical order of things as well as the spiritual order.
...If the catastrophes of the last days are to be a reenactment (renewal or restoration) of the catastrophes of the past (as a close comparison of the books of Exodus and Revelation reveals), then one may logically assume that a future restoration to the desirable conditions of the earliest epoch of Earth's history is not only possible, but likely. There is yet to come, then, an age of the restoration of all things.
Before the Flood
With a physical restoration in mind, we may now refer to accounts of the conditions that existed in the heavens and on the Earth in the earliest historical epoch. Then, these accounts can be compared to the conditions prophesied to exist in the Millennium in order to decipher their meaning.
...In this quest to unravel the mysteries of the past, it must be remembered that any one ancient record or myth cannot present a complete picture of past conditions; but when the contents of many such records are considered in concert-given the cosmic nature and universality of past events and conditions-they each contribute a few details, thus combining to create a larger, more complete picture. The ancient scriptures alone (presenting an historic account of only one ancient culture or family-the Hebrews) may offer only scant data concerning the antediluvian world; but when the scriptures are considered in concert with other records and traditions from various ancient cultures (e.g. the Egyptians, the Greeks, etc.), a more complete account emerges.
The age of peace and plenty
The earliest age of the Earth is known in ancient records as the Golden Age (in Latin, aetas Area). According to accounts from ancient cultures the world over, it was a time when mankind lived more peacefully than today. Food was more abundant and more easily obtained. Illness was practically unknown, and the physical body did not degenerate and age as rapidly as it now does. The climate was far more temperate. Traditional narratives speak of a world devoid of inaccessibly high mountains or deep canyons, and there is no mention of great oceans to act as barriers between continents. It was an idyllic age.
The Golden Age is chronicled in texts from many cultures; only a few will be cited as examples of the rest. Known to the Greeks as the "age of Kronos," the Golden Age was described by Hesiod:
First, the immortal dwellers on Olympus fashioned a golden race of men, who lived in the time when Kronos was king in Heaven. They lived like gods, and their souls knew neither sorrow nor toil. Neither were they subject to age, but ever the same in hand and foot, they spent their time in leisure apart from evil.... The bounteous earth bare fruit for them of her own will, in plenty and without stint. They lived in peace and quiet in their lands with many good things, rich in flocks and dear to the blessed gods. (Works and Days, lines 108-130)
Later in history, Ovid recorded the Latin tradition regarding the Golden Age:
The first millennium was the age of gold;
Then living creatures trusted one another;
People did well without the thought of ill:
Nothing forbidden in the book of laws,
No fears, no prohibitions read in bronze,
Or in the sculpted face of judge and master . . .
No brass-lipped trumpets called, nor clanging swords
Nor helmets marched the streets, country and town
Had never heard of war: and seasons travelled
Through the years of peace. The innocent earth
Learned neither spade nor plough; she gave her
Riches as fruit hangs from the tree; grapes
Dropping from the vine, cherry, strawberry
Ripened in silver shadows of the mountain,
And in the shade of Jove's miraculous tree
The falling acorn. Springtime the single
Season of the year.
(The Metamorphoses, pp. 33-34)
From the Mahabharata, the traditional, sacred literature of Hinduism, come these notes:
Men neither bought nor sold; there were no poor and no rich; there was no need to labor, because all that men required was obtained by the power of will; the chief virtue was the abandonment of worldly desires. The Krita Yuga was without disease; there was no lessening with the years; there was no hatred, or vanity, or evil thought whatsoever; no sorrow, no fear. (Indian Myth and Legend, pp. 107-108)
The early mythology of China speaks of an idyllic age. Historian Kwang Tze (ca. 400 B.C.) wrote:
In the age of perfect virtue, they attached no value to wisdom.... They were upright and correct, without knowing that to be so was righteousness; they loved one another, without knowing that to do so was benevolence; they were honest and leal-hearted without knowing that it was loyalty; they fulfilled their engagements, without knowing that to do so was good faith; in their simple movements they employed the services of one another, without thinking that they were conferring or receiving any gift. Therefore their actions left no trace, and there was no record of their affairs. (Myths of China and Japan, p. 276)
All students of mythology know of the (Golden Age -- age of peace and plenty that marked the beginning of man's sojourn upon this planet. And any student of prophecy can point out scriptures that describe the Millennium in nearly identical terms:
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
. . . And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble .... (Isaiah 65:17,21-24)
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. (Isaiah 40:4)
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:1, 4)
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)
Obviously the coming catastrophes will alter the Earth such that, once the cataclysms subside, it will be a much more pleasant place to live than it is now.
By comparing the previous references, it becomes apparent that the millennial Earth will be much like the antediluvian Earth. It is also obvious that the principle of "restoration of all things" extends to the physical aspects of Earth's existence as well as the spiritual aspects. The Millennium will see this world restored to its former condition. Thus, a key to understanding prophetic utterances about future conditions of Earth is a proper understanding of past conditions...
The quest
The previous comparisons are only a small foretaste of the remarkable parallels yet to be uncovered in this volume. The world of the Patriarchs was so different from the world we know today that it almost takes on the ambiance of a science fiction novel! As we proceed to examine the remaining evidence presented in this volume, it would be well to remember the pattern established in this chapter of past and future parallels even though the evidence may seem unbelievable. Of course, the final test of the thesis lies in its ability to decipher the prophecies of the last days and the Millennium. That would be the most convincing.
This is our quest: to understand the conditions that existed in the heavens and on the Earth from the time of Adam to the days of Enoch, and then to the days of Noah and beyond the Flood to the days of Peleg. We will learn that the world of the Patriarchs was very different from the world that we know today.