281. And the fourth animal was like a flying eagle, signifies the appearance in ultimates of the Divine guard and providence in respect to intelligence and as to circumspection on every side. This is evident from the signification of "eagle," as being intelligence; here Divine intelligence which is that of the Lord's guard and providence. "Eagle" means intelligence because intelligence is in the light of heaven, and the eagle flies high that he may be there and may look about on every side; this is why this face of the cherub appeared "like a flying eagle;" for "to fly" signifies presence and clear vision on every side, and in reference to the Divine it signifies omnipresence. "Eagle" signifies intelligence for this reason also, that the "birds of heaven" signify in a good sense things intellectual and rational, and the eagle especially, because it not only flies high but also has keen vision. (That "the birds of heaven" signify things intellectual and rational, in both senses, seeArcana Coelestia 745, 776, 866, 988, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441)

[2] That "eagle" signifies intelligence is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Ezekiel:

A great eagle, great in wings, long in pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors [embroidery], came upon Lebanon, and took a twig of cedar; he plucked off the head of its shoots, and carried it into a land of traffic; and set it in the city of spice dealers. He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in a field of sowing; he took it to great waters, and placed it carefully; and it sprouted and became a luxuriant vine of low stature, so that its branches looked to it, and the roots thereof were under it; so it became a vine that produced shoots and sent out boughs. And there was another great eagle, great in wings and full of feathers; and behold, this vine did bend its roots toward it and sent forth its branches toward it to water it from the beds of its plantation; it was planted in a good field by many waters, to make the bough and to bear fruit, that it might be a vine of magnificence (Ezekiel 17:1-8).

The establishment of a spiritual church by the Lord is here treated of, and in the internal sense the process of its establishment or of the regeneration of the man of that church from beginning to end is described. By the first eagle the process of regeneration of the natural or external man by means of knowledges [scientifica] and cognitions from the Word is described; and by the other eagle the process of regeneration of the spiritual or internal man by means of truths from good is described; therefore the first eagle signifies the intelligence of the natural man, and the second the intelligence of the spiritual man. Let it be also explained briefly what these particulars signify. The first eagle is said to have been "great in wings, long in pinions, full of feathers," and this signifies an abundance of the knowledges and cognitions [scientiarum et cognitionum] of truth and good, from which comes the first intelligence, which is the intelligence of the natural man; it is therefore said that "it had divers colors" [embroidery], for by "divers colors" is signified what relates to knowledge and cognition [scientificum et cognitivum] (See Arcana Coelestia 9688). "It came upon Lebanon, and took a twig of cedar," signifies the reception of some knowledges of truth from the doctrine of the church which is from the Word; for "Lebanon" signifies that doctrine, and "the twig of cedar" knowledges. "He plucked off the head of its shoots, and carried it into a land of traffic," signifies primary knowledges from that doctrine to which knowledges [scientiae] were applied; "the head of the shoots" signifying primary knowledges, and "the land of traffic" the natural man, to which things known belong. "He set it in the city of spice dealers" signifies among truths from good in the natural man; "spices" signifying truths which are agreeable because from good (See Arcana Coelestia 4748, 5621, 9474, 9475, 10199, 10254). "He took of the seed of the land, and placed it in the field of sowing; he took it to great waters, and placed it carefully," signifies multiplication; "the seed of the land" meaning the truth of the church; "the field of sowing," the good from which it grows; "great waters," the knowledges of truth and good; "to place carefully," separation from falsities; "and it sprouted and became a luxuriant vine, so that its branches looked to it [the eagle] and the roots thereof were under it," signifies the church coming to the birth through the arrangement of the knowledges of truth, and from their application to use. "So it became a vine that produced shoots and sent out boughs," signifies the beginning of the spiritual church, and the continual increase of truths. (That "vine" is the spiritual church, see Arcana Coelestia 1069, 6375, 9277.) Thus far the beginning of the church with man, which takes place in the natural or external man, has been described; its establishment which takes place in the spiritual or internal man is now described by the other eagle; because this signifies spiritual intelligence, it said that "the vine did bend its roots toward it, that is, the eagle, and send forth its branches toward it;" for "roots" signify knowledges [scientiae], and "branches" the cognitions of truth and good, which are all applied to the truths which are in the spiritual or internal man; without their spiritual application man does not become wise at all. The multiplication and fructification of truth from good, thus the increase of intelligence, is described by "the vine was planted in a good field, by many waters, to make the bough and to bear fruit, that it might be a vine of magnificence;" "a good field" is the church in respect to the good of charity; "many waters" are the knowledges of good and truth; "to form the bough" is to multiply truths; "to bear fruit" is to bring forth goods, which are uses; "a vine of magnificence" is the spiritual church, both internal and external. (But these things, since they are arcana of regeneration and of the establishment of the church with man, can be better understood from what is (New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine51) (New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine 183) brought together in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, from the Arcana Coelestia, On Knowledges [scientiis] and Cognitions, n. 51; and On Regeneration, n. 183.)

[3] That "eagle" signifies intelligence can also be seen in Isaiah:

They that wait upon Jehovah shall renew the strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

"To mount up with wings as eagles" is ascent into the light of heaven, thus into intelligence.

