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How to Interpret the Bible Using Neville Goddard’s Framework

A Quick Guide to Unlocking the Inner Meaning of Scripture Through Imagination and Symbolism

Introduction

To read the Bible through the eyes of Neville Goddard is to move from religious dogma into personal transformation. Neville taught that the Bible is not a historical record, but a symbolic revelation of consciousness. It is the story of you—your struggles, assumptions, beliefs, and divine creative power.

This guide helps you interpret the Bible not as a book of rules or rituals, but as an instruction manual for manifestation, spiritual awakening, and self-realisation through the power of imagination.

1. Understand Neville’s Core Premise: The Bible Is Your Story

Neville’s message is simple but revolutionary:

  • God is your own wonderful human imagination.

  • The Bible is a coded psychological blueprint—not a history book.

  • Every story in scripture happens within you.

The characters are not people of the past—they are states of being, emotions, beliefs, assumptions, and spiritual insights that unfold in your inner life.

“The Bible has no reference at all to any person who ever existed, or any event that ever occurred upon earth. The ancient story-tellers were not writing history, but an allegorical picture of certain cosmic principles which they clothed in the garb of history.” —Neville Goddard

2. Begin with ‘I Am’: The Foundation of All Interpretation

Everything begins with the words “I AM.” In Exodus 3:14, God says, “I AM THAT I AM.”
This is not just God introducing Himself—it is the formula for conscious creation.

Whatever you put after “I am” becomes your world.

  • “I am poor.”

  • “I am unloved.”

  • “I am abundant.”

  • “I am free.”

All Biblical interpretation must begin with this realisation:
Every verse, every voice, every miracle, is happening inside the great I AM—inside you.

When the Bible says, “The Lord spoke,” it means that your imagination stirred with desire. When Jesus heals, it’s your consciousness removing a limitation.

3. Decode Characters Symbolically: Every Person Is a State of Being

To read the Bible as Neville did, stop thinking in terms of individuals. Every name, every role, every relationship is symbolic.

  • Male characters = new conscious directors, decisions, or states of identity you adopt.

  • Female characters = subconscious states, intuitive faculties, or emotional atmospheres.

  • Kings = dominant assumptions ruling your inner world.

  • Prophets = the inner voice, the creative word, or insight received through stillness.

  • Children = new manifestations or expressions of assumed states.

Example: Saul is your old identity, clinging to control. David is the awakened imagination, humble but powerful. The battle between them is not historical—it’s happening every time you dare to imagine something higher.

4. Recognise Patterns: The Bible Repeats Inner Cycles

Scripture follows psychological and spiritual cycles. Certain story patterns appear again and again—and they are always about transformation.

  • Barren women giving birth – symbolise the rise of a new possibility after spiritual dryness. What once felt impossible becomes reality when imagination is impressed with belief.

  • The younger overtaking the older – the spiritual man (intuition, vision) must replace the natural man (logic, habit).

  • Exile and return – you forget who you are (Egypt, Babylon), and through struggle, remember your true power (return to the Promised Land).

  • Crossing waters – transitions in consciousness, such as leaving the senses and entering faith.

  • Wilderness – the testing ground between assumption and manifestation.

These are not stories of other people—they are parables of your mind and heart.

5. Translate Events into Inner Experience

Every event is symbolic of an internal process. You must learn to read not for fact, but for feeling.

Ask yourself:

  • What state of being is being described here?

  • Where is imagination at work or being blocked?

  • What kind of transformation is occurring in the person—and what does that mean for me?

Example: Barren Women
When women like Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, or Elizabeth conceive after years of infertility, this symbolises the moment when the imagination becomes fertile—when you are finally able to feel and believe in the reality of your wish. The “birth” is not just a child—it is the manifestation of your assumption.

Example: Lazarus
Lazarus’ resurrection symbolises the revival of a forgotten or “dead” desire. When you awaken faith and feel it as true, what was buried rises.

