Neville Goddard on Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ecclesiastes 12 in context

Scripture Focus

1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

4And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

8Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

Biblical Context

The passage urges remembering the Creator in youth, before troubles come, and seeing aging as a change of perception, with life’s lights dimming and then returning to God.

Neville's Inner Vision

Remember the days of thy youth as a state of awareness in which the inner light is bright. The evil days and aging are not enemies but movements of consciousness, shifting attention from outer sights to the constant inner light within. When the sun, moon, and stars seem dim, know that you are not losing light but choosing to attend to the lasting light inside. The keepers of the house and the strong men that bow symbolize your faculties translating what you believe; they tremble and falter when you forget the I AM. The doors may seem shut and the sounds of life soften, yet the doorway remains: the dust returns to earth and the spirit returns to God, meaning awareness returns to its Source. Vanity vanishes as you inhabit the creator-state here and now. Your body and its cycles are rites of consciousness, not verdicts upon your worth. You are always the Creator within, moving by divine remembrance and present imagination.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Sit quietly and declare I AM the Creator within, then imagine a warm inner light filling your chest. Hold the feeling for several minutes, revising any sense of aging by dwelling in the realized presence of God within.