In this lecture Neville Goddard explores the mystery of creation through the concept of faith, defining faith as loyalty to unseen reality rather than belief in nothingness. He argues that everything already exists in eternity and that by using the imagination and remaining faithful to an unseen assumption, one can externalize desired outcomes. Drawing on Hebrews 11 and scriptural passages, Goddard emphasizes that Christ is not an external savior but the creative power within each individual. He illustrates how to construct mental scenes—such as reuniting with departed loved ones—to activate faith and bring unseen realities into manifestation. The lecture also examines dreams and symbolic imagery as evidence that God is the dreamer within us, guiding us toward freedom through belief. Goddard warns against anchoring faith in external objects or authorities, insisting that true power lies in the interior imagination. He concludes by inviting listeners to practice silent, internal visualization until the unseen becomes seen.
The mystery of creation is to be understood in terms of faith, so what is faith? It is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen with the mortal eye. Through faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear.
” Many suppose that before creation, all was solitude and chaos. That is the most pernicious idea that can enter the mind of man, for it robs the Bible of all sublimity and the nature of the man who entertains that idea a little grubbing worm outside of himself. Eternity exists and all things in eternity, independent of creation which was an act of mercy.” (William Blake)
All things exist, and the mystery of their creation must be understood in terms of faith. But faith does not give reality to that which is unseen. Faith is loyalty to the unseen reality! Only in this sense can the meaning of faith be understood.
If you have a goal, although it is unseen, it already exists. Your normal mortal eye cannot see it, but by rearranging the structure of your mind, you can see it clearly. If, as the days follow one another, you remain loyal to this unseen reality, and your goal is reached, you will have discovered the mystery of creation.
Eternity exists and all things in eternity independent of your creative act. You may continue to build only upon what your mortal eye sees, and perpetuate the same thing over and over again, remaining forever where you are. But if you know that all things exist, though unseen at the moment, and you have access to them through your imagination, you can rearrange the pattern of your thinking and change your world by remaining loyal to your unseen construction. And when it externalises itself by becoming a fact that you may share with others, then you will have found the secret of creation, which was an act of faith.
The 11th chapter of the Book of Hebrews tells fantastic stones of what the ancients performed – and they did everything! Beginning with Enoch, all of the characters are named, as well as their achievements. Then it is said: “They received the promises, but not the promise.”
Having been promised that if they could believe, it would come to pass, they believed and received the promises. But no one knew the fulfillment of the promise until it broke through in one. Then he knew that by the same act of faith, he could leave this sphere and enter the heavenly one.
God’s promise has fulfilled itself in me. I have recorded it for posterity as vividly and as accurately as I can in my book, Resurrection. You can read of my experiences and believe them or disbelieve them. It’s up to you. Perhaps at the present time you do not want to leave this sphere and enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now, “By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God,” which is His power and wisdom, called Christ. Any Christ other than he who is crucified, buried, and rises in you, is false. And anyone who teaches of an outside Christ is a false teacher.
Paul tells us: “The mystery hidden from the ages, Christ in you, is the hope of glory.” Any hope you have of entering a glory that transcends all earthly power and wisdom is already in you, but hidden. Christ is the way, the pattern to follow for entrance into that glory.
If everything exists, whether visible or invisible, then my father and mother who have departed this world exist, and would revel in anything that I accomplish here. Although my mother left this world in 1941 and my father in `59, I can bring them into my mind’s eye and hear them speak of their pride in their son. Believing that everything I can conceive is part of the structure of the universe, I can assume they are fully aware of my accomplishments, so I listen to their joy.
Now, can I remain faithful to that scene? My faith is not going to give it reality, but my loyalty to the unseen reality will. I listen and remember what I heard, and in the tomorrows I continue to remember. Then, in its own appointed time, when that which I have been faithful to externalises itself, I will have found the great secret of creation.
