Declassified CIA files from the 1960s contain a book titled "The Adam and Eve Story" that makes extraordinary claims about world history, cyclical pole shifts, and an alleged end-of-world prophecy linked to Jesus. The text was discovered among intelligence documents and has fuelled conspiracy theories since its re-emergence in 2019.
The 1966 publication was bundled with other materials, including a Time magazine piece and a transmittal slip. The handwritten document catalogued items such as a toolkit, tyre gauges, key ring, and wing repair kit. The book, written by Chan Thomas, presents a series of assertions regarding an approaching catastrophe connected to the biblical account of Noah's Flood.
Claims of cyclical pole shifts and Jesus's prophecy
Thomas presents numerous assertions that Earth experiences "cyclical pole shifts". The text alleges civilisation gets obliterated every 7,000 years through this catastrophic occurrence, which has been anticipated by personalities throughout history, including Jesus. He alleges Jesus was not the prophetic character recognised from the Bible, but rather an academic who studied in India.
Additionally, it suggests Jesus had foreseen an impending calamity and tried preparing humanity for the apocalypse, with the previous catastrophe being Noah's Flood. Thomas claims to have deciphered Jesus's final words on the cross, asserting he was speaking in a language learned in India, in which he said "I am fainting, I am fainting, darkness is overcoming me".
He also alleges that on Easter Sunday, when Jesus is said to have ascended to heaven, he was actually collected by a "space vehicle". The book's title stems from Thomas's interpretation that the Genesis account is a parable about the downfall of a previous civilisation in an extinction event before Noah's Flood.
Thomas's background and military acknowledgements
Thomas maintains there are "null zones" in the Milky Way that our Solar System travels through every few thousand years, triggering catastrophic changes to Earth as the poles shift. None of his claims are supported by contemporary understanding of history or science.
It is understood Thomas was part of a team hired by aerospace company McDonnell Douglas by Dr Robert Wood, who has since become a leading expert on UFOs with MUFON. Wood identifies Thomas in a 2007 article as one of the men he recruited to investigate UFOs, describing him as an "exceptional innovative" man who "claimed to be in contact with ETs". Dr Wood admits he nearly "fired" Thomas for his unusual behaviour, but characterised him as a "total out of the box thinker".
Publication records show Thomas's book was released in 1963 and 1965, with a copy reaching the CIA archives in 1966. It remained out of print until 1993 and hasn't been republished since, though complete editions can be accessed online. Online conspiracy communities have discovered the book this year, with the CIA document being mistakenly circulated as a "banned" publication. Google Trends shows fascination with Thomas and his work has rocketed by 700%.
Unanswered questions and online interest
Thomas opens his book with acknowledgements to numerous US military leaders, stating without them "this book might not exist". He references US Air Force General Curtis LeMay, known for the quote "bomb them back to the Stone Age", as well as General Harold Grant and Admiral Rufus Taylor, an intelligence operative who later joined the CIA. He includes a note to the "Joint Staff of that time" thanking them for their "inspiring encouragement".
Concluding his foreword, Thomas states: "To all of those who rediculted, scorned and laughed, relegating me to the nuthouse and even firing me. For how else would I have been so driven to pursue, solve, find and derive the truth. I owe them." The CIA's motives for classifying the material remain unclear, and the reality that someone involved in a project connected to the UFO programme at the US Air Force penned such an unusual text that landed in top-secret documents adds to the mystery.
