Garden of Eden
8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. -Genesis 2:8 Bible, King James Version
Golden Age by h.koppdelaney
(Flickr: Creative Commons
Beloved Jesus teaches us that; "In the Golden Ages which have been, mankind were as Gods and walked the earth a credit to their Source of Creation." (The Voice of the I AM 1946 May p30)
According to Emanuel Swedenborg: 115. I have been taught from heaven that the most ancient men on our earth… were celestial men… in fellowship with angels and… through them heaven was conjoined to the world. For this reason that period was called the Golden Age, of which it is said by ancient writers that the inhabitants of heaven dwelt with men and associated with them as friends. …But after this there followed a period… of heaven with man, but less intimate. This period was called the Silver Age. After this there followed men who… were in natural good, and not, like those before them in spiritual good. This period was called the Copper Age. After this man gradually became external, and finally corporeal, [or having physical form] and then the knowledge of correspondences was wholly lost, and with it a knowledge of heaven and of the many things pertaining to heaven. It was from correspondence that these ages were named from gold, silver, and copper, and for the reason that from correspondence gold signifies celestial good in which were the most ancient people, silver spiritual good in which were the ancient people that followed, and copper natural good in which were the next posterity; while iron, from which the last age takes its name, signifies hard truth apart from good. 252. Those who talk with the angels of heaven also see the things that exist in heaven, because they are then seeing in the light of heaven, for their interiors are in that light; also the angels through them see the things that are on the earth. …Such was the conjunction that existed between angels of heaven and the most ancient people on this earth, and for this reason their times were called the Golden Age. Because this race acknowledged the Divine under a human form, that is, the Lord, they talked with the angels of heaven as with their friends, and angels of heaven talked with them as with their friends; and in them heaven and the world made one. But after those times man gradually separated himself from heaven by loving himself more than the Lord and the world more than heaven. …Then his interiors that had been open into heaven were closed up, while his exteriors were open to the world; and when this takes place man is in light in regard to all things of the world, but in thick darkness in regard to all things of heaven. 253. Since those times it is only rarely that any one has talked with the angels of heaven; but some have talked with spirits who are not in heaven. (Chapter13 & 28 Heaven and its Wonders and Hell from Things Heard and Seen by Emanuel Swedenborg)
Joseph Fielding Smith
The Eastern teachings inform us we are living in the Kali-Yuga, or Iron-Age, and the earth used to be in the Satya Yuga or Golden Age. The prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, from the Mormon Church, in his book Doctrines of Salvation Vol. 1 teaches that the earth used to be in a Celestial State until its fall and that it will be restored back to a Celestial State in the Future: This earth is to be renewed and brought back to the condition in which it was before it was cursed through the fall of Adam. When Adam passed out of the Garden of Eden, then the earth became a telestial world, and it is of that order today. I do not mean a telestial glory such as will be found in telestial worlds after their resurrection, but a telestial condition which has been from the days of Adam until now and will continue until Christ comes. When Christ comes the earth will be changed and so will all upon its face. It will become a terrestrial world then and will so remain for a 1,000 years; and all those who have lived a telestial law will be eliminated. …The earth will be cleansed from its wickedness and pass into the terrestrial order. This will necessitate a change in the very elements of the earth, and also of its inhabitants; yet they will still be mortal. Those who belong to the terrestrial order will dwell upon the earth during this period. Joseph Fielding Smith also taught: Adam had no blood in his veins before the fall. Blood is the life of the mortal body. After Adam partook of the forbidden fruit, blood became the life-giving fluid in Adam’s body and was inherited by his posterity. Blood was not only the life of the mortal body, but also contained in it the seeds of death which bring the mortal body to it’s end. Previously the lifeforce in Adam’s body was the spirit. (Man: His Origin and Destiny p362 & 376-7)