God tells us he does not create something out of nothing, for all things are! That he calls a thing that is not now seen as though it were seen, and the unseen becomes seen. (Romans 4:17) Instead of calling something out of nothing, you simply rearrange that which already is until it implies what you want. Then you remain loyal to that unseen reality.
Faith contains a power which can link you to a world where you are eternal. Paul tells us to put our faith, not in the works of men, but in the power of God. And no earthly power – be it atomic, megatons of multi-megatons – can compare to that power!
Can you conceive of being a power so great that if you desire, you can stop the world? That you can make it stand still and see it as dead? Then release it and let the world continue to fulfill its so-called intentions?
Could you deal with such a power by changing your intentions, thus causing the world to be reanimated and do the opposite? That is the power which will be yours when you know you are one with the body of love, called the Everlasting Saviour.
Contemplate this thought. On this level you may achieve any objective, and prove to yourself that invisible states, when properly rearranged, will externalise what they imply, for the potency of every imaginal act is in its implication.
Listen closely to your invisible thoughts. What do you hear? What are your words implying? That is their potency. What do you want? Name it and rearrange the structure of your mind to imply you no longer desire it, because you already have it!
Perhaps another has injured you or caused you grief. It doesn’t matter what has been done, when you know this law you can forgive anyone by rearranging the structure of your mind and set him free by imagining it never happened!
You see, there are two things that displease God. One is the lack of faith in “I am he”, and the other is eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil by using yourself as the criteria as to what is good and what is evil. Unless you believe you are the seeming other who caused your grief, you will continue to reproduce the same unhappiness and miss your mark in life by dying in your sins. So, without faith it is impossible to please yourself!
For the moment, think of everything as existing now! Although unseen by your mortal mind, your desire exists and can be seen in your imagination. Although your father and mother may be unseen by the world, they exist, and the love they have for you has never passed away. Because all things are, you may use them or those who are now in your world.
If, for instance, your friends heard of your good fortune, would they empathise with you or be envious? Do not choose one who would sympathise with you, for you do not want sympathy. You either want empathy or envy. If you know someone who, when hearing of your good fortune would now go wild with envy, use her. Or, if you know one who would rejoice because of your good fortune, take that image.
It’s your choice, but you must remain loyal to the unseen reality you have constructed. Your faith will not give it reality, for faith is your loyalty to the unseen reality. “Abraham believed, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness,” and all things come out of Abraham. Someone once defined faith as:Believing what is incredible,Or it is no virtue at all.Hope is hoping when things are hopeless,Or it is no virtue at all.And love is forgiving what is unforgivable,Or it is no virtue at all.
These are the three virtues under which the civilised world comes – Faith, Hope and Love. You may not be able to see the fulfillment of your desires with your mortal eye. Your senses and reason may deny their existence, but this is the way God created the world. You are invited to imitate him as a dear child, by remaining faithful to the unseen reality in your mind until it becomes seen in your world. And when it does you will have proved God’s law.
Then that great moment will come when that which was promised in the beginning erupts, and the creative power you once knew yourself to be is restored, only magnified because of your journey into this world of death.
All of the promises of God have found their Yes in me. I remain with you now only to encourage you to move into an entirely different awareness. There is nothing here, however, to aid you concerning that world. How can you understand God’s power, when you only know the power to burn wood and boil water. You are aware that a bomb can kill millions; yet you also know that the ones who created and dropped the bomb will die, just like the millions killed; so you have nothing to compare to the power of that world, as it transcends anything known to man.
I have described the pattern for entrance into that world. It consists of a series of four mystical events which, when experienced, frees the individual from this level and opens the door into the world of the promise. I have shared my experiences; yet men – believing I am Neville who will die as everyone does here – do not believe they are the Messiah which is to come, so they turn a deaf ear in my direction.
But I will continue to share my experiences and leave them behind in my books, just as Paul did in the form of letters, and those who experienced the visions recorded the gospels. Those who wrote the gospels knew what they had experienced; but man has misinterpreted the message, believing Jesus Christ is external to self and not realising he is God’s creative power and wisdom.
