The Lascaux cave is located near Montignac, France in the Dordogne River region of southwestern France. See map, Chapter 1, Figure 3 (Post 4), and click on the picture to enlarge the map. Between 14,500 B.C. and 14,001 B.C., this cave was decorated by people of the Magdalenian culture, who lived in the vicinity of the cave. People of the Magdalenian culture dwelt elsewhere in southern France and northern Spain at this time, and wherever they dwelt, they left a legacy consisting of cave paintings of Upper Paleolithic animals for modern man to discover and greatly admire. Those, who study parietal art, generally, consider the Lascaux cave to possess the finest cave paintings executed in Europe in the Upper Paleolithic period. The cave, however, was abandoned sometime in the fifteenth millennium B.C., and after this the decoration of the cave ceased, altogether. The Magdalenian people, who lived in the vicinity of the cave, and were responsible for its decoration, apparently, left the area and settled elsewhere. Over the course of time, the entrance of the Lascaux cave became hidden and lost to mankind. As a result, the paintings that cover the walls and ceiling of the cave were undisturbed by man for sixteen thousand years.
Then, on September 12, 1940, four young men were walking through the Lascaux forest. Their dog, apparently, discovered a hole in the ground and entered into it. The young men, concerned for their dog, investigated, and discovered that the small hole was an entrance to a cave. They managed to enter the cave. But possessing no source of light other than matches, they soon left and returned to the surface. The next day, the young men returned to the cave. They now were in possession of a lantern, and when they entered the cave, the light of the lantern revealed-to their great amazement-that they had discovered a cave of paintings.
The Lascaux cave is not a large cave. It consists of two main passages that have a combined length of about 300 feet. Several galleries and chambers exist along these two passages. In addition to paintings of animals, such as aurochs, bison, horses, deer, ibexes, a rhinoceros, and a unicorn-like animal, the cave is also decorated with mysterious geometric signs. Archaeologists, excavating the floor of the cave, have found a large number of flint pieces that are typical of the Magdalenian culture, bone tools, such as spears, and many lamps. These are fat-burning lamps with wicks, which must have been used to provide light during the decoration of the cave. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in the cave has yielded readings that are consistent with the use of the Lascaux cave by the Magdalenian people in the fifteenth millennium B.C. Most archaeologists believe that the entire cave was decorated by the same group of people during a brief span of two or three generations, and this was accomplished under the leadership of one person or a small group of people with a single vision. Under the circumstances, it is possible that the Creator, himself, was the source of that vision.
After the discovery of the cave was made known to the public, it was visited by more and more people, and became a popular attraction. The large number of visitors that entered the cave between 1940 and 1963 caused a change in the humidity of the cave. This resulted in the formation of fungi on the walls of the cave, and on April 20, 1963 the Lascaux cave was closed. Although the cave is now largely free of fungi, it is no longer open to the public. However, a replica of the Lascaux cave has been built nearby, and this is open to the public.
As in the case of the Chauvet cave, it would not be unreasonable to assume that the Creator was involved in the decision by the French government to preserve the Lascaux cave and close the cave to the public. Perhaps, the Lascaux cave, in the eyes of the Creator, is a sacred place, and he desired that it be treated with reverence by man. The reasons why the Lascaux cave may be considered sacred in the eyes of the Creator will be discussed at the end of the chapter.
Commentary
The above account of the discovery of the Lascaux cave by four young men and a dog in 1940, it is believed, has symbolic meaning that extends into the past and may project into the future, as well. In the context of the past, inspired sources reveal that the people of the Magdalenian culture involved in transfer activity at the Lascaux cave in the fifteenth millennium B.C. began their journey on the mystical pathway in parties that consisted of no more than five people, including the leader of the group. The latter was also the mystical particle transfer operator of the party and operated the instruments of mystical particle transfer. Because these instruments were portable, the operator could take them with him on his journey to the underworld of the earth. Others of the party who accompanied the operator, followed him-presumably in single file-as they journeyed together on the mystical pathway into the interior of the earth. In their minds their destination was the underworld of the earth where immortality could be obtained and paradise beckoned. However, their true destination, unknown to them at the beginning of their journey, was a grottobase of an advanced interstellar civilization inhabited by living entities of that civilization.
