Neville Goddard
5/20/1968
The
mystery of creation is to be understood in terms of faith, so what is
faith? It is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen with the mortal eye. Through faith we understand that
the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was
made out of things which do not appear.
"Many
suppose that before creation, all was solitude and chaos. That is the
most pernicious idea that can enter the mind of man, for it robs the
Bible of all sublimity and the nature of the man who entertains that
idea a little grubbing worm outside of himself. Eternity exists and
all things in eternity, independent of creation which was an act of
mercy." (William Blake)
All things exist, and the mystery
of their creation must be understood in terms of faith. But faith
does not give reality to that which is unseen. Faith is loyalty to
the unseen reality! Only in this sense can the meaning of faith be
understood.
If you have a goal, although it is unseen,
it already exists. Your normal mortal eye cannot see it, but by
rearranging the structure of your mind, you can see it clearly. If,
as the days follow one another, you remain loyal to this unseen
reality, and your goal is reached, you will have discovered the
mystery of creation.
Eternity exists and all things in
eternity independent of your creative act. You may continue to build
only upon what your mortal eye sees, and perpetuate the same thing
over and over again, remaining forever where you are. But if you know
that all things exist, though unseen at the moment, and you have
access to them through your imagination, you can rearrange the
pattern of your thinking and change your world by remaining loyal to
your unseen construction. And when it externalizes itself by becoming
a fact that you may share with others, then you will have found the
secret of creation, which was an act of faith.
The 11th
chapter of the Book of Hebrews tells fantastic stones of what the
ancients performed - and they did everything! Beginning with Enoch,
all of the characters are named, as well as their achievements. Then
it is said: "They received the promises, but not the
promise."
Having been promised that if they could
believe, it would come to pass, they believed and received the
promises. But no one knew the fulfillment of the promise until it
broke through in one. Then he knew that by the same act of faith, he
could leave this sphere and enter the heavenly one.
God's
promise has fulfilled itself in me. I have recorded it for posterity
as vividly and as accurately as I can in my book, Resurrection. You
can read of my experiences and believe them or disbelieve them. It's
up to you. Perhaps at the present time you do not want to leave this
sphere and enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now, "By
faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God,"
which is His power and wisdom, called Christ. Any Christ other than
he who is crucified, buried, and rises in you, is false. And anyone
who teaches of an outside Christ is a false teacher.
Paul
tells us: "The mystery hidden from the ages, Christ in you, is
the hope of glory." Any hope you have of entering a glory that
transcends all earthly power and wisdom is already in you, but
hidden. Christ is the way, the pattern to follow for entrance into
that glory.
If everything exists, whether visible or
invisible, then my father and mother who have departed this world
exist, and would revel in anything that I accomplish here. Although
my mother left this world in 1941 and my father in `59, I can bring
them into my mind's eye and hear them speak of their pride in their
son. Believing that everything I can conceive is part of the
structure of the universe, I can assume they are fully aware of my
accomplishments, so I listen to their joy.
Now, can I
remain faithful to that scene? My faith is not going to give it
reality, but my loyalty to the unseen reality will. I listen and
remember what I heard, and in the tomorrows I continue to remember.
Then, in its own appointed time, when that which I have been faithful
to externalizes itself, I will have found the great secret of
creation.
God tells us he does not create something out
of nothing, for all things are! That he calls a thing that is not now
seen as though it were seen, and the unseen becomes seen. (Romans
4:17) Instead of calling something out of nothing, you simply
rearrange that which already is until it implies what you want. Then
you remain loyal to that unseen reality.
Faith contains
a power which can link you to a world where you are eternal. Paul
tells us to put our faith, not in the works of men, but in the power
of God. And no earthly power - be it atomic, megatons of
multi-megatons - can compare to that power!
Can you
conceive of being a power so great that if you desire, you can stop
the world? That you can make it stand still and see it as dead? Then
release it and let the world continue to fulfill its so-called
intentions?
Could you deal with such a power by changing
your intentions, thus causing the world to be reanimated and do the
opposite? That is the power which will be yours when you know you are
one with the body of love, called the Everlasting
Savior.
Contemplate this thought. On this level you may
achieve any objective, and prove to yourself that invisible states,
when properly rearranged, will externalize what they imply, for the
potency of every imaginal act is in its implication.
Listen
closely to your invisible thoughts. What do you hear? What are your
words implying? That is their potency. What do you want? Name it and
rearrange the structure of your mind to imply you no longer desire
it, because you already have it!
Perhaps another has
injured you or caused you grief. It doesn't matter what has been
done, when you know this law you can forgive anyone by rearranging
the structure of your mind and set him free by imagining it never
happened!
