Neville 12-08-1969
A DIVINE EVENT
Christmas is the proclamation of a divine event to which all creation aspires. It is an event which puts an
entirely different light upon human life, for it proclaims that man has been saved. I question seriously whether
an nth part of one per cent of those who call themselves Christians know what this event is about. Tonight I
will tell you frommy personal experience.
Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians that “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
Now, the Holy Spirit is nothingmore than the individual’s personal experience of the event, for in the Book of
John, the Risen Christ proclaims that he will “send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who will lead you into all
things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” In the beginning you were told that which
seemed incredible, and the Holy Spirit is your experience of that event, for only then can you know that Jesus
is Lord.
Now, who is Jesus? He is your awareness, your I AMness. In the Book of Exodus, Moses was told to “Say
unto the people of Israel, ‘I amhas sent you.’ This is my name forever. By this name I shall be remembered
throughout all generations, and besides me there is no other Lord.” Jesus is the Lord, your I AMness; your
consciousness of being. “Joshua” is the Hebraic form of our word “Jesus” and means “Jehovah is savior.”
There is no other Lord than I am. “Our God is a God of salvation. To God, the Lord, belongs escape from
death.” God is buried in humanity to make man a living being. And he will rise in the individual as his own
wonderful human imagination.
The discovery of the God within is the one far-off divine event to which creationmoves. The only resurrection
spoken of in scripture is when he rises in you, and the only birth spoken of there is when he comes out – and
that is Christmas. The event seems to be single and separate from the other events, but they are all part of a
complex whole. We are now approaching one part we callChristmas: the birth ofGod, the birth of I am!
Where could you go that you are not aware of being? Therefore, where can you go and not find God? If you
lived in hell would you not be aware of being there? So God is in hell. If you lived in ecstasy you would be
aware of your ecstatic mood, and that awareness is God, for I amis the only name of Jesus.
In his Book called Acts, Luke said: “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we
must be saved.” To call Jesus? No! To be aware!Without using words, when you are aware you are saying I
am. That is Jesus, who is buried and rises in you. And when he escapes fromthe tomb of your skull, Christ is
born. We are taught that this happened 2,000 years ago among people who are long gone from the world,
but I know from experience that when it happens in you it is strangely contemporary. Yes, Christ was born.
That is a fact, but it is not over, as it is still taking place in the individual the world over. Christmas is that one
far-off great divine event to which the whole vast world is moving.
If you ask someone who calls himself a Christian, who Christ is, the chances are he would tell you that Jesus
is the son ofGod. And if you told him that he must be God to know that, he would be horrified and tell you
that you are blasphemous to suggest such a thing. But if you return to the proclamation of the great event, you
will find that “No one knows who the son is except the Father.” So if you know God’s son is Jesus Christ,
then you have to be God the Father. And, since no one knows who the Father is except the son, Jesus Christ
must have revealed you as his Father. Well, man cannot rationalize this because he has not had the
experience; for no one can know that Jesus is Lord (which is God the Father) except by the Holy Spirit, for it
is he who brings you the experience of the great mystery.
We are told that when Paul rose up into the third heaven he heard unutterable words. Some translations say
they were “words which man may not utter,” but it isn’t that. What Paul saw and heard was incapable of
expression in words. There are no words to express a body that one wears when he rises within himself, for it
is not a body of flesh and blood, but an indescribable form divine. In his 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul
said: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be,
for God gives it a body as he has chosen.” I will know you in eternity, but for all the identity of purpose there
will be a radical discontinuity of form.
Yesterday morning when I returned to this level of my being, I arrested the body I was wearing to spend
some ten to fifteen minutes right on the surface of my being. The form is alive. It is all energy, all power, all
wisdom, and all love. I wear that body as I do the suit I amwearing now, only I know it to be my very self. I
amalways in control, by intensifyingmy energy or modifying it. In that body I looked out over glorious scenes
never seen on earth. They were all three-dimensional visions in vivid colors and indescribable forms. I would
observe one, then let it go to observe another – all heavenly treasures which are inme.
When your eyes begin to open inwardly into the world of thought, into eternity, you will see what no mortal
eye turned out could ever see. There are no images in this outer world to describe the eternalworld which is
imperishable, the world you will see when you are wearing Christ, the New Man.
This is an indescribable, ineffable, mystery; for God comes to us as one unknown, yet one who will allow the
individual to experience who he is. When you experience Christ, you are experiencing who you are, for you
are the Jesus of scripture. You are the Lord God Jehovah. The event toward which you are moving is the
awakening of the Lord in you. Then and only then will you know who you are.
