I recently watched a TikTok video that struck a chord. The creator had gone through the entire Bible, documenting every harsh, violent, or perplexing passage—and he was absolutely determined to discredit the whole thing.
It was painful to watch, not because he was wrong to question, but because I could see he’d only ever been given the literal interpretation. And without a symbolic or imaginative understanding, the Bible does look cruel.
But what if it was never meant to be read on the surface? What if the horror is just the outer husk of something far more transformational?
Job: The Symbol of Suffering Before Awakening
In Job 23, we encounter a soul in torment:
“See, I go forward, but he is not there; and back, but I do not see him;” (Job 23:8, BBE)
Job is not just a man in a tale—he’s a state. According to Neville Goddard, Job symbolises the unaware man: the one who suffers under the illusion of separation, pleading to a God “out there” while the real creative force—the I AM—is within him all along.
He is the person who believes in an external God who refuses to answer, not realising their own divinity. He’s not being punished. He’s being pushed—toward inner discovery.
“I go to the left hand where he is working, but I see him not; he is covering himself on the right hand, and I do not see him.” (Job 23:9, BBE)
Here is the agony of a man who feels abandoned not only emotionally but perceptually. Even where he sees signs of divine activity, he cannot grasp the presence itself. It’s the state of consciousness that looks everywhere but within.
“Even today my outcry is bitter; my hand is weighed down because of my sorrow.” (Job 23:2, BBE)
This speaks to the weight of the suffering felt when one still believes that life is happening to them, not through them. The bitterness arises from powerlessness. The stroke—the external blow—is heavier than the expression of it. This is symbolic of the disconnect between outer struggle and inner awareness.
“See, I go forward, but he is not there; and back, but I do not see him;”
“I go to the left hand where he is working, but I see him not; he is covering himself on the right hand, and I do not see him.”
These verses express the raw grief and confusion of believing God has disappeared—when in truth, God is closer than breath. But to the externalising mind, He is hidden.
The Immutable Law of Consciousness
“But he is unchangeable, and who may make him go back from his purpose? What his soul has desired, that he does.” (Job 23:13, BBE)
On the surface, this might sound like hopelessness—but Neville saw something deeper. This is not about an aloof deity; it’s about the impersonal nature of the Law. Imagination (God) doesn’t respond to desperation—it mirrors belief. It can’t be begged into change. It acts in harmony with our assumptions, always faithful to the state we occupy.
Neville would say: if your inner speech and belief remain unchanged, the outer world cannot help but reflect that. It isn’t cruelty—it’s law.
A Whisper of Awakening
“Will he make use of his great power to overcome me? No, but he would give attention to me.” (Job 23:6, BBE)
This line is a turning of the heart. Job begins to intuit that the trials are not a punishment but a path to inner strength. This is the whisper of awakening—the moment when blame begins to turn inward, not in guilt, but in empowerment.
The “strength” being formed is not physical or moral—it is awareness of self as cause. The emergence of I AM.
Literal Horror vs. Inner Symbolism
The man on TikTok had a point. Read literally, the Bible is full of disturbing moments. But if, as Neville taught, each person in scripture represents a state of consciousness, then these stories become internal maps.
Job’s chaos symbolises the inner agony of believing in a powerless self, dependent on a capricious outside force. The silence of “God” reflects the silence of our own awareness when we do not yet know how to direct it.
When Neville said, “There is no one to change but self,” he meant precisely this. The agony of Job dissolves the moment one turns within and assumes the feeling of the wish fulfilled. In that moment, the God who “hides” becomes visible—because he was never hiding at all.
Job 23: The Turning Point
Even in the midst of despair, Job says:
“But he has knowledge of the way I take; after I have been tested, I will come out like gold.” (Job 23:10, BBE)
Here lies the turning. The fire wasn’t to destroy—but to refine. It is the painful moment just before the awakening, the cracking open of identity before the discovery of the I AM within. Every trial is an invitation to awaken imagination and refine belief. The test is not cruelty—it’s alignment.
The Suffering and the Shift
Job is the old self. The one who pleads to heaven and hears no answer. He is the part of us that hasn’t yet realised that imagination creates reality—that we are not separate from the Divine, but one with it.
When the Bible is read symbolically, the suffering becomes meaningful. The confusion becomes a stage in the evolution of consciousness. The “cruel” God becomes the invitation to discover that God is I AM.
Conclusion: Before You Throw the Bible Away
To the TikTok creator, and anyone who’s been wounded by the literal Bible: I hear you. I was there once too. But don’t stop at what it appears to be. Don’t throw the gold away with the gravel.
There is a symbolic language running through scripture that can transform your understanding—and your life.
When you realise that every character is you, the Bible becomes not a record of ancient pain, but a guide to inner power.
And Job? He becomes your beginning.
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