My visions have paralleled those recorded in the Book of Luke. Luke does not claim that his experiences were chronologically accurate, but that he feels better qualified to write the source material. I have told it chronologically, just as it happened to me.
Now I tell you this: As persons differ, so will the experiences. Two people here have had that birth. In one case there was no witness; therefore his witness is scripture. In the other case, the lady had three witnesses: two brothers and a friend she thinks of as a brother. So, because we do differ in the kingdom, the visions will differ, but the pattern will remain the same.
Even if you haven’t had the experiences, you can construct a scene that would imply scripture has been fulfilled in you. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could say to your closest friend, or most bitter opponent, “There is no doubt in my mind that I have been born from above, for I have held that infant wrapped in swaddling clothes in my hands.” How would you feel if that were true? What scene would you construct? Remember, all things exist.
Scripture exists, so use it to construct your scene. It is said that three men were present at the birth. Church tradition claims the three kings were brothers; but friends may be used as witnesses, as the scene you are creating is for the purpose of implication, for therein contains the power. But one must lift the child and place him in your arms.
Imagine, and then watch the mystery of creation unfold in terms of faith, by remaining loyal to the unseen reality of that which already exists. “Unto you is born this day a Saviour…” And the only Saviour is the Lord God! The infant wrapped in swaddling clothes is only a sign, given to tell you that what I have told you is true. Imagine anything that would imply God’s birth has already happened. Remain faithful to that scene, and when it happens there will be no uncertainty on your part.
Salvation history is over! We are not here to sow, for the fields are already white with harvest. Because all things are, and the harvest is, you are not here to till the soil and plant the seed, but to reap that which you did not sow. If you know that faith is simply loyalty to unseen reality, you can construct a scene, remain loyal to it and harvest it, for everything is already completed.
God conceived the history of salvation, plotted it, and fulfilled it by becoming humanity. Believing that he already did accomplish his purpose, humanity is raised to enter the kingdom once more and God’s second coming has been fulfilled.
But until individual man believes in his own wonderful human imagination, God remains imprisoned within him. If you do not harvest God’s promise it is only because you do not believe!
Now I want to share a dream of a friend, as it contains a message for us all. Bear in mind that the dreamer is protean. Like the legendary god, Proteus, who served Neptune and would assume any shape or form in his service, God is the dreamer in you and assumes the forms of all the characters in your dream.
In this lady’s dream she encounters her mother, yet knows she is herself. Her husband, yet her father, was missing, and her mother said: “Listen, I can hear his voice.” Then the scene changed, and she and her mother are being entertained by four little men, each one foot high. As she looked into the eyes of one of them, she realised he was her father. Calling her mother’s attention to this fact, her mother approached, touched him and said something in code. Then suddenly she knew that her father was not free to identify himself and she awoke sobbing.
This dream speaks volumes. Remember, all dreams are egocentric, with God as the dreamer. Everyone is seeking the Father, the cause of the phenomena of life, not realising he is imprisoned in all. Belief, however, will set him free! If you will imagine David standing before you and feel the Father/Son relationship. Remain loyal to that scene, you will release your heavenly Father!
Because of one’s former religious training, when the truth is heard that will set him free, he is torn between the two. To think that one can come to hear my message, yet still believe in what the churches teach, is like what someone once said to me: “I have given up all belief in numerology and astrology, but the moon is passing Venus tonight and because he is in my second house I know what to expect tomorrow.” They have completely given up their belief BUT… That big “BUT” happens in all.
This lady’s vision was so clear. Her father, entertaining in a group of four and not free to come forward and identify himself, is the four-faced man Ezekiel speaks of. In his vision every living creature had four faces. Beside each creature was a wheel, with wheels within, all moving in the same direction.
This has been a perfect revelation to her, if she will accept it, telling her she is either for me or against me. Would that you be either hot or cold – believing my words or leaving, never to have anything to do with me again – rather than being lukewarm and remaining on the fence, warmed by my words, but unwilling to put them to use in the form of belief.
