Neville Goddard on Acts 9:4-6 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Acts 9 in context

Scripture Focus

4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Acts 9:4-6

Biblical Context

Saul falls to the earth after hearing a divine voice, asks who the Lord is, receives the revelation that Jesus is the one persecuted, and is told to rise and go into the city to receive further instruction.

Neville's Inner Vision

Saul’s fall is not a mere historical stumble but a surrender of a fixed self-conception. In the Neville idiom, Saul represents a state of consciousness that persecutes truth—the ego fighting against the light of I AM. The voice that identifies Jesus is within, naming the inner Self and calling the false identity by its true name. The remark about kicking against the pricks speaks to stubborn resistance—an inner impulse that cannot be outrun by will alone. When Saul asks what will thou have me to do, he yields to the inner commander. The command to arise and go into the city marks a relocation from external aims to the inner city of awareness, where the next instruction is revealed. Your personal conversion occurs the moment you acknowledge the Lord within and consent to the next action your present self can take. It is the conscious turning toward the light, not the completion of a deed, that changes your kingdom.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Sit quietly, imagine the inner voice addressing you and asking what you will do next; answer I am ready to be led. Then revise your state to I am the I AM, guided in all I do, and feel the reality of steps unfolding within you.