Christmas is simply the proclamation of this one far-off divine event to which creation moves. It is not about
one who lived a long time ago, but about you. The Bible is very personal. It is your own spiritual biography,
your salvation history. To see the characters of scripture as characters of history is to see truth tempered to
the weakness of the human soul. They are not characters on the outside, but within you, for the drama unfolds
in your imagination. You are buried in yourself and do not know it. But when you reach the fullness of time
you will awake to Christmas.
Last lecture night I told you of an experience of a friend who tasted of the power of the age to come. She had
found herself, in dream, in the home of people who have not changed the fashion of their outer garments for
300 years. The woman’s second husband had been killed by the group and she tried to persuade them that
what they had done was wrong, but they would not believe her. A group of men all dressed in black and
carryingmachine guns arrived, ready to kill everyone, and when she tried to persuade themthat it was wrong
they could not understand. Then she began to awake in her dream to realize that, although they all seemed to
be independent of her perception of them, they were only aspects of her dream. Arresting her power of
perception, everything froze. She changed their intentions, released the activity in her which allowed them to
become reanimated again, and watched as the man put down his gun and with outstretched arms went over
to embrace the woman.
This is the power of which I speak. It is a power unknown to the mortal, rationalmind. We think power is in
the atom bomb, in hydrogen energy, money in the bank, or securities. Tonight, undoubtedly a dozen or more
very wealthy men will die and not take one penny with them. They simply left the garment of flesh and blood
they made so real, along with their securities. But you can never lose the power of which I speak, for it is
forever. These bodies die, and all that they possess will die with them; but the power of imagination is
imperishable, for it is the power of God in man, called Christ. Man is slowly awakening to this power and
when he hears and senses it, this is the power he will exercise.
Now, in my friend’s case, she awoke in her dreamto discover that, although everything seemed to be taking
place independent of her perception of it, the dream was only herself pushed out. Knowing that she could
control the dream, she changed the motivation of the man frommurder to love. Then she released the activity
which allowed them to become reanimated again, and they obeyed her command. This is your future, your
inheritance where everything is under your control.
These bodies of flesh and blood are only garments God wears. Even though they are consumed in a furnace
(called cremation), the bodies are restored for others to occupy. The world is restored, but you – the actor in
the drama – move up until you finally awake, and that is what we callChristmas.
Christmas is the awakening ofGod inman. It’s not an event which took place 2,000 years ago, but is taking
place all over the world in those who have reached the fullness of time. When the fullness of time has come
for you, you begin to stir, to awaken fromthis dreamof death and come out of your skull, which is your birth
fromabove. These two events take place the same night. We separate themby three and a half months, and
then add a few months to the discovery of the fatherhood of God, then more time to the ascension of the
spirit; but there are four parts of the one grand event. The first is resurrection. The second is birth. The third is
the discovery of the fatherhood through the son, and the fourth is the ascension: the rising of the son of man
(who you are) into heaven in a serpentine form.
Tonight many are preparing for the great event and singing their heads off on Christmas morning. I’mall for it.
Let them have fun. But they will be singing of one they do not know. They will sing their hallelujahs thinking
that someone in time and space is responding to their adulation – but that’s not Christmas. In the world,
moving among themwalk those who have experienced the event. They know that Jesus is Lord and that he is
their wonderful human imagination, their I AMness.
I amis Jehovah’s name forever. By this name I shall be remembered throughout all generations. You are now
a living being because Jehovah is buried within you. And you are destined to become a life-giving spirit, as my
friend discovered she was. Stopping the activity in herselfwhich allowed others to be alive, she changed their
motivation by giving a command which was in conflict with their intentions. Then she released the activity in
her and they became reanimated once more – not to carry out their former intention, but to execute her
command. She has now tasted of the power of the age to come.
On this levelwe argue, trying to persuade the other that he is wrong when he knows he is right, so we end up
just where we stand. This is life in a world of death where everything waxes, wanes, and vanishes.
But you are destined to enter the world ofwhich I speak. It is eternal and cannot be entered with a body of
flesh and blood, but requires a new body. So unless what you sow dies, it cannot be made alive. And what
you sow is not the body which is to be, but God (who is yourself) gives you a body as he has chosen. It is a
glorious body of power and wisdom and called the body of Christ. It is worn as you would a garment, only
you are in control of your power through your innate wisdom – a wisdom to which no doubt is attached. This
proclamation is not discovered by some rational argument. The gospel is not discovered, it is disclosed. It is
not something you can logically prove, but a self-revelation ofGod. Scholars can study the life and teachings
of Jesus until the end of time but never find in the study who the Father or the Son is. If they did, they would
not tamper with the Bible.
In the earliest of all the books, the Book of Mark, the statement is made: “The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the son ofGod.” The phrase, “the son ofGod,” is an addition by a scribe. The earliest and best
manuscripts that we have, omit the phrase, “the son ofGod,” and read: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.”
