Neville Goddard on Isaiah 8:16-20 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Isaiah 8 in context

Scripture Focus

16Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

17And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

18Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

19And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

20To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 8:16-20

Biblical Context

The passage urges binding the testimony and following the inner word, waiting for God who seems hidden, and recognizing that the speaker and his offspring are signs of divine activity; it warns against looking to external powers.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within this passage, the 'testimony' you bind is the inner word you have become aware of. The 'LORD' who hides his face is the hidden I AM, the quiet mover you cultivate by dwelling in stillness. When Isaiah says, 'I will wait upon the LORD,' he means I will rest in the awareness that I am, and that the outer showing waits on the inner state. The line 'Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders' declares that your thoughts, feelings, and outcomes are not accidents but signs of your inner activity. The 'children' are your conceived ideas and manifestations issued from within, and they point to the reality you are imagining. To those who counsel you to seek spirits or external powers, answer with 'to the law and to the testimony.' If your inner speech does not align with this word, there is no light in it; you have turned from the light of your own consciousness. Therefore, anchor yourself in the inner law, wait in stillness, and allow your signs to appear as confirmations of your assumed state.

Practice This Now

Imaginatively assume the state: 'I am the living I AM here now.' Feel the inner certainty; for a few minutes, dwell in that light and notice any small sign in the day that confirms it.