Inner Immunity in Acts 28:4-6

Neville's Inner Vision

Paul stands in the God-state while the crowd judges by appearances. The venomous beast on his hand represents a belief that life is contaminated and punishable; yet the apostle does not argue or fear. He shakes off the beast into the fire, not to cast away danger but to prove that his awareness is higher than any opinion of the senses. In Neville's terms, the scene is a demonstration of consciousness acting upon itself: the I AM that Paul is aware of is immune to anything that bites, poisons, or condemns. The crowd's sudden reversal—calling him a god—occurs when the outer world reflects the inner state; the external is only the echo of the inner assumption. Your life will mirror such appearances whenever you recognize that you are not at the mercy of events but the sovereign observer of them. Providence and guidance are not distant forces but the quiet certainty of your own awareness, a shield you wear because you have decided to be conscious of your divinity. Practice this by returning again and again to the self that feels no harm and knows itself as God.