Neville Goddard on Acts 19:24-27 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Acts 19 in context

Scripture Focus

24For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;

25Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

26Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:

27So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

Acts 19:24-27

Biblical Context

Demetrius, a silversmith, gains wealth from making silver shrines to Diana and rallies craftsmen to protect their trade. Paul’s teaching that these gods are not real threatens both their craft and the temple’s prestige.

Neville's Inner Vision

Take the scene into your own mind, and read it as a drama of consciousness. Demetrius stands for a state of awareness that confuses form with reality, a devotion to external security—the craft and the festival of Diana—rather than to the one living I AM within. Paul’s accusation that the shrines are not gods is not a history lesson about old idols, but a symbolic reminder that the only true power is consciousness itself. When you believe your wealth, status, or temple-worship to be the source of safety, you are worshipping a fabrication of your own mind. The outer commotion—rings of metal, voices, assemblies—mirrors the inner clamor of a mind clinging to image. Yet the real life, the true temple, is where the I AM resides, untouched by changing forms. By recognizing that all forms come and go within the same infinite consciousness, the danger of the outer world dissolves. Your awareness remains constant, and the idol melts into air, leaving only the radiant inner temple where you and God are one.

Practice This Now

Assume for five minutes the belief: 'There are no separate gods; I am the I AM, the source of all form and supply.' Then feel the truth by visualizing the inner temple lit with one glorious presence.