18:12-13 cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.

The CARGOES can be broken down into 8 market groups. While they clearly have the physical groupings, they also have a spiritual/symbolic meaning. This discussion will try to show these meanings.

CARGOES of


Physical Market Group
Symbolic Group
Discussion
gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and The Investment Market
Complete Faith
Gold (1 Peter 1:3-7-9)
Silver (Psalm 66:8-10-12)
Precious Stones (Isaiah 28:9-16-22)
Pearl (Matthew 13:45-46)
fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and The Commodities Market
Royal Righteousness
Fine linen (Revelation 19:11-14-16)
Purple [cloth] (Mark 15:16-17-20)
Silk (Ezekiel 16:8-10-13-14)
Scarlet [yarn] (Leviticus 14:1-4-6-9)
every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, The [Construction] Materials Market
Worship/temple
These materials are listed for temple construction as well as for the utensils used during temple service. The earthly temple was temporary; our "heavenly temple" is eternal. (1 Chronicles 29:1-2-9; 1 Corinthians 3:5-16-17)
and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and The Luxury Market
Holiness/Anointing Oil
Just as these items are luxurious in the physical world, the anointing oil and incense was/is "very holy" in God's world (Exodus 30:22-23-34-36)
wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and The Food Market
Eternal Life/Truth
The widow at Zarephath experienced first hand how these food items never run out. Furthermore, "life" was restored to her son by Elijah in whose mouth was the word of the Lord. Truth and life go together.
 (1 Kings 17:8-14-24; John 14:1-6-11)
cattle and sheep, and The Livestock Market
Fellowship/Sacrifices
Fellowship (Ezekiel 34:11-16)
Sacrifices (Revelation 5:6)
cargoes of horses and chariots and The Transportation Market
Holy judgments or the Wrath of God
See Revelation 6:2; Chariots is better translated as "4 wheeled wagons" -- not clear what the symbolic meaning may be. Perhaps it means multitudes of judgments (much like the 7th seal contains the trumpet judgments and 7th trumpet contains the bowl judgments)
slaves and human lives. The Manpower Market
Persons bound by sin (slaves) and Souls
How many church-attending souls still are bound to sin because they have not heard the "words of God". It is painful to realize that, then as now, people's souls are treated like a market.  Statistics are kept on how many people attend and on how much money (tithes and offerings) is collected. (John 8:31-34-47)
1J. Allen "What the Bible Teaches - Revelation", pages 448-449

We notice that the Energy Market(s), the Information/Knowledge Market(s)s, and Homeland Protection Market(s), to name a few, are missing. This implies that Babylon's fall will be a total collapse of the global economy with its many "high technology" innovations. Similarly, religious organization(s), still active at that time, will collapse because they have become so intertwined with and dependent upon these hi-tech gadgets. If you or your church are heavy into these technologies, be aware that they should NOT be a "necessity". All of these things will disappear in one hour (verse 19). If you are among the "saints and apostles and prophets", then you are to rejoice when this happens (verse 20) because the global economy has passed away forever (verse 21). Now the eternal economy truly can come into being (Revelation 19:1-9). Please prayerfully consider, in light of this, what you and your fellow believer's mission is!