Neville Goddard on Matthew 4:8-10 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Matthew 4 in context

Scripture Focus

8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Matthew 4:8-10

Biblical Context

Jesus is tempted with worldly kingdoms and the offer of power; he refuses, affirming worship of the Lord alone.

Neville's Inner Vision

On the high mountain, the kingdoms of the world appear as pictures tempting your attention, yet the true kingdom you seek is a state of consciousness. The devil is not a man, but the voice of fear whispering that power and glory will rescue you from lack. When the offer comes—'All these things will I give thee'—notice it is the old self bargaining with the God within. Jesus answers not by denying outer blessing, but by reorienting awareness: 'Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' In Neville’s light, the kingdoms of the world are inner conditions—attachments, identifications, and opinions—that seem to govern life. To worship the Lord thy God is to align imagination with the I AM as the sole source and ruler of experience, and to claim the inner Kingdom as already established within. When you do this, the outward objects lose their tyrannical pull and become fruits of a mind fully surrendered to God.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and stand on that inner high place, revise by declaring, 'I worship the Lord my God, and Him only I serve.' Then feel the I AM within guiding you and imagine the inner Kingdom already resting within.