Gold means good, and just as gold was the most precious metal known to ancient mankind so it represents the good of the highest and wisest of the angels. These angels foremostly love the Lord, and because they do they act from that love at all times. So the things they do are from love or as the writings for the new church often say, their acts are "goods of love". This is what gold represents. As soon as God planted the garden of Eden, He created a river in it, to water it. This river went out and branched into four, the first branch mentioned, Pishon, encompassed the "…land of Havilah, where there is gold… and the gold…is good". Another mention of gold comes in Exodus where the Lord is telling Moses how to make the Tabernacle. If you pay attention you will see that inside the tabernacle the main thing you see is gold, the boards of the wall are covered with it and all the furniture is either wood covered completely with gold, or is made of solid gold. Then at the end of the Word the holy city descends from God and it is made of gold, "gold like unto clear glass" good of love that can be clearly and completely understood. And it has its river. This is a promise from the Lord that we can come into a state similar to that of the garden of Eden, if we follow Him so as to come into love for Him, and act from that love.

9881. 'From pure gold' means through celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510; and since the words 'pure gold' are used celestial good is what is meant. For there is celestial good and there is spiritual good, both of which may be internal or external, celestial good being the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good the good of love towards the neighbour. In the Word all those kinds of good are called 'gold'. But they are distinguished from one another by being called gold 'from Uphaz', 'from Ophir', 'from Sheba' and 'Havillah', and also 'from Tarshish' - gold from Uphaz in Jeremiah 10:9; Daniel 10:5, by which celestial good is meant; gold from Ophir in Isaiah 13:12; Psalms 45:9; Job 22:24; 28:16, by which spiritual good is meant; gold from Sheba in Isaiah 60:6; Ezekiel 27:22; Psalms 72:15, by which good on the level of religious knowledge is meant, as it is by gold from Havillah in Genesis 2:11-12; and also silver and gold from Tarshish, in Isaiah 60:9, by which truth and good on the level of factual knowledge are meant.