In the above account of the discovery of the Lascaux cave, it may be recalled that it was the dog that discovered the small hole in the ground that was the entrance to the Lascaux cave. And it was the dog that was the first of the party to enter the cave. in the above account, the dog could be viewed, symbolically, as the mystical particle transfer operator who was the leader of the group of people who journeyed on the mystical pathway into the interior of the earth. However, before they could do this, they first had to locate the instruments of mystical particle transfer that the living entities of an advanced interstellar civilization had left for them to find within the cave. Presumably, these were left at the place in the cave where the transfer point was located. The leader of the party, like the dog, mentioned above, presumably took the lead in entering the cave and exploring it, and it was probably he who discovered the instruments and the transfer point associated with them. The four young men, in this context, symbolically, could be viewed as those who accompanied the operator on the journey on the mystical pathway. The young men numbered four, and as noted above, inspired sources indicate that this is the maximum number of people who could accompany a mystical particle transfer operator on the mystical partway.
There is, it is believed, more than one similarity between the manner in which the Lascaux cave was discovered in 1940 and the manner in which the Lascaux cave was discovered by the people of the Magdalenian culture involved in transfer activity in the fifteenth millennium B.C. It may be recalled that the four young men, after following the dog into the Lascaux cave, attempted to explore the cave. However, lacking an adequate source of light (they only had matches, they decided to leave the cave and return another day with a lantern. When they returned, the light of their lantern revealed that they had discovered a cave of paintings, and with amazement, they began to explore the cave. It would not be unreasonable to assume that the events above may be analogous to the events that took place, when the Lascaux cave was discovered by the people of the Magdalenian culture involved in transfer activity. A lone person or a small party of people of that culture may have accidently discovered the cave. The term used above is "accidently," however, we must realize that if it was the Creator's will for one to discover this cave, this was not an accident. This person may have been seeking an entrance to the underworld for a long time, and may have thought that he, at last, had discovered the entrance to that world. However, he would not have on his person a oil lamp or a torch to provide light, so he would have been forced to leave the cave and return to his dwelling.
If, after returning to his clan and community, he felt that a return to the cave was not worth the effort, he would have demonstrated his lack of faith in the destiny that the Creator had in mind for him. He would continue to live as a primitive person of the Magdalenian culture, with others of his kind, perhaps, for the rest of his life. However, if he followed through on his plan to return to the cave and took with him oil burning lamps and torches, to provide light for the exploration of the cave, he would have demonstrated his willingness to seek a different destiny-one that would draw him closer to the Creator. In addition, the Creator may have prepared several of his family and friends to accompany him, when he returned to the cave. Presumably, they too were interested in seeking an entrance to the underworld. Therefore, when this person returned to the Lascaux cave, he may have been accompanied by up to four other people.
When they arrived at the cave, the light of their oil burning lamps and torches now permitted them to explore the cave. Eventually, they would be drawn to a place in the cave, which today is called the Chamber of the Felines. This place, it is believed, was the transfer point of the cave, and here the party may have discovered the instruments of mystical particle transfer. After the leader of the group learned how to operate these instruments, the party, led by the leader, who was also the mystical particle transfer operator, would be capable of passing through the solid rock of the walls of the cave into the interior of the earth. They, undoubtedly, at this early stage of their journey, did not know their destination. But the Holy Spirit would lead the way, and eventually they would arrive at their destination safe and sound.
With regard to the symbolic meaning of the account of the discovery of the Lascaux cave by the four young men and a dog in 1940 as this may apply to the future, it is possible that this is associated with that time in Christian eschatology referred to as the day of the Lord (Isa. 2: 10-22; Joel 23:1-11). In Isa. 2:12,19, we read:
12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon
every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every
one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
...
19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks,
and into the caves of earth, for fear of the Lord,
and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth
to shake terribly the earth.
Although these passages appear to refer to the unrighteous in the day of the Lord, and states that they will "go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of he earth," it does not state that they will journey by means of the mystical pathway into the interior of the earth. This may be reserved for the righteous in that day.
Fair Use Notice: This post may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.
This blog distributes this material by means of this blog without profit to those who have expressed an interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use for any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.
No comments:
Post a Comment