The book of Ecclesiastes has long puzzled readers with its sombre reflections and paradoxical wisdom. But when read as Neville Goddard urged us to read all Scripture—not as history, but as the unfolding of consciousness—a deeper, richer message appears. The “Preacher” becomes not a gloomy old man, but a symbol of reflective awareness grappling with inner truth. Below, we explore some of Ecclesiastes’ most iconic verses in order, unveiling the journey of a mind awakening to the power of imagination.
“‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’” — Ecclesiastes 1:2 (NIV)
This iconic lament is the Teacher’s initial cry. Life appears pointless when seen only through the eyes of external effort. Neville would say this is the result of identifying purely with the outer man—the ego-self reacting to circumstances. “Meaningless” here means vapour or breath—what is fleeting and unreal. Until one understands that life is a mirror of inner states, everything feels meaningless.
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV)
“Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger.” — Ecclesiastes 3:15 (NIV)
These two verses work together to expose the circular nature of experience. Neville taught that creation is finished—every possible outcome already exists, waiting to be entered through imagination. Life is not about inventing, but selecting. The Teacher sees that nothing changes outwardly unless something shifts within. Repetition is not fate—it’s evidence of unconscious creation.
“The thing that is, already has been; what will be, already is; and God will call the past to account.” — Ecclesiastes 3:15 (alternate NIV phrasing)
This reminds us again that all is established in the unseen realm of imagination before it manifests in time. Our past assumptions shape our present state, and God’s “calling to account” invites us to take responsibility for that inner creative act.
“The crooked cannot be straightened; and the missing cannot be counted.” — Ecclesiastes 1:15 (NIV)
This statement seems fatalistic—until understood psychologically. What is “crooked” represents a distorted assumption embedded in the subconscious. According to Neville, you cannot straighten what you are still affirming inwardly. Trying to change outer results while leaving the inner man unchanged leads to frustration. The solution is to assume the state desired, not fight the evidence of the current one.
“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” — Ecclesiastes 1:14 (NIV)
This expands the theme. “Under the sun” refers to the material world—the realm of effects. The Teacher’s weariness is the natural response of anyone who tries to live from the outside in. Neville might say this vexation arises because man sees life as happening to him, rather than through him. The true “work” is the imaginal act, not the physical effort.
“Then I said to myself, ‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said to myself, ‘This too is meaningless.’” — Ecclesiastes 2:15 (NIV)
Here we glimpse the despair that often precedes awakening. The Teacher, despite wisdom, meets the same fate as the fool. This reflects Neville’s warning that knowing truth intellectually is not enough—it must be lived. The fool and the wise man alike fall if both remain in the same state of consciousness. The “meaningless” is in trusting outer facts rather than realising one's imaginal power to revise and create.
**“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
What do workers gain from their toil?” — Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 (NIV)**
This poetic sequence reminds us that all states are temporary. Neville often taught that we pass through various psychological “seasons”—times to break down, to build, to speak, to refrain. But we are not at the mercy of these seasons. Through imagination, we can select and occupy new states. Verse 9 poses the pivotal question: what’s the point of all this labour? The answer lies not in toil itself, but in working within—through feeling, assumption, and vision. Outer effort, without inner alignment, is meaningless.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
This verse strikes a profound balance between certainty and mystery. Neville Goddard taught that life is governed from within—that every experience is a reflection of one's inner state. “He has made everything beautiful in its time” points to the natural fruition of imaginal acts when assumed with faith. Yet the second half of the verse deepens the insight: the full scope of how imagination (God-in-man) operates cannot be grasped by logic.
To “set eternity in the human heart” is to say that the entire pattern of reality is embedded in the subconscious. We carry the blueprint of creation within us. Still, no one can fully trace the invisible thread that runs from beginning to end. Neville would affirm that this mystery does not hinder manifestation—it protects it. You are not responsible for how your assumption comes to pass, only that you persist in the assumption. The hidden process is part of the divine order.
“I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call to account whoever tries to change it.” — Ecclesiastes 3:12-14-15 (NIV)
These verses bring the message full circle. Neville teaches that the imaginal act is eternal and unchangeable once assumed; what you plant in your consciousness endures beyond time. Nothing can be added or removed from this perfect creation because it exists in the unseen, timeless realm of imagination. “God will call to account whoever tries to change it” points to the necessity of assuming the fulfilled state now—recognising that your past assumptions shape your present reality.
This calls us to reverence—not fear—in approaching the power within. The Teacher’s final words remind us that true mastery is in accepting and working with the eternal nature of our creative power. The fullness of life unfolds in divine timing, shaped by the faith we hold in our imaginal acts.
Conclusion: The Preacher Awakens
The book of Ecclesiastes isn't a treatise on despair—it’s the record of an inner journey. The Teacher starts by judging life through the senses, but ends by perceiving a subtler truth: that life is shaped from within. Neville Goddard often quoted Scripture to demonstrate that man is not a victim of circumstances, but the operant power. When imagination is understood as the Creator, the once-vexing world becomes a canvas.
“You become what you contemplate.”
— Neville Goddard
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment! Comments are reviewed before publishing.