He is particularly fond of the globe. What very few Bible readers know is that God has a preference for arranging narrative threads in a circular pattern; this is already hinted at in Genesis 2.  

“And a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pison; this is the one that flows around the whole land of Hawila, where the gold is; and the gold of that land is good; there is also the Bdellion and the Onyx stone.” © Copyright  H. Randy Rohrer

The Pison flows around the land of Hawila, but it can only do so if the water flows steadily downward from the source. As everyone knows, water never flows uphill; it always seeks the easiest path downward. How, then, can it be that the Pison flows around the entire land of Havilah?  The Hebrew word Sawav (sharp S) for “flow around” actually means: to circle, but also to surround or enclose.  

You have to think of the idea first

By asking questions about the text and the character described by the word “Hawila,” the correct answer almost reveals itself.

Water sources are usually found in the mountains, which means that the land of Hawila must have something to do with a mountain. Now, the Pison flows around this mountain. And how does it do that? Anyone who has ever driven into the mountains knows how the roads are laid out there. They wind their way upward in serpentines. Hawila is designed differently; it has a waterbed that spirals around the mountain.  From the spring located at the summit, it constantly flows around its land, with the gradient at the end of the journey being greater than at the beginning.  

Mount Hawila in Revelation

And one of the seven angels came... and spoke to me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

The Land of Havilah and Its Fine Gold

The mountain that John sees represents the land of Havilah. And because the city is situated atop the mountain, it points to the source of the Pison, which flows ceaselessly and thus becomes a blessing for the earth. The Jerusalem from heaven is made of the purest gold; therefore, the gold of the land of Havilah is truly fine.  

As a reminder: In the Bible, on an allegorical level, gold represents righteousness; here it stands for the righteousness of God—Jesus Christ. All other gold investments and reserves are worthless, meaning: Any righteousness earned by human effort is worthless in God’s eyes and “rusts”; see James 5.