2
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2
Spiritual Experiences #5606
5606. There are four kinds of people there just as in the world. 1) Those who give their attention to the uses in the Word, and certainly see other things but do not give attention to them. They serve as a plane [for reception]. It is read in this way by heavenly angels. 2) There are those who draw the doctrinal points of the Word from it. Spiritual angels understand the Word in this way. 3) There are those who are delighted only by its holy outward aspect without understanding it. These are those who are in the lowest heaven. 4) And there are those who merely give attention to its literal meaning, and these are those who give attention only to the words there, like the critics and those who write about various things. The former are on the threshold to heaven, the latter are in its very remotest parts.
Arcana Coelestia #113
113. Nothing is more common in the Word than for the good that belongs to wisdom or else to love to be meant and represented by 'gold'. All the gold of the Ark, the Temple, the golden table, 1 the lampstands, the vessels, and on Aaron's vestments, meant and represented good that belongs to wisdom or else to love. Similarly in the Prophets, as in Ezekiel,
In your wisdom and in your intelligence have made wealth for yourself, and you have made gold and silver in your treasures. Ezekiel 28:4.
Here it is plainly stated that gold and silver, or good and truth, are the products of wisdom and intelligence, for 'silver' here means truth, as also does the silver of the Tabernacle 2 and the Temple. In Isaiah,
A multitude of camels will cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, all those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Isaiah 60:6.
So too the wise men from the east who came to Jesus after His birth,
And they fell down and worshipped Him, and they opened their treasures, and offered Him gifts - gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:1, 11.
Here also 'gold' means good, 'frankincense and myrrh' those things that are pleasing, because they derive from love and faith, and are consequently called 'the praises of Jehovah'. 'Gold' is for the same reason mentioned in David,
He will live, and He will give to him from the gold of Sheba, and will pray for him continually, and bless him every day. Psalms 72:15.
Footnotes:
1. i.e. the table of Shewbread, or the table for the Bread of the Presence
2. The latin here means the Ark but Swedenborg is clearly referring to the Tabernacle.
