Neville – 5/20/1968
CREATION – FAITH
Neville Goddard
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.
Neville Goddard, Summa Theologica, Manly P Hall, A Course In Miracles
