I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich (Rev. 3:18). How is the gold become dim, and the best refined gold changed; the stones of holiness are poured out at the head of all the streets; the sons of Zion were esteemed equal to pure gold (Lam. 4:1-2). He shall save the souls of the poor, and shall give them of the gold of Sheba (Ps. 72:13, 15). For brass I will bring gold, and for iron silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; and I will make thine officers peace, and thine exacters justice (Isa. 60:17). Behold, thou art wise, no secret lies hid from thee; in thy wisdom and in thy intelligence thou hast gotten thee gold and silver in thy treasuries; thou hast been in Eden, every precious stone was thy covering, and gold (Ezek. 28:3-4, 13). The multitude of camels shall cover thee, all they from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall announce the praises of Jehovah (Isa. 60:6, 9; Matt. 2:11). I will fill this house with glory. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine; the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former (Hag. 2:8-9). Kings' daughters were among thy precious ones; upon thy right hand did stand the queen in the best gold of Ophir, her clothing was of woven gold (Ps. 45:9, 13; Ezek. 16:13). Thou hast taken the vessels of thy ornament of My gold and of My silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of a male (Ezek. 16:17). Ye have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My desirable goods (Joel 3:5). [2] Because "gold" signifies the good of love, therefore when:

Belshazzaar with his magnates drank wine out of the vessels of gold brought from the temple of Jerusalem, and at the same time praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, and iron, there was a writing on the wall, and that night he was slain (Dan. 5:2 seq.). Besides many other places. Since "gold" signifies the good of love, therefore:

The ark in which was the Law, was overlaid with gold within and without (Exod. 25:11). And therefore the mercy-seat and the cherubim over the ark were of pure gold (Exod. 25:17-18). The altar of incense was of pure gold (Exod. 30:3). So also the lampstand with the lamps (Exod. 25:31, 38). And the table upon which was the showbread was overlaid with gold (Exod. 25:23-24). [3] Because "gold" signifies the good of love, "silver" the truth of wisdom, "brass" the good of natural love which love, is called charity, and "iron" the truth of faith, therefore the ancients called the successive periods, from the most ancient down to the last, the golden, silver, brazen, and iron ages. Similar things are signified by the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream:

Whose head was good gold, the breast and arms silver, the belly and thighs brass, the legs iron, and the feet part of iron and part of clay (Dan. 2:32-33). By these things the successive states of the church in this world are signified, from the most ancient times even to this day. The state of the church of this day is described thus:

Thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of man, but they shall not cohere the one with the other, as iron is not mixed with clay (Dan. 2:43). By "iron" is signified the truth of faith, as was said; but when there is no truth of faith, but faith without truth, then "the iron is mixed with miry clay," which do not cohere. By "the seed of man," with which they would mingle themselves, the truth of the Word is signified. This is the state of the church at this day. What it is to be hereafter is described there in a few words (Dan. 2:45, but more fully, Dan. 7:13-18, 27).