The Sacred Architecture of Solomon’s Temple: Cherubim and Pomegranates in Neville Goddard’s Teaching

Within the sacred architecture of Solomon’s Temple, two powerful symbols—the cherubim and the pomegranates—stand as profound metaphors for the process of inner transformation and manifestation, as understood through Neville Goddard’s teachings.

The Cherubim: The Protective Power of Imagination

In the Temple, the cherubim were positioned above the Ark of the Covenant, their wings spread wide over the mercy seat, protecting this most sacred inner place.

• 1 Kings 6:27 – “He placed the cherubim inside the inner room of the temple, and they spread their wings over the place of the ark.”

• Exodus 25:20 – “The cherubim shall spread their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings.”

For Neville, the cherubim represent imagination itself—the living faculty of consciousness that both guards and governs our creative power. Just as the cherubim overshadow the Ark, imagination shields the “I AM,” the self-aware consciousness, ensuring that only those assumptions which align with our true desire are allowed to manifest.

To engage with the cherubim is to dwell consciously in imagination, recognising it as the divine creative faculty. The cherubim symbolise the part of consciousness that protects the assumption, the feeling of the wish fulfilled, and keeps the door to manifestation secure from doubt, fear, or disbelief.

Neville repeatedly emphasised that “all that is, is first a state of consciousness.” In this way, the cherubim are not external guardians but the inner sentinels of your own imaginative power.

The “I AM” and the Inner Creative Awareness

Central to Neville’s teaching is the phrase “I AM”—the self-aware “I” that identifies with the assumed state. The cherubim, as the protectors over the Ark (a symbol of the seat of divine imagination), represent the alignment of imagination with the “I AM”—the conscious awareness of one’s creative power.

The cherubim also symbolise the barrier of consciousness that must be consciously overcome to return to creative awareness—akin to the “fall” of Adam and Eve, which Neville interprets as the loss of awareness of the power of imagination. They remind us that the return to creation is a conscious act of re-asserting the “I AM” in imagination.

Stillness: The Inner State of Assumption

The cherubim stand still, reflecting the sacred inner attitude Neville calls for—the feeling of the wish fulfilled with quiet confidence and faith. This stillness is not passivity but the inner rest of having assumed the fulfilled state.

To “stand with the cherubim” in your own temple is to maintain the assumption in a state of unwavering faith, holding the mental image with reverence and certainty, free from anxiety or effort.

Breath and Spirit: The Wind of Consciousness

In Neville’s teaching, God is often represented as Spirit or the “breath” of life—the invisible, dynamic energy of imagination. The cherubim’s wings, spread wide, represent this breath or the movement of Spirit in consciousness, which carries the assumption from invisible imagination into visible form.

The wings are the channels through which the creative energy flows, moving the inner assumption into outer manifestation.

Cherubim as the Framework of Sacred Assumption

Placed above the Ark—the mercy seat—the cherubim form the sacred framework around your inner assumption, the place where your imagination dwells in communion with the “I AM.”

• 1 Kings 8:7 – “When the priests withdrew, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord,” symbolising the presence of Spirit in the assumption.

To imagine boldly and lovingly is to enter into this sacred communion with God—your own creative consciousness.

Two Cherubim: The Law of Witness

The presence of two cherubim expresses Neville’s law of witness—the spiritual principle that manifestation requires two witnesses: the assumption (inner state) and the manifestation (outer evidence).

• 1 Kings 6:23-25 – “He made a pair of cherubim… each with wings outstretched.”

This duality reminds us that creation is a cycle of inner assumption and outer manifestation, faith and fulfilment, imagination and reality.

The Pomegranates: Seeds of Assumption and Manifestation

The pomegranates that adorned the pillars and veil of the Temple symbolise the seeds within imagination—the countless ideas and desires planted within consciousness, each with the potential to manifest.

Neville teaches that the act of holding a single, vivid mental image, filled with the feeling of the wish fulfilled, is like planting a seed in fertile soil. The pomegranate’s many seeds perfectly symbolise the fruitfulness of sustained assumption.

• 1 Kings 7:18-20 – Descriptions of the pomegranates on the pillars reinforce their symbolism as fertile seeds of creative power.

The Union of Cherubim and Pomegranates: Imagination in Action

Together, the cherubim and pomegranates represent the union of protective assumption and fertile creative power. The cherubim guard and maintain the sacred assumption, while the pomegranates represent the manifold manifestations that spring forth when the imagination is properly nurtured.

Neville’s teaching is clear: Imagination is the key to all creation, and it must be guarded with faith and reverence. When the “I AM” aligns with the assumption and holds it with unwavering feeling, the creative power—like the cherubim’s wings and the pomegranates’ seeds—brings forth the visible fruit of our desires.