6. Use Names and Locations as Clues

Neville often pointed out the deeper meanings of names and places in scripture. These are not geographical or genealogical—they are spiritual indicators:

  • Egypt – bondage to sense perception and material limitation.

  • Babylon – confusion and loss of inner clarity.

  • Jerusalem – vision of peace, alignment with divine awareness.

  • Bethlehem – house of bread (spiritual nourishment, inner fulfilment).

  • Abraham – faith, the willingness to leave the known for the unknown.

  • Joseph – imagination, the dreamer and revealer.

  • Judah – praise, the emotional outpouring that releases manifestation.

These aren’t just places—they are states you move through.

7. The Importance of Names in Genealogies: What Names Represent in Neville’s Framework

In Neville’s framework, names in genealogies are not arbitrary—they carry deep symbolic meaning, representing states of consciousness and the unfolding evolution of spiritual development.

  • Genealogies as states of being: Each name in a genealogy signifies a progression of conscious states or qualities that one moves through. The family lineage is not just about ancestral history; it represents an unfolding progression of awareness.

  • Each name reflects a principle or characteristic: For example, Abraham represents faith, Isaac represents fulfillment of promise, and Jacob represents persistence. Together, they illustrate the development of spiritual power and maturity.

  • Sons and daughters: The sons in a genealogy often represent qualities developed or lessons learned (such as Judah representing praise and Joseph representing imagination). The daughters represent intuition, inner realisation, or intuitive insights that arise from the creative subconscious.

For example, in the genealogy of Jesus found in Matthew, every generation represents a new aspect of spiritual growth:

  • David (symbolising the awakening of imagination),

  • Solomon (symbolising wisdom),

  • Zerubbabel (symbolising the return from exile—spiritual rebirth).

Each of these names represents a stage of consciousness, reflecting the evolution of one’s spiritual journey. By understanding these names and what they represent, you can see your own progress in consciousness—how you move from one level of awareness to another through the creative act of imagination.

8. Trust Intuition Over Literal Logic

Neville taught that the Bible was never meant to be approached with logic alone.
It must be felt. It must be read with the imagination, not the intellect.

“The Bible is a mystery to be revealed, not a text to be analysed.”

When a story stirs something in you—a longing, a curiosity, a deep resonance—that is where the Spirit is working. Follow that feeling. That is your path to revelation.

9. Ask, Believe, Receive: The Bible Begins With Your Desire

Neville insisted that you must start with your desire—with the end in mind. This principle is echoed in verses like:

  • “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24)

  • “You have not because you ask not.” (James 4:2)

  • “It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

The Bible doesn’t shame desire—it expects it. The stories begin with someone in lack or longing, and the journey is always toward fulfilment.

To apply this, ask yourself:

  • What is my true desire—my wish fulfilled?

  • Can I imagine it clearly?

  • Can I feel it as real now, even if the outer facts deny it?

You must dare to feel the end before it appears. You must believe you have received, and then let the story of your life unfold accordingly.

Ask. Believe. Receive. It’s not a one-time event—it’s a continuous state of awareness.

10. Practice Inner Application: Imagination in Action

Neville never left interpretation in the abstract—he made it practical.

Here’s how to apply what you read:

  • Revision – go back in memory and rewrite a painful scene as you would have wished it to unfold.

  • Assumption – imagine and feel yourself already being or having what you desire.

  • Inner speech – listen to your self-talk. Change it to match your wish fulfilled.

  • Meditation – enter a quiet state and dwell in the scene of your fulfilled desire.

Reading the Bible through Neville’s framework isn’t just to understand—it is to transform. 

There are many examples of interpreted passages, and expanded articles to help the reader gain a better understanding of the Bible's symbols 

Conclusion

To read the Bible Neville’s way is to reclaim it as a personal, mystical guide to your own divine nature. You no longer approach it with guilt, fear, or distance—but with ownership, vision, and imaginative faith.

You are not reading about God.
You are reading the story of how God becomes conscious in you.


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