This is supported by the Ascended Masters Who teach that Their blood stream is a Liquid Golden Light. They also teach there have been six or more Golden Ages down through the centuries that were maintained for thousands of years with no destructive force and these people got the Ascension and then the civilization decayed. Atlantis was the sixth Golden-Age however complete Perfection has never been reached on this earth since the second Golden Age. Animals were not in existence upon this planet during the first two Golden Ages! They only began to appear after humanity had generated the discord which followed those first two periods. (See p149-150 The Magic Presence by Godfre Ray King) The Lord Maha Chohan teaches that; "Of all the vast civilizations which have come and gone the records of them still remain; and all mankind will one day have access to them and know all that has really been. The research of the outer world cannot possibly determine all that has gone before; but the records kept thruout four and a half million years, will show to mankind the Evidence and the Truth of all that has gone before. Some of these ancient civilizations include Atlantis, Lemuria and the civilization on the Hyperborean continent." (The Voice of the I AM 1943 January p16-17)
I believe Lemuria is also referred to as the continent of MU. Everything in the Pacific was at one time part of the land of MU. In the book Theosophy and the Seven Continents by David Pratt he points out what H. P. Blavatsky wrote: We believe in the seven continents, four of which have already lived their day, the fifth still exists, and two are to appear in the future. (The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky 2:404) The first continent- the Imperishable Sacred Land- is the most mysterious of the seven continents. …This sacred land… is stated never to have shared the fate of the other continents; because it is the only one whose destiny it is to last from the beginning to the end. …It is the cradle of the first man, and the dwelling of the last divine mortal. (S. D. 2:6) Hyperborea: The second Hyperborean continent. (S. D. 2:7, 11-12, 401, 775 & Theosophical Glossary by H. P. Blavatsky p147) Lemuria, the third continent embraced large areas of the Indian and Pacific oceans (S. D. 2:781) …Australia is the largest relic of Lemuria (S. D. 2:314) and other fragments are the many islands in the Pacific; it also included a large portion of California. (S. D. 2:7, 328,788) Atlantis’ main centre being located in what is now the Atlantic Ocean. (S.D. 2:402, 405) …The Atlantic portion of Lemuria was… known as Atlantis. (Theosophy and the Seven Continents by David Pratt)
The Goddess of Justice teaches us concerning the next Golden Age on this earth: In the building of that Golden Age, which is to be permanent to the earth, is the Culmination of the Fulfillment of the Divine Plan! (The Voice of the I AM 1945 February p22) Quan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, points out that; The United States of America, as a Nation, [shall] Ascend into that Octave of Light’s Activity which brings in the full Perfection of the Golden Age. (The Voice of the I AM 1941 August p21-22) Beloved Mighty Virgo asks: Help me return the Substance of the Earth Element upon this Planet to the Beauty and Perfection of Its Higher Mental Body; returning it to the Beauty, Purity and Perfection of those two first Golden Ages. …If they [mankind] would give obedience to that Beloved “I AM” Presence… they would not have to work as the outer world does and by the sweat of the brow method. (The Voice of the I AM 1945 March p14)
Conjugial Love, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1768] at sacred-texts.com
This is supported by the Ascended Masters Who teach that Their blood stream is a Liquid Golden Light. They also teach there have been six or more Golden Ages down through the centuries that were maintained for thousands of years with no destructive force and these people got the Ascension and then the civilization decayed. Atlantis was the sixth Golden-Age however complete Perfection has never been reached on this earth since the second Golden Age. Animals were not in existence upon this planet during the first two Golden Ages! They only began to appear after humanity had generated the discord which followed those first two periods. (See p149-150 The Magic Presence by Godfre Ray King) The Lord Maha Chohan teaches that; "Of all the vast civilizations which have come and gone the records of them still remain; and all mankind will one day have access to them and know all that has really been. The research of the outer world cannot possibly determine all that has gone before; but the records kept thruout four and a half million years, will show to mankind the Evidence and the Truth of all that has gone before. Some of these ancient civilizations include Atlantis, Lemuria and the civilization on the Hyperborean continent." (The Voice of the I AM 1943 January p16-17)
