759. "And the merchants of the earth have become rich owing to the potencies of her delights." This symbolizes the greater and lower in rank in the Roman Catholic hierarchy who by their dominion over sacred things strive for Divine majesty and superregal glory, who continually seek to establish it by multiplying the number of monasteries and possessions under their control, and by collecting and accumulating the world's treasures without end, and who thus procure for themselves physical and natural delights and gratifications by claiming for themselves a celestial and spiritual dominion.

The merchants of Babylon can only mean the greater and lower in rank in their church hierarchy, because in verse 23 of this chapter we are told that they are the great men of the earth. And the potencies of her delights with which they have become rich can only mean the dogmas that are the means by which they acquire for themselves dominion over people's souls, and so also over their possessions and wealth. People know that they collect these without end and swell their treasuries with them, and also that they make merchandise of the sanctities of the church, by selling salvation, for example, or heaven, in exchange for offerings and gifts made to monasteries and their saints and images, or in exchange for masses, indulgences and various dispensations.

[2] Who cannot see that if the papal dominion had not been broken at the time of the Protestant Reformation, Roman Catholics would have scraped together the possessions and wealth of all the kingdoms in the whole of Europe? And that then they would have made themselves the sole lords, and everyone else their servants? Do they not have the greatest part of their wealth from preceding centuries when they had power over emperors and kings, whom they could excommunicate and depose if they did not obey? And do they not still have annual incomes that are immense, and treasuries full of gold, silver, and precious stones?

The same barbarous lust for dominion is still lodged in the hearts of many of them, and is restrained only by a fear of its loss if it should extend beyond accepted limits.

Of what use, however, are such great incomes, treasures and possessions to them, other than to be delighted by them, to pride themselves on having them, and to establish their dominion to eternity?

It can be seen from this what is here symbolized by merchants of the earth who have become rich owing to the potencies of Babylon's delights.

They are called merchants also in Isaiah:

(The inhabitants of Babylon) are as stubble. Fire has burned them; they do not deliver their soul from the power of the flame... Such are... your merchants from your youth. (Isaiah 47:14-15)

[3] In the Word, to be a merchant or trader means, symbolically, to be engaged in procuring for oneself spiritual riches, which are concepts of truth and goodness, and in an opposite sense, concepts of falsity and evil, and to use the first to gain heaven, and the second to gain the world. For that reason the Lord likened the kingdom of heaven to a merchant seeking beautiful pearls (Matthew 13:45-46), and the people in the church to servants who were given talents with which to trade and gain more (Matthew 25:14-30), or who were given ten minas with which to likewise trade and gain more (Luke 19:12-26).

Moreover, because Tyre symbolizes the church in respect to its concepts of truth and goodness, therefore the whole of chapter twenty-seven in Ezekiel has trading and gain as its subject, and we are told concerning Tyre:

In your wisdom and your understanding you have gained... for yourself... gold and silver into your treasuries; and by the great wisdom in your trading you have increased your riches... (Ezekiel 28:4-5)

And elsewhere:

...Tyre... has been laid waste..., whose merchants are princes, and its traders the honorable of the earth. (Isaiah 23:1, 8)

Also, the corrupt church among Jews in the land of Canaan is called the land of trade (Ezekiel 16:3, 29; 21:30; 29:14).

1158. 'From these the islands of the nations in their lands were spread abroad' means that the worship of even more nations emanated from these - 'islands' being individual pieces of land, and so individual forms of worship, which were more remote still, and 'lands' the general features of those forms of worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'islands' in the Word. Up to now the subject has been those who had external worship corresponding to internal. The seven sons of Japheth have meant those who came nearer to true internal worship, the seven sons of Gomer and of Javan together have meant those who were more remote from true internal worship. 'The islands of the nations' means those who are more remote still, strictly speaking those who lived in charity with one another but who were nevertheless uninformed people who knew nothing whatever about the Lord, about the Church's teachings concerning faith, or about internal worship. They did have some form of external worship however, which they kept up devoutly. Such people are called 'islands' in the Word, and therefore 'islands' means in the internal sense worship that is more remote.

[2] Those who possess the internal sense of the Word, as angels do, are unaware of what islands are, for they no longer have any ideas of such things. Instead of islands they perceive a more remote kind of worship like that found among gentile nations outside the Church. In a similar way they also perceive by islands things inside the Church itself which are somewhat more remote from charity, as forms of friendship and civility are. Friendship is not the same as charity, civility even less so. They are steps down from charity, though the more they draw from charity the more genuine they are.

[3] The fact that 'islands' has this meaning becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Keep silent before Me, O islands, and let the peoples renew their strength, let them approach. The islands saw and were afraid, the ends of the earth trembled; they drew near and came. Isaiah 41:1, 5.

Here 'islands' stands for upright gentiles outside the Church who have devoutly kept up their own type of external worship. The furthest limits of the Church are called 'the ends of the earth'. In the same prophet,

He will not be in darkness, and He will not break up until He has set judgement on the earth; and the islands wait for His law. Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, you that go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the islands and their inhabitants. They will give glory to Jehovah, and declare His praise in the islands Isaiah 42:4, 10, 12.

Here again 'islands' stands for gentiles outside the Church who have lived without knowledge, in simplicity and uprightness.

[4] In the same prophet,

Listen to Me, O islands, and hearken, O peoples from afar. Isaiah 49:1.

This similarly stands for gentile nations who are more remote from worship of the Lord and from the cognitions of faith; hence the expression 'from afar' is used. In the same prophet,

In Me the islands will hope and await My arm. Isaiah 51:5.

Here too 'islands' has the same meaning. The phrase 'in Me they will hope and await My arm' is used because they are people who are living uprightly. In Jeremiah,

Hear the Word of Jehovah, O nations, and declare it in the islands afar off. Jeremiah 31:10.

Once again 'islands' has the same meaning. In Zephaniah,

Jehovah will be terrible against them, for He will destroy with leanness all the gods of the earth, and to Him will bow down, each in its place, all the islands of the nations. Zephaniah 2:11.

'The islands of the nations' stands for gentile nations more remote from cognitions of faith.

[5] In David,

Jehovah reigns, let the earth rejoice, let the many islands be glad! Cloud and thick darkness are round about Him. Psalms 97:1-2.

Again 'islands' has the same meaning. Here their lack of knowledge is expressed in representative fashion by means of 'cloud and thick darkness'. But because they are living in simplicity and uprightness the phrase 'round about Him' is used. Because 'islands' means things that are more remote, 'Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, and Javan' also, who meant forms of external worship, were called 'islands', in Isaiah 66:19, as also is Kittim in Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6. Furthermore when islands are mentioned as distinct from land or mountains they mean truths of faith because they are planted in the sea. Thus they mean doctrinal teachings which exist as forms of ritual.