772. Verse 12. The merchandise of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls, signifies that they no longer have these, because they have no spiritual goods and truths, to which such things correspond. By "their merchandise" nothing else is signified than the things there named; for it is known that they have gold, silver, and precious stone and pearls in abundance, and that they have gained them by their religious things, which they made holy and Divine. Those who were of Babylon had such things before the Last Judgment; for it was then conceded to them to form to themselves as it were heavens, and to procure such things to themselves from heaven by various arts, yea, to fill cellars with them as in the world. But after the Last Judgment, when their fictitious heavens were destroyed, then all those things were reduced to dust and ashes, and carried away by an east wind, and strewn as a profane dust over their hells. But of these things read the things described from things seen, in the little work on The Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed, published at London, 1758.
[2] After that overthrow and their casting down into hell, they are in such a miserable state, that they do not know what gold, silver, a precious stone, and a pearl are. The reason is, that "gold," "silver," and "a precious stone" correspond to spiritual goods and truths, and "pearls" to the knowledges of them, and as they have not any truths and goods, nor the knowledges of them, but in their stead evils and falsities and the knowledges of these, they cannot have those precious things, but such as correspond to their state, which are vile materials and of ugly color; except some sea shells on which they set their hearts, as they did before on the precious things named above.
[3] It is to be known, that there are in the spiritual world all things which are in the natural world, with the difference only that all the things in the spiritual world are correspondences; for they correspond to their interiors. They have splendid and magnificent things who are in wisdom from Divine truths and goods from the Lord through the Word; and they who are in insanity from falsities and evils have the opposite. There is such correspondence, from creation, when what is spiritual in the mind is brought down into the sensual of the body; on which account everyone there knows the quality of another, as soon as he comes into his own chamber.
[4] From these things it may be evident, that by "the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls" is signified that they have these no longer; because they have not spiritual goods and truths, nor the knowledges of good and truth, to which such things correspond. That "gold" from correspondence signifies good, and "silver" truth, may be seen above (n. 211, 726). That "a precious stone" signifies spiritual truth (n. 231, 540, 726). That "pearls" signify the knowledges of truth and good (n. 727).
