776. Someone who does not know the symbolic meanings of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, thyine wood, ¹ ivory vessels, precious wood, bronze, iron, marble, and vessels in general, cannot but wonder that these things are listed, and may think they are simply words piled up to enhance the matter. But it can be seen from our explanations that not one single word is without meaning, and that the words constitute a full description of the fact that those Roman Catholics who have confirmed themselves in the dogmas of that religion possess not one single truth, and if not one single truth, then not one single good that is a good of the church.

[2] I have spoken with Roman Catholics who have confirmed themselves in that religion, even with some who were legates at the Council of Nicaea, ² the Lateran Council, ³ and the Council of Trent, ⁴ and to begin with they believed that what they had decided were pure and sacred truths. After being instructed, however, and being granted then an enlightenment from heaven, they confessed that they did not see one truth. But because they had confirmed themselves in their decrees more than others, following their state of enlightenment - which they themselves extinguished - they returned to their prior faith.

They believed especially that what they had decreed regarding baptism and justification were truths. Yet when they were still in a state of enlightenment, they saw, and from that enlightened sight confessed, that no one derives original sin from Adam, but from the successive generations of his own ancestry, and that this is not taken away in baptism by the imputation and application of the Lord's merit; that an imputation and application of the Lord's merit is a man-made fiction, because it is impossible; and that faith is never infused into any infant at its mother's breast, because faith requires thought.

[3] They saw that baptism is a still a holy sacrament, because it serves as a sign and reminder that a person can be regenerated by the Lord through truths from the Word - as a sign for heaven, and a reminder for the person - and that by baptism a person is introduced into the church, as by crossing the Jordan the children of Israel were introduced into the land of Canaan, and as the inhabitants of Jerusalem were prepared to receive the Lord by the baptism of John. For without that sign in heaven in the sight of angels, the Jews could not have continued and gone on living at the coming of Jehovah, that is, of the Lord in the flesh.

Similar to this was what they had decreed regarding justification.

That no imputation of the Lord's merit occurs or is possible may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord 18.

Also, that the evil heredity called original sin is derived not from Adam, but from the successive generations of a person's ancestry - this may be seen in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Providence 277. What Adam means in the Word may be seen in no. 241 of that same work.

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774. "Every kind of thyine wood, ¹ every kind of ivory vessel." This symbolically means that these Roman Catholics no longer have these because they do not have any of the natural goods and truths to which such things correspond.

This statement is similar to the ones explained in nos. 772 and 773 above, the only difference being that the valuables named first mean spiritual goods and truths (as explained in no. 772 above), and that those named second mean celestial goods and truths (as explained just above in no. 773), while those named now - thyine wood and ivory vessel - mean natural goods and truths.

[2] To explain: There are three degrees of wisdom and love, and so three degrees of truth and goodness. We call the first degree celestial, the second spiritual, and the third natural. These three degrees are present from birth in every person, and they are present in general also in heaven and in the church. Because of this there are three heavens, a highest one, an intermediate one, and a lowest one, altogether distinct from each other in accordance with these degrees. The same is true of the Lord's church on earth. But this is not the place to explain the nature of the church with people in the celestial degree, with people in the spiritual degree, and with people in the natural degree. See instead what we said about them in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom, Part Three, where we dealt with degrees. Here we will say only that in the case of people coming from Babylon, they have no spiritual goods and truths, no celestial goods and truths, and not even any natural goods and truths.

Spiritual goods and truths are mentioned first, because many of those coming from Babylon can be spiritual, provided they hold the Word holy at heart, as they do with the mouth. But they cannot become celestial, because they do not turn to the Lord, but turn to people living and dead and worship them. It is for this reason that celestial goods and truths are mentioned second.

[3] Thyine wood symbolizes natural good because wood in the Word symbolizes goodness, and stone truth, and thyine wood derives its name from a word meaning two, and the number two also symbolizes goodness.

The good symbolized is natural good, because wood is not a valuable material like gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet. The same is true of stone. The case is similar with ivory, which symbolizes natural truth. Ivory symbolizes natural truth because it is white and can be polished, and because it protrudes from the mouth of an elephant and also constitutes its might. In order for ivory to symbolize the natural truth of the goodness symbolized by thyine wood, the text specifies a vessel of ivory, as a vessel symbolizes something that contains, here truth that contains good.

[4] That wood symbolizes goodness can be seen to some extent from the following considerations: That the bitter waters at Marah were made sweet by casting in something wooden (Exodus 15:25). That the tables of stone on which the Law was written were placed in an ark made of acacia wood (Exodus 25:10-16). That the Temple in Jerusalem was roofed with wood and paneled inside with wood (1 Kings 6:9, 15). And that the altar in the wilderness was made of wood (Exodus 27:1, 6).

It can be seen to some extent also from the following:

...the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the wood answers it. (Habakkuk 2:11)

They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise..., and they will cast your stones and your timber... into the midst of the sea. (Ezekiel 26:12)

The prophet Ezekiel was told to take a piece of wood and write on it the names of Judah and the children of Israel, and also on another piece of wood the names of Joseph and Ephraim; and that the Lord Jehovih would make them into one piece of wood (Ezekiel 37:16, 19).

We drink our water in exchange for silver, and our wood comes at a price. (Lamentations 5:4)

If someone goes with his neighbor into a forest..., and the ax head (falls) from the wooden handle...(onto) his neighbor so that he dies, he shall flee to (a city of refuge). (Deuteronomy 19:5)

The latter is said because wood symbolizes goodness, and so because the person did not kill his neighbor out of evil or with evil intention, therefore, but by accident, being impelled by good. And so on elsewhere.

[5] In an opposite sense, however, wood symbolizes something evil or cursed. So for example, they made graven images out of wood and worshiped them (Deuteronomy 4:23-28; Isaiah 37:19; 40:20; Jeremiah 10:3, 8; Ezekiel 20:32). Also, being hanged from a tree was a curse (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

That ivory symbolizes natural truth can be seen moreover from passages which mention ivory, such as Ezekiel 27:6, 15; Amos 3:15; 6:4; Psalms 45:8.

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