459. 'And idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood' signifies that thus they are in a worship derived from nothing but untruths. By 'idols' in the Word are signified untruths of worship, and consequently by adoring them is signified a worship derived from untruths, and by adoring idols of 'gold', 'silver', 'bronze', 'stone' and 'wood' is signified a worship derived from every kind of untruth, and collectively a worship derived from nothing but untruths. Moreover, with the ancients, the materials, forms, and garments of idols used to represent the untruths of religion of which their worship was the result. 'Idols of gold' signified untruths concerning Divine things, 'idols of silver' untruths concerning spiritual things, 'idols of bronze' untruths concerning charity, 'idols of stone' untruths concerning faith, and 'idols of wood' untruths concerning good works. All these untruths exist with those who do not repent, that is, flee from evils as sins against God. [2] These things are signified in the spiritual sense by the idols that were graven and molten images, in the following passages:-
Every man has become stupid by knowledge, every founder is shamed by a graven image, because his molten image is a lie, and there is no breath in them; they are vanity, a work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish Jer. x 14, 15; li 17, 18.
Graven images are the work of the hands of the workman, they speak not; they are made foolish and grow stupid together, the wood is a teaching of vanities, they are all the work of the wise Jer. x 3-5, 8-10.
What comes forth from the graven image, because the fabricator and teacher of a lie has graven it, because the fabricator of a lie has trusted in it? There is no breath in the midst of it Hab. ii 18-20.
In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made for themselves to bow down to, to the moles and to the bats Isa. ii 18, 20.
They have made for themselves a molten image out of their silver idols in [the image of] their own intelligence, the whole the work of the craftsman Hosea xiii 2.
I will sprinkle clean waters upon you, that you may be cleansed from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols Ezek. xxxvi 25.
'Clean waters' are truths, 'idols' are untruths of worship.
Thou shalt judge unclean the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the clothing of thy molten image of gold, thou shalt scatter it as menstrual waste, thou shalt call it dung Isa. xxx 22.
[3] Nor is anything but untruths of religion and consequently of worship signified by:-
The gods of gold, of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood and of stone, which the king of Babel, Behshazzar, praised (worshipped) when he drank wine with the magnates, wives and concubines, out of the vessels of gold and silver of the Jerusalem temple; because of which the king was driven out from man, and became as a beast Dan. v 1-5 seq.
Besides in many other places, as Isa. x 10, 11; xxi 9; xxxi 7; xl 19, 20; xli 29; xlii 17; xlviii 5; Jer. viii 19; l 38,39; Ezek. vi 4, 5; xiv 3-6; Micah i 7; v 13 [H.B. 12]; Ps. cxv 4, 5; cxxxv 15, 16; Lev. xxvi 30. Properly by idols are signified untruths of worship derived from self-intelligence. How a man fashions these and afterwards accommodates them, so that they may appear as truths, is fully described in Isaiah, chap. xliv 9-20.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church