The word “gospel” means “good news.” This is the good news, that Jesus is the Lord Jehovah and Christ is
his power and wisdom. He is buried in us and he will rise in us. You will know of his rising because the day
he rises in you, the very imagery of scripture will surround you, and you will know that you are the one
spoken of as the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you will discover who the son is, for you will not know that Jesus is
Lord except by the Holy Spirit (by experience.) And you can only know your son from experience. David,
the personification of humanity fused into a single being, stands before you and calls you Father
You are told at the end of the Old Testament that “A son honors his father. If then I ama father, where is my
honor?” In other words, where is my son? The New Testament begins by revealing the son, but man cannot
understand. He does not know that Jesus is the Lord who is God the Father, until he has the experience of
waking and rising in his skull. Of coming out of that skull and holding the Christ child, the sign of his
resurrection, in his own hands. He must stand before the son of God and David must call him Father. And
may I tell you: at that moment there will be no doubt in his mind as to who the son is and who he is relative to
that boy. He will know he is David’s father and David will know he is his son.
In the Book of Samuelwe read: “When you lie down with your fathers I will raise up after you your son, who
will come forth from your body. I will be his father and he shall be my son.” Now we jump to the Book of
Revelation, where the Lord is speaking, saying: “I amthe root and the offspring ofDavid.” I amthe root, the
cause which is the father. And I amthe offspring ofmy son, David; therefore I am one withmy grandson. All
of the members of the human race are fused together into a single being called David. And what comes out of
that? David’s offspring. If David’s root is the Lord, what comes out ofDavid must be one with his root, so I
am the root and the offspring. I am the grandfather and the grandson and David is my son. Man matures
when he becomes his grandfather, for the grandfather is the Lord.
We are dealing with a mystery. If you think when you read the story of the Old or New Testament that you
are going to reach truth by some rational argument, you are searching in vain. The wisest of the wise cannot
see it, and because it isn’t rational they call it a myth. But I tell you: he gives himself to whomever he will, even
the lowliest among men. Those who have all their degrees, honors, money, and reputation are dead but do
not know it. I do not condemn themor argue with them, but simply walk by, looking for willing ears to tellmy
story to, and usually it is to those who are not the scholars of the day. Those who hear my words may not
understand them, but locking my message in their hearts, they ponder it; and one day, believing as I hoped
they would, it will erupt within them. Then they, too, will know that the Lord Jesus is he who the world calls
the God of the universe. They will know it because the Holy Spirit brought to their remembrance all that I
have told them.
Let the world go blindly on, as it will. Eternity awaits. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Everyone eventually
will come into this knowledge. But no one will come until he hungers, until he thirsts after God with a thirst
that only an experience ofGod can satisfy.
The world, not understanding scripture, thinks that God will send a physical famine. Oh, that is possible, it
happens all over the world anyway. It’s not because we cannot supply the food – the problem is economic.
We are told to curtail production, as we cannot find bins large enough to house our supply. We put an
enormous weight on the taxpayer because we allow food to rot, as we do not know how to give it away.
People are paid not to grow food, while our government talks about not being able to supply. Our southern
states alone could grow enough to feed and clothe the world, but how to do it under the present economy? I
amnot an economist so I cannot tell you how; but I do know it is not a lack of production, but rather a lack
of economy.
The economic problem I cannot solve, but I can tell you that Christ in you is your own wonderful human
imagination, that the God of scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ is your I am. Let the world scoff at it. That is
perfectly all right; they are only fulfilling scripture. “Scoffers will come scoffing saying, ‘Where is the promise
of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the
foundation of the world.”’ So let them scoff, but you accept my message and put your hope fully upon the
grace that is coming to you. Hope it will erupt within you now, in the not distant future; and then – when you
shed this garment of flesh (as youmust), you will be clothed in power; clothed in wisdom; clothed in love.
Those who have not had the experience before they depart this world are restored to life to find themselves in
a world just like this. They will be faced with all the problems they have neglected here. They may leave the
garment of a billionaire to find themselves a shoeshine boy or one who cleans latrines, if that is what must be
done to rouse themto believe the incredible story.
Don’t think that your present position in life is any indicator of what you will be when you leave here. If Christ
has not awakened in you, you will find yourself in a terrestrial world like this, in a body like these, new and
young, but not a baby. You will be doing something best suited for the work yet to be done in you. Until that
power in you awakes, you will continue using your rationalmind in a rationalworld just like this.
The Christmas that we now look forward to celebrate is one aspect of the great event. There are four definite
acts in the single event, which begin with your resurrection. This is followed by your birth from above. Then
David reveals your fatherhood, and the fourth and final act appears when you ascend into heaven in a
serpentine formand enter it violently, clothed in power.
Now let us go into the silence.
Neville Goddard, Summa Theologica, Manly P Hall, A Course In Miracles
