Except that Hawking has mathematical proofs and subsequent discovered supporting evidence, where Nietzsche is just giving voice to an idea that can be found all over the world, primarily in religions.

I think the reason that the idea is present in many cultures and religions, but not so much in modern science, is because it is a social reality rather than a physical one. People have children and instil in them their beliefs, those children grow up and act on those beliefs, including instilling it in their children. Their beliefs give rise to their behaviour, so the social realm seems to travel in cycles of similar behavioours that repeat each generation or so.