I believe Lemuria is also referred to as the continent of MU. Everything in the Pacific was at one time part of the land of MU. In the book Theosophy and the Seven Continents by David Pratt he points out what H. P. Blavatsky wrote: We believe in the seven continents, four of which have already lived their day, the fifth still exists, and two are to appear in the future. (The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky 2:404) The first continent- the Imperishable Sacred Land- is the most mysterious of the seven continents. …This sacred land… is stated never to have shared the fate of the other continents; because it is the only one whose destiny it is to last from the beginning to the end. …It is the cradle of the first man, and the dwelling of the last divine mortal. (S. D. 2:6) Hyperborea: The second Hyperborean continent. (S. D. 2:7, 11-12, 401, 775 & Theosophical Glossary by H. P. Blavatsky p147) Lemuria, the third continent embraced large areas of the Indian and Pacific oceans (S. D. 2:781) …Australia is the largest relic of Lemuria (S. D. 2:314) and other fragments are the many islands in the Pacific; it also included a large portion of California. (S. D. 2:7, 328,788) Atlantis’ main centre being located in what is now the Atlantic Ocean. (S.D. 2:402, 405) …The Atlantic portion of Lemuria was… known as Atlantis. (Theosophy and the Seven Continents by David Pratt)
The Goddess of Justice teaches us concerning the next Golden Age on this earth: In the building of that Golden Age, which is to be permanent to the earth, is the Culmination of the Fulfillment of the Divine Plan! (The Voice of the I AM 1945 February p22) Quan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, points out that; The United States of America, as a Nation, [shall] Ascend into that Octave of Light’s Activity which brings in the full Perfection of the Golden Age. (The Voice of the I AM 1941 August p21-22) Beloved Mighty Virgo asks: Help me return the Substance of the Earth Element upon this Planet to the Beauty and Perfection of Its Higher Mental Body; returning it to the Beauty, Purity and Perfection of those two first Golden Ages. …If they [mankind] would give obedience to that Beloved “I AM” Presence… they would not have to work as the outer world does and by the sweat of the brow method. (The Voice of the I AM 1945 March p14)
Conjugial Love, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1768] at sacred-texts.com
75
...while I was meditating on conjugial [marriage] love, my mind was seized with a desire of knowing what had been the nature and quality of that love among those who lived in the GOLDEN AGE, and afterwards among those who lived in the following ages, which have their names from silver, copper, and iron: and as I knew that all who lived well in those ages are in the heavens, I prayed to the Lord that I might be allowed to converse with them and be informed: and lo! an angel presented himself and said, "I am sent by the Lord to be your guide and companion: I will first lead and attend you to those who lived in the first age or period of time, which is called golden:" and he said, "The way to them is difficult; it lies through a shady forest, which none can pass unless he receive a guide from the Lord." I was in the spirit, and prepared myself for the journey; and we turned our faces towards the east; and as we advanced I saw a mountain, whose height extended beyond the region of the clouds. We passed a great wilderness, and came to the forest planted with various kinds of trees and rendered shady by their thickness, of which the angel had advertised [or made the fact known to] me. The forest was divided by several narrow paths; and the angel said, that according to the number of those paths are the windings and intricacies of error: and that unless his eyes were opened by the Lord, so as to see olives entwined with vine tendrils, and his steps were directed from olive to olive, the traveller would miss his way, and fall into the abodes of Tartarus [the infernal hellish regions,] which are round about at the sides. This forest is of such a nature, to the end that the passage may be guarded; for none but a primeval [of the earliest time in history] nation dwells upon that mountain. After we had entered the forest, our eyes were opened, and we saw here and there olives entwined with vines, from which hung bunches of grapes of a blue or azure [Azure is a variation of blue that is often described as the color of the sky on a clear summer's day] color, and the olives were ranged in continual wreaths; we therefore made various circuits as they presented themselves to our view; and at length we saw a grove of tall cedars and some eagles perched on their branches; on seeing which the angel said, "We are now on the mountain not far from its summit:" so we went forward, and lo! behind the grove was a circular plain, where there were feeding he and she-lambs, which were representative forms of the state of innocence and peace of the inhabitants of the mountain. We passed over this plain, and lo! we saw tabernacles, to the number of several thousands in front on each side in every direction as far as the eye could reach. And the angel said, "We are now in the camp, where are the armies of the Lord Jehovah; for so they call themselves and their habitations. These most ancient people, while they were in the world, dwelt in tabernacles; therefore now also they dwell in the same. But let us bend our way to the south, where the wiser of them live, that we may meet some one to converse with." In going along I saw at a distance three boys and three girls sitting at a door of a certain tent; but as we approached, the boys and girls appeared like men and women of a middle stature. The angel then said, "All the inhabitants of this mountain appear at a distance like infants, because they are in a state of innocence; and infancy is the appearance