Neville Goddard on Ezekiel 8:11-16 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ezekiel 8 in context

Scripture Focus

11And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.

12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

13He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

16And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Ezekiel 8:11-16

Biblical Context

Ezekiel 8:11-16 portrays leaders secretly performing idolatrous rites in the temple, including sun worship and grief for Tammuz, while assuming the LORD does not see. It exposes a mind that hides what it worships and rejects true holiness.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within Ezekiel’s vision, the seventy elders with censers and the women weeping for Tammuz symbolize a mind that worships images in the dark—beliefs about God kept unseen and unexamined. The cry, 'The LORD seeth us not' is my own admission of a state of consciousness that forgets its I AM. When I read this for myself, I realize the true temple is not a stone but the inner court of my awareness. The 'ancients' are fixed patterns within me; their 'cloud of incense' is thoughts pulsing with habit, soot from past conclusions that veil clarity. The command to turn again to see greater abominations invites revision: What else do I pretend to worship because I fear truth? The sun worship, with faces toward the east, represents my habit of projecting light outward, seeking validation from external sources rather than waking to the light within me. The back toward the temple signals a separation from the I AM; my mind worships a picture of power rather than the living power I am. True worship, for me, is alignment with the I AM—holiness in consciousness, a daily turning toward the inner light.

Practice This Now

Imaginative_act: Assume the stance, 'I AM sees all that I am.' Sit quietly and feel the inner temple illuminated by a steady light, releasing the incense of fear and replacing it with gratitude and reverence for the presence I AM.