You see, there are two things that displease
God. One is the lack of faith in “I am he”, and the other
is eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil by using yourself
as the criteria as to what is good and what is evil. Unless you
believe you are the seeming other who caused your grief, you will
continue to reproduce the same unhappiness and miss your mark in life
by dying in your sins. So, without faith it is impossible to please
yourself!
For the moment, think of everything as
existing now! Although unseen by your mortal mind, your desire exists
and can be seen in your imagination. Although your father and mother
may be unseen by the world, they exist, and the love they have for
you has never passed away. Because all things are, you may use them
or those who are now in your world.
If, for instance,
your friends heard of your good fortune, would they empathize with
you or be envious? Do not choose one who would sympathize with you,
for you do not want sympathy. You either want empathy or envy. If you
know someone who, when hearing of your good fortune would now go wild
with envy, use her. Or, if you know one who would rejoice because of
your good fortune, take that image.
It's your choice,
but you must remain loyal to the unseen reality you have constructed.
Your faith will not give it reality, for faith is your loyalty to the
unseen reality. "Abraham believed, and it was accounted unto him
for righteousness," and all things come out of
Abraham.
Someone once defined faith as:
Believing
what is incredible,
Or it is no virtue at all.
Hope
is hoping when things are hopeless,
Or it is no virtue at
all.
And love is forgiving what is unforgivable,
Or
it is no virtue at all.
These are the three virtues
under which the civilized world comes - Faith, Hope and Love.
You
may not be able to see the fulfillment of your desires with your
mortal eye. Your senses and reason may deny their existence, but this
is the way God created the world. You are invited to imitate him as a
dear child, by remaining faithful to the unseen reality in your mind
until it becomes seen in your world. And when it does you will have
proved God's law.
Then that great moment will come when
that which was promised in the beginning erupts, and the creative
power you once knew yourself to be is restored, only magnified
because of your journey into this world of death.
All of
the promises of God have found their Yes in me. I remain with you now
only to encourage you to move into an entirely different awareness.
There is nothing here, however, to aid you concerning that world. How
can you understand God's power, when you only know the power to burn
wood and boil water. You are aware that a bomb can kill millions; yet
you also know that the ones who created and dropped the bomb will
die, just like the millions killed; so you have nothing to compare to
the power of that world, as it transcends anything known to man.
I
have described the pattern for entrance into that world. It consists
of a series of four mystical events which, when experienced, frees
the individual from this level and opens the door into the world of
the promise. I have shared my experiences; yet men - believing I am
Neville who will die as everyone does here - do not believe they are
the Messiah which is to come, so they turn a deaf ear in my
direction.
But I will continue to share my experiences
and leave them behind in my books, just as Paul did in the form of
letters, and those who experienced the visions recorded the gospels.
Those who wrote the gospels knew what they had experienced; but man
has misinterpreted the message, believing Jesus Christ is external to
self and not realizing he is God's creative power and wisdom.
My
visions have paralleled those recorded in the Book of Luke. Luke does
not claim that his experiences were chronologically accurate, but
that he feels better qualified to write the source material. I have
told it chronologically, just as it happened to me.
Now
I tell you this: As persons differ, so will the experiences. Two
people here have had that birth. In one case there was no witness;
therefore his witness is scripture. In the other case, the lady had
three witnesses: two brothers and a friend she thinks of as a
brother. So, because we do differ in the kingdom, the visions will
differ, but the pattern will remain the same.
Even if
you haven't had the experiences, you can construct a scene that would
imply scripture has been fulfilled in you. Wouldn't it be wonderful
if you could say to your closest friend, or most bitter opponent,
"There is no doubt in my mind that I have been born from above,
for I have held that infant wrapped in swaddling clothes in my
hands." How would you feel if that were true? What scene would
you construct? Remember, all things exist.
Scripture
exists, so use it to construct your scene. It is said that three men
were present at the birth. Church tradition claims the three kings
were brothers; but friends may be used as witnesses, as the scene you
are creating is for the purpose of implication, for therein contains
the power. But one must lift the child and place him in your
arms.
Imagine, and then watch the mystery of creation
unfold in terms of faith, by remaining loyal to the unseen reality of
that which already exists. "Unto you is born this day a
Savior..." And the only Savior is the Lord God! The infant
wrapped in swaddling clothes is only a sign, given to tell you that
what I have told you is true. Imagine anything that would imply God's
birth has already happened. Remain faithful to that scene, and when
it happens there will be no uncertainty on your part.
Salvation
history is over! We are not here to sow, for the fields are already
white with harvest. Because all things are, and the harvest is, you
are not here to till the soil and plant the seed, but to reap that
which you did not sow. If you know that faith is simply loyalty to
unseen reality, you can construct a scene, remain loyal to it and
harvest it, for everything is already completed.