of innocence." The men on seeing us hastened towards us and said, "Whence are you; and how came you here? Your faces are not like those of our mountain." But the angel in reply told them how, by permission, we had had access through the forest, and what was the cause of our coming. On hearing this, one of the three men invited and introduced us into his tabernacle. The man was dressed in a blue robe and a tunic of white wool: and his wife had on a purple gown, with a stomacher [a V-shaped piece of decorative cloth, worn over the chest and stomach by men and women in the 16th century, later only by women] under it of fine linen wrought in needle-work. And as my thought was influenced by a desire of knowing the state of marriages among the most ancient people, I looked by turns on the husband and the wife, and observed as it were a unity of their souls in their faces; and I said, "You are one:" and the man answered, "We are one; her life is in me, and mine in her; we are two bodies, but one soul... After this, as I looked around, I saw their tabernacle as it were overlaid with gold; and I asked, "Whence is this?" He replied, "It is in consequence of a flaming light, which, like gold, glitters, irradiates, and glances on the curtains of our tabernacle while we are conversing about conjugial [marriage] love; for the heat from our sun, which in its essence is love, on such occasions bares itself, and tinges the light, which in its essence is wisdom, with its golden color; and this happens because conjugial love in its origin is the sport of wisdom and love; for the man was born to be wisdom, and the woman to be the love of the man's wisdom: hence spring the delights of that sport, in and derived from conjugial love between us and our wives. We have seen clearly for thousands of years in our heaven, that those delights, as to quantity, degree, and intensity, are excellent and eminent according to our worship of the Lord Jehovah, from whom flows that heavenly union or marriage, which is the union and marriage of love and wisdom." As he said this, I saw a great light upon the hill in the middle of the tabernacles; and I inquired, "Whence is that light?" And he said, "It is from the sanctuary of the tabernacle of our worship." I asked whether I might approach it; to which he assented. I approached therefore, and saw the tabernacle without and within, answering exactly to the description of the tabernacle which was built for the sons of Israel in the wilderness; the form of which was shewed to Moses on Mount Sinai, Exod. xxv. 40; chap. xxvi. 30. I then asked, "What is within in that sanctuary, from which so great a light proceeds?" He replied, "It is a tablet with this inscription, THE COVENANT BETWEEN JEHOVAH AND THE HEAVENS:" he said no more. And as by this time we were ready to depart, I asked, "Did any of you, during your abode in the natural world, live with more than one wife?" He replied, "I know not one; for we could not think of more. We have been told by those who had thought of more, that instantly the heavenly blessedness of their souls withdrew...; when this was perceived they were banished the land." On saying this, the man ran to his tabernacle, and returned with a pomegranate, in which there was abundance of seeds of gold: and he gave it me, and I brought it away with me, as a sign that we had been with those who had lived in the golden age. And then, after a salutation of peace, we took our leave, and returned home.
...while I was meditating on conjugial [marriage] love, my mind was seized with a desire of knowing what had been the nature and quality of that love among those who lived in the GOLDEN AGE, and afterwards among those who lived in the following ages, which have their names from silver, copper, and iron: and as I knew that all who lived well in those ages are in the heavens, I prayed to the Lord that I might be allowed to converse with them and be informed: and lo! an angel presented himself and said, "I am sent by the Lord to be your guide and companion: I will first lead and attend you to those who lived in the first age or period of time, which is called golden:" and he said, "The way to them is difficult; it lies through a shady forest, which none can pass unless he receive a guide from the Lord." I was in the spirit, and prepared myself for the journey; and we turned our faces towards the east; and as we advanced I saw a mountain, whose height extended beyond the region of the clouds. We passed a great wilderness, and came to the forest planted with various kinds of trees and rendered shady by their thickness, of which the angel had advertised [or made the fact known to] me. The forest was divided by several narrow paths; and the angel said, that according to the number of those paths are the windings and intricacies of error: and that unless his eyes were opened by the Lord, so as to see olives entwined with vine tendrils, and his steps were directed from olive to olive, the traveller would miss his way, and fall into the abodes of Tartarus [the infernal hellish regions,] which are round about at the sides. This forest is of such a nature, to the end that the passage may be guarded; for none but a primeval [of the earliest time in