Neville Goddard on Ezra 8:35 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ezra 8 in context

Scripture Focus

35Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD.

Ezra 8:35

Biblical Context

Those who had been carried away offered a large burnt offering to the God of Israel—twelve bulls, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve goats—as a total act of worship and atonement.

Neville's Inner Vision

In Neville's view, Scripture is a description of states of consciousness. Ezra 8:35 speaks not to history but to your inner condition: the return from captivity corresponds to waking from sleep, and the burnt offering to the act of offering yourself wholly to God, your own I AM. The numbers symbolize the completeness of your inner life: twelve bullocks for the whole consciousness of Israel, the collective you; ninety-six rams; seventy-seven lambs; twelve goats—each a faculty offered up to be refined in the flame of awareness. When you imagine them presented, you are not paying for mercy but affirming that you are the present, perfect temple. The sense of sacrifice dissolves fear and guilt as you feel the purity of pure consciousness. Practice this by assuming you are already the sacrifice—the entire self, held in the flame of I AM—and feel the return to wholeness as your natural state.