The closing verses of Ezekiel’s prophetic vision depict the perimeter and gates of a holy city — a vision often misread as architectural prophecy, but far richer in symbolic content when approached with inner eyes open. The final line is particularly striking:
“And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is there.” (Ezekiel 48:35, BBE)
Neville Goddard taught that the Bible is not a record of outer history, but a psychological drama occurring in the consciousness of the individual. When we read Ezekiel’s blueprint with this awareness — and apply the symbolic meanings of the Hebrew letters and numbers as outlined by S.L. MacGregor Mathers — we begin to see Ezekiel’s city not as a map of geography, but as a portrait of the awakened inner man.
The City of the Self: Gates of Consciousness
Ezekiel 48:30–34 describes twelve gates, each named for a tribe of Israel. In psychological symbolism, the twelve tribes represent twelve faculties of the mind — or as Neville put it, "twelve disciplined aspects of consciousness." These gates are not physical openings but states of awareness.
Each direction of the city — north, east, south, and west — has three gates. The number three in Hebrew is ג (Gimel), which Mathers relates to movement and recompense — a camel bearing burdens. Symbolically, each side of the city is a trinity of faculties in motion, completing the circle of awareness on all sides of life: intellect, emotion, sensation, and intuition.
The Measures and the Number 18
Ezekiel 48:35 gives a very specific measurement:
“It is to be eighteen thousand all round: and the name of the city from that day will be, The Lord is there.” (BBE)
The number 18 is significant in Hebrew mysticism. It is the numerical value of the word חי (Chai), meaning life. This is formed by the letters Chet (ח) = 8, and Yod (י) = 10.
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Chet (ח) is the symbol of an enclosure, a doorway of life — consciousness entering form.
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Yod (י) is the creative spark of divine power — the seed of imagination itself.
Together, they suggest that the city Ezekiel sees is the city of life, made alive by the power of imagination — the spark of Yod within the enclosed form of human consciousness.
To “walk around” a city of 18,000 (18 × 1,000) is to fully encompass the realm of living awareness — 1,000 symbolising completion, fullness, or Divine expression in the natural world. Thus, the city has become fully alive with the awareness of God.
The Name of the City: יְהוָה שָׁמָּה – YHWH Shammah
This is the true climax:
“The name of the city from that day will be, YHWH Shammah – The Lord is There.”
To say “The Lord is There” is to declare the assumption of divine presence in the now. Neville would interpret this as the state in which the individual no longer looks for God outside himself, but recognises "I AM" as the only Lord.
The tetragrammaton YHWH (יהוה) contains four Hebrew letters:
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Yod (י) – creative spark, the seed of a desire.
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He (ה) – the receptive aspect of consciousness (like a womb).
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Vav (ו) – a nail or connector, the joining of inner and outer.
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He (ה) again – manifestation or birth into form.
This sequence reflects the creative act Neville called Assumption:
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Yod – You begin with a desire.
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He – You receive it in imagination.
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Vav – You persist in the assumption.
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He – It externalises in your world.
“Shammah” (שָׁמָּה) means “there,” but also implies a fixed place — an abiding awareness. This is not about God being “in” a location. It is a declaration that the individual has entered the state of being in which the creative power (YHWH) is recognised as ever-present, active, and embodied in the now.
Living in the City: The Fulfilled Assumption
When the prophet says the city shall be called YHWH Shammah, he is describing a permanent shift in identity. No longer does the seeker look outward for God or wait for future deliverance. He dwells within the fulfilled assumption.
Neville taught:
“Assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled and continue feeling it until that which you feel becomes manifest.”
To live in the city is to say:
“I am what I have long sought.”
“The Lord is there — here — as me.”
Conclusion: The Final Gate
Ezekiel’s final vision is not the end of a book; it is the beginning of awakened living. The twelve gates, the measurements, the name — all point inward. They describe a transfigured state of mind, where the faculties of man have been harmonised, the creative power is recognised within, and life itself becomes a holy city.
YHWH Shammah is not a place you travel to.
It is a condition you awaken into.
It is the state of being in which the Lord — your own wonderful I AM — is there.
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