What does this gem reveal about the end time Babylon the Great? Why were pearls, other gems and dried toads made into an amulet? What destructive disease was this sought after jewelry meant to protect against?
Description of Gem
Pearls are an organic gemstone as opposed to a mineral-based gem. The only other organically created gem mentioned in the Bible are corals.
Natural pearls form inside mollusks such as oysters and mussels when an irritant (a parasite, bit of shell, etc.) gets trapped inside. The mollusk coats the irritant in layers of nacre, made of calcium carbonate and a protein called conchiolin, gradually building up the pearl over months to years.
The are many different types of this organic gemstone. There are those that are natural (mentioned above), cultured (produced with human assistance) and freshwater (produced by freshwater mussels).
In ancient times, because pearls were rare to find, many oysters had to be gathered and opened (killing them) in order to find one of these gems.
Sources
Most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China.
How Hard Is it?
Pearls have a hardness of 2.5 to 4.5 on the Mohs scale. It is the softest of all the gemstones mentioned in the Bible.
Pearls also have the distinction of possessing the widest difference in hardness of any Biblical precious stone. The second biggest difference is jacinths which possess a hardness from 6 to 7.5.
Biblical Occurrences
Pearls, recorded by name ten times in the King James Bible, are the second most mentioned gemstone in Scripture. They are second only to sapphires and the onyx (sardonyx) which are each found twelve times in God's word.
This organic gem is mentioned by name, in the King James, five times in Revelation, three times in the gospel of Matthew, and once each in Job and 1Timothy.
Job, in his discourse concerning his trials, comments that wisdom was more valuable than precious metals or even gems.
But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? . . . It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof .
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls (Hebrew gabiysh, Strong's #H1378): for the price of wisdom is above rubies. (Job 28:12, 15, 18, KJV throughout).
Jesus, in the book of Matthew, uses pearls to warn believers to use wisdom when trying to help others. This is because indiscriminately offering spiritual truth to anyone might backfire and work against the believer!
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls (Greek margarites, Strong's #G3135) before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (Matthew 7:6).
The pursuit of God's kingdom is likened to someone seeking a rare and costly pearl. Once it is found no expense should be spared in possessing it!
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45 - 46).
Paul reminds his good friend Timothy to teach Christian women to focus more on humility and modesty (righteous character) rather than how they look and dress (vanity).
In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. (1Timothy 2:9 - 10).
Pearls and Prophecy
The Bible uses this gem to denote the wealth the great end time prophetic whore will possess when she fully reveals herself!
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
And across her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:4 - 5).
The future fall of Babylon the Great, the Satan-inspired system of governance and religion that rules the earth, will be heralded in heaven. Those on earth, however, who sinfully enriched themselves through this evil system, will mourn the loss of their greatest customer who purchased precious stones from them.
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble . . .
The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! (Revelation 18:11 - 12, 15 - 16).
The New Jerusalem
The twelve gates of the New Jerusalem, which will soon be made by God, will each be constructed out of a single pearl! These incredible entrances are where the idea that heaven possessed "pearly gates" originated.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. (Revelation 21:21).
Other Uses
In India, Mehsi is home to the country's only traditional pearl button manufacturing cluster and remains the principal center of the industry. Mehsi-made pearl buttons are supplied to domestic and international markets, including Japan and several European countries.
Facts and Folklore
This natural gem can be round, pear, egg, or other shapes. While white is the most familiar coloration of this gemstone, they can also come in other colors such as light rose, black, blue, red, and violet. Their beauty and desirability goes back at least 4,000 years (Diamonds, Pearls and Precious Stones, page 42).
In the 16th century A.D., a rather unique and weird amulet was worn which was thought to protect a person from the plague. This amulet, worn by no less than the pope, was made with pearls and a dried toad!
"Quills of quicksilver were commonly worn about the neck as a preservative against the plague. The powder of toad was employed in a similiar way. Pope Adrian (pope from 1522 to 1523) is reported never to have been without it.
"The ingredients forming his amulet were dried toad, arsenic, tormentil, pearl, coral, hyacinth, smarag, and trafacanth." (On Superstitions Connected with the History and Practice of Medicine and Surgery, page 91).
Interestingly, many people stayed away from Adrian being crowned pope in August 1522 A.D. due to the fear of the plague!
Folklore surrounding pearls associates them with the moon and Monday, although they were also considered a talisman of Sunday (Curious Lore of Precious Stones, page 30, 332, 358).
Pearls, in dreams, were believed to symbolize faithful friends. They were also considered, in some cultures, as the tears of the gods (ibid.).
The use of amulets was common among the ancient Greek and Romans. These amulets were primarily formed of gems, crowns of pearls, necklaces of corals and so on. Athletes worn such amulets to insure victory (On Superstitions Connected with the History and Practice of Medicine and Surgery, pages 66 - 67).