I have had people say|: “I’ll come hear you. You are interesting, but I know that in order to get ahead in life I must know the right people and be at the right place at the right time. That is the reality to which I choose to anchor myself.” This is what her wonderful vision disclosed to me.
Another lady wrote, sharing a very long dream filled with scriptural symbology. The crystal clear water rising. Logs cut to the height of men who were carrying them vertically. A dog with a human face. A piece of rope becoming animated and acting like a serpent, entangling the little dog. Each symbol was perfect, and when properly arranged reveals the mystery of salvation. The wood is the spinal cord upon which God is crucified as Man. Caleb, the symbol of faith wears a human face, dies only for a moment, for faith is destined to be freed.
Another lady wrote, saying: “I woke laughing, hearing these words, ‘It’s so easy to know you are God. All you need to do is to expand.’ “This is true. William Blake began his great poem, “Jerusalem,” on the sixth line, saying: “Awake! Awake O sleeper of the land of shadows, wake! Expand! I am in you and you in me, mutual in love divine.” Love’s secret is expansion. Contract your senses and you see multitudes. Expand them and you will see one Man, one Love!
Dwell upon this great mystery of creation in terms of faith. All ministers, rabbis, and preachers teach faith – but faith in what? In little icons? A lighted candle? Our maid comes every Monday and we always give her our used candles. This afternoon we gave her two, which she will take to her church to light. She has faith in a discarded, lighted candle!
All of these things are on the outside. Faith in any power other than He who is within you is false, and anyone who teaches a power on the outside is a false teacher. Christ in you is your hope of glory, and there is no other power.
The world was constructed in the mind’s eye, out of things unseen by the mortal eye, and made alive by faith. Eternity exists and all things in eternity, independent of the creative act, which is the assumption of unseen reality and loyalty to its assemblage.
In spite of denial by your senses and reason, if you will be faithful to your unseen assumption, it will externalise itself. That is how all worlds come into being, but men do not understand this. Structuring their world based upon the evidence of their senses, they continue to perpetuate that which they do not desire.
Knowing what you want, close your eyes and enter its fulfillment, knowing that God is seeing what you are seeing. That He is hearing what you are saying; and what God sees and hears and remains loyal to, He externalises. Now let us go into the silence.
Goddard’s central thesis reframes creation as an act of faith rooted in the imagination. He dismantles the notion of creation ex nihilo, asserting instead that all things exist eternally and that faith is simply steadfast loyalty to an unseen reality. By urging students to ‘‘rearrange the structure of the mind,’’ he aligns psychological practice with mystical theology, drawing from both William Blake’s vision of eternity and the eleventh chapter of Hebrews to legitimize his perspective.
The lecture offers a detailed methodology for intentional manifestation, centering on the power of visualization. Goddard instructs listeners to construct vivid mental scenes—whether reuniting with lost parents or experiencing one’s own heavenly birth—and to persist in these scenes until they externalize. This process hinges on the ‘‘implication’’ contained within every imaginal act; by treating the desired state as already fulfilled, practitioners activate a creative power he equates with Christ within.
Theologically, Goddard challenges traditional Christian dogma by internalizing Christ as the ‘‘mystery hidden from the ages’’ in each individual. He denounces reliance on external icons, priests, or doctrines, framing these as false teachers. Instead, he positions the human mind’s creative faculty as the genuine locus of divine power, underscoring that ‘‘Christ in you is the hope of glory’’ and rejecting any authority that places salvation outside one’s own imaginings.
Practically, the lecture serves as a blueprint for meditative practice and self-realization. Goddard uses dream analysis and symbolic narratives to illustrate how the unconscious mind communicates divine messages. He highlights the importance of forgiveness, expressing that by mentally forgiving grievances we free ourselves from cyclical suffering. Ultimately, Goddard’s approach is both mystical and pragmatic—inviting sustained, silent meditation on unseen assumptions until they inevitably materialize in one’s lived experience.
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