history] nation dwells upon that mountain. After we had entered the forest, our eyes were opened, and we saw here and there olives entwined with vines, from which hung bunches of grapes of a blue or azure [Azure is a variation of blue that is often described as the color of the sky on a clear summer's day] color, and the olives were ranged in continual wreaths; we therefore made various circuits as they presented themselves to our view; and at length we saw a grove of tall cedars and some eagles perched on their branches; on seeing which the angel said, "We are now on the mountain not far from its summit:" so we went forward, and lo! behind the grove was a circular plain, where there were feeding he and she-lambs, which were representative forms of the state of innocence and peace of the inhabitants of the mountain. We passed over this plain, and lo! we saw tabernacles, to the number of several thousands in front on each side in every direction as far as the eye could reach. And the angel said, "We are now in the camp, where are the armies of the Lord Jehovah; for so they call themselves and their habitations. These most ancient people, while they were in the world, dwelt in tabernacles; therefore now also they dwell in the same. But let us bend our way to the south, where the wiser of them live, that we may meet some one to converse with." In going along I saw at a distance three boys and three girls sitting at a door of a certain tent; but as we approached, the boys and girls appeared like men and women of a middle stature. The angel then said, "All the inhabitants of this mountain appear at a distance like infants, because they are in a state of innocence; and infancy is the appearance of innocence." The men on seeing us hastened towards us and said, "Whence are you; and how came you here? Your faces are not like those of our mountain." But the angel in reply told them how, by permission, we had had access through the forest, and what was the cause of our coming. On hearing this, one of the three men invited and introduced us into his tabernacle. The man was dressed in a blue robe and a tunic of white wool: and his wife had on a purple gown, with a stomacher [a V-shaped piece of decorative cloth, worn over the chest and stomach by men and women in the 16th century, later only by women] under it of fine linen wrought in needle-work. And as my thought was influenced by a desire of knowing the state of marriages among the most ancient people, I looked by turns on the husband and the wife, and observed as it were a unity of their souls in their faces; and I said, "You are one:" and the man answered, "We are one; her life is in me, and mine in her; we are two bodies, but one soul... After this, as I looked around, I saw their tabernacle as it were overlaid with gold; and I asked, "Whence is this?" He replied, "It is in consequence of a flaming light, which, like gold, glitters, irradiates, and glances on the curtains of our tabernacle while we are conversing about conjugial [marriage] love; for the heat from our sun, which in its essence is love, on such occasions bares itself, and tinges the light, which in its essence is wisdom, with its golden color; and this happens because conjugial love in its origin is the sport of wisdom and love; for the man was born to be wisdom, and the woman to be the love of the man's wisdom: hence spring the delights of that sport, in and derived from conjugial love between us and our wives. We have seen clearly for thousands of years in our heaven, that those delights, as to quantity, degree, and intensity, are excellent and eminent according to our worship of the Lord Jehovah, from whom flows that heavenly union or marriage, which is the union and marriage of love and wisdom." As he said this, I saw a great light upon the hill in the middle of the tabernacles; and I inquired, "Whence is that light?" And he said, "It is from the sanctuary of the tabernacle of our worship." I asked whether I might approach it; to which he assented. I approached therefore, and saw the tabernacle without and within, answering exactly to the description of the tabernacle which was built for the sons of Israel in the wilderness; the form of which was shewed to Moses on Mount Sinai, Exod. xxv. 40; chap. xxvi. 30. I then asked, "What is within in that sanctuary, from which so great a light proceeds?" He replied, "It is a tablet with this inscription, THE COVENANT BETWEEN JEHOVAH AND THE HEAVENS:" he said no more. And as by this time we were ready to depart, I asked, "Did any of you, during your abode in the natural world, live with more than one wife?" He replied, "I know not one; for we could not think of more. We have been told by those who had thought of more, that instantly the heavenly blessedness of their souls withdrew...; when this was perceived they were banished the land." On saying this, the man ran to his tabernacle, and returned with a pomegranate, in which there was abundance of seeds of gold: and he gave it me, and I brought it away with me, as a sign that we had been with those who had lived in the golden age. And then, after a salutation of peace, we took our leave, and returned home.
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