God
conceived the history of salvation, plotted it, and fulfilled it by
becoming humanity. Believing that he already did accomplish his
purpose, humanity is raised to enter the kingdom once more and God's
second coming has been fulfilled.
But until individual
man believes in his own wonderful human imagination, God remains
imprisoned within him. If you do not harvest God's promise it is only
because you do not believe!
Now I want to share a dream
of a friend, as it contains a message for us all. Bear in mind that
the dreamer is protean. Like the legendary god, Proteus, who served
Neptune and would assume any shape or form in his service, God is the
dreamer in you and assumes the forms of all the characters in your
dream.
In this lady's dream she encounters her mother,
yet knows she is herself. Her husband, yet her father, was missing,
and her mother said: "Listen, I can hear his voice." Then
the scene changed, and she and her mother are being entertained by
four little men, each one foot high. As she looked into the eyes of
one of them, she realized he was her father. Calling her mother's
attention to this fact, her mother approached, touched him and said
something in code. Then suddenly she knew that her father was not
free to identify himself and she awoke sobbing.
This
dream speaks volumes. Remember, all dreams are egocentric, with God
as the dreamer. Everyone is seeking the Father, the cause of the
phenomena of life, not realizing he is imprisoned in all. Belief,
however, will set him free! If you will imagine David standing before
you and feel the Father/Son relationship. Remain loyal to that scene,
you will release your heavenly Father!
Because of one's
former religious training, when the truth is heard that will set him
free, he is torn between the two. To think that one can come to hear
my message, yet still believe in what the churches teach, is like
what someone once said to me: "I have given up all belief in
numerology and astrology, but the moon is passing Venus tonight and
because he is in my second house I know what to expect tomorrow."
They have completely given up their belief BUT... That big "BUT"
happens in all.
This lady's vision was so clear. Her
father, entertaining in a group of four and not free to come forward
and identify himself, is the four-faced man Ezekiel speaks of. In his
vision every living creature had four faces. Beside each creature was
a wheel, with wheels within, all moving in the same direction.
This
has been a perfect revelation to her, if she will accept it, telling
her she is either for me or against me. Would that you be either hot
or cold - believing my words or leaving, never to have anything to do
with me again - rather than being lukewarm and remaining on the
fence, warmed by my words, but unwilling to put them to use in the
form of belief.
I have had people say|: "I'll come
hear you. You are interesting, but I know that in order to get ahead
in life I must know the right people and be at the right place at the
right time. That is the reality to which I choose to anchor myself."
This is what her wonderful vision disclosed to me.
Another
lady wrote, sharing a very long dream filled with scriptural
symbology. The crystal clear water rising. Logs cut to the height of
men who were carrying them vertically. A dog with a human face. A
piece of rope becoming animated and acting like a serpent, entangling
the little dog. Each symbol was perfect, and when properly arranged
reveals the mystery of salvation. The wood is the spinal cord upon
which God is crucified as Man. Caleb, the symbol of faith wears a
human face, dies only for a moment, for faith is destined to be
freed.
Another lady wrote, saying: "I woke
laughing, hearing these words, 'It's so easy to know you are God. All
you need to do is to expand.' “This is true. William Blake
began his great poem, "Jerusalem," on the sixth line,
saying: "Awake! Awake O sleeper of the land of shadows, wake!
Expand! I am in you and you in me, mutual in love divine."
Love's secret is expansion. Contract your senses and you see
multitudes. Expand them and you will see one Man, one Love!
Dwell
upon this great mystery of creation in terms of faith. All ministers,
rabbis, and preachers teach faith - but faith in what? In little
icons? A lighted candle? Our maid comes every Monday and we always
give her our used candles. This afternoon we gave her two, which she
will take to her church to light. She has faith in a discarded,
lighted candle!
All of these things are on the outside.
Faith in any power other than He who is within you is false, and
anyone who teaches a power on the outside is a false teacher. Christ
in you is your hope of glory, and there is no other power.
The
world was constructed in the mind's eye, out of things unseen by the
mortal eye, and made alive by faith. Eternity exists and all things
in eternity, independent of the creative act, which is the assumption
of unseen reality and loyalty to its assemblage.
In
spite of denial by your senses and reason, if you will be faithful to
your unseen assumption, it will externalize itself. That is how all
worlds come into being, but men do not understand this. Structuring
their world based upon the evidence of their senses, they continue to
perpetuate that which they do not desire.
Knowing what
you want, close your eyes and enter its fulfillment, knowing that God
is seeing what you are seeing. That He is hearing what you are
saying; and what God sees and hears and remains loyal to, He
externalizes.
Now let us go into the silence.