[4] In David:

Jehovah, who satisfieth thy mouth, so that thou shalt be renewed like an eagle (Psalms 103:5).

"To be renewed like an eagle" is to be renewed in respect to intelligence.

[5] In Moses:

Ye have seen how I bare you as on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself (Exodus 19:4).

"To bear as on eagles' wings, and to bring," also means into intelligence, because into heaven and its light.

[6] In the same:

Jehovah found him in the land of the wilderness. He led him about, He instructed him, He preserved him as the pupil of His eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young; it spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh him, beareth him on her pinions, so Jehovah alone led him (Deuteronomy 32:10-12). This treats of the establishment of the Ancient Church, and the first reformation of those who were of that church; their first state is meant by "the land of the wilderness in which Jehovah found them;" "the land of the wilderness," is where there is no good because there is no truth; their instruction in truths, guarding them from falsities, and the opening of the interiors of their mind, that they may come into the light of heaven, and thus into the understanding of truth and good, which is intelligence, is described by "the eagle," its "nest on high," "it fluttereth over the young, and beareth them on the pinions;" comparison is made with the eagle, because "eagle" signifies intelligence.

[7] In the second book of Samuel:

Saul and Jonathan, swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions (2 Samuel 1:23).

"Saul" as a king, and "Jonathan" as a king's son, signify the truth of the church; and because intelligence is from truth, and also power, it is said that they were "swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions;" "swiftness" in the Word, in reference to intelligence, signifying the affection of truth. For David wrote his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan "to teach the sons of Judah the bow;" and "the sons of Judah" signify the truths of the church, and the "bow" means the doctrine of truth combating against falsities.

[8] In Job:

By thy intelligence doth the hawk fly, and spread her wings toward the south? At thy command doth the eagle mount up and make high her nest? In the rock she dwelleth and lodgeth; thence she searcheth her food; her eyes behold afar off; and where the slain are there is she (Job 39:26-30.)

Here intelligence is treated of, that no one can procure it from himself or from what is his own [ex proprio]; therefore it is said, "By thy intelligence doth the hawk fly, and spread her wings towards the south?" referring to man's leading himself into the light of intelligence (signified by the "south"), and here, that this is not possible. Intelligence itself, which is of the spiritual man, is described by "the eagle doth mount up, make high her nest, dwell and lodge in the rock, thence searching her food, and her eyes behold afar off." That no one has such intelligence from himself is signified by "Doth the eagle do this at thy command?" But that nothing but falsities can come from self-intelligence is signified by "where the slain are there is she;" "the slain" in the Word signify those with whom truths have been extinguished by falsities (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 4503).

[9] From this it can be seen what is signified by the Lord's words when the disciples asked Him where the Last Judgment would be, in Luke:

The disciples said, Where, Lord? He said unto them, Where the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together (Luke 17:37).

The "body" here means the spiritual world, where all men are together, both the evil and the good; and "eagles" signify those who are in truths, and also those who are in falsities, thus those who are in true intelligence and those who are in false intelligence. False intelligence is from what is man's own [ex proprio], but true intelligence is from the Lord through the Word.

[10] The falsities that are from self-intelligence are also described by "eagles" in the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:

Behold he ascendeth as the clouds, and his chariot as the storm, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us, for we are devastated (Jeremiah 4:13).

The desolation of truth in the church is here treated of, and the "cloud" that ascends signifies falsities; "the chariot which is as the storm" signifies the doctrine of falsity; their avidity for reasoning against truths and destroying them, and pleasure in it, is signified by "their horses are swifter than eagles," for "swiftness" and "haste" in the Word signify being stirred by affection and lust (See Arcana Coelestia 7695, 7866); and "horses" signify the understanding of truth, and in a contrary sense, the understanding of falsity or the reasoning from falsities against truth (Arcana Coelestia 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148, 8381); and because "horses" signify this, and "eagles" intelligence, here self-intelligence which is reasoning from falsities, therefore it is said, "their horses are swifter than eagles."

[11] In Lamentations:

Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens (Lamentations 4:19).

And in Habakkuk:

His horses are nimbler than leopards, and are fiercer than the evening wolves, that his horsemen may spread themselves; whence his horsemen come from far, they fly as an eagle that hasteth to eat. He cometh all for violence (Habakkuk 1:8-9);

here too, "eagle" stands for the reasoning from falsities against truths, which is from self-intelligence.

5149. 'And the birds were eating them out of the basket, from upon my head' means that falsity originating in evil would consume it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the birds' as intellectual concepts and also thoughts, and consequently the things which flow from them - in the genuine sense truths of every kind, and in the contrary sense falsities - dealt with in 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 7219; from the meaning of eating' as consuming (in the original language the verb to eat also denotes to consume); and from the meaning of 'the basket' as the will part of the mind, dealt with in 5144, 5146, in this case evil coming from the will part since the basket has holes in it, 5145. From this it follows that 'the birds were eating them out of the basket, from upon his head' means that falsity originating in evil would consume it.

[2] Falsity has two different origins, doctrine and evil. Falsity originating in doctrine does not consume any form of good, for a person can have such falsity in his mind and yet desire what is good, which is why people taught any kind of doctrine, including gentiles, can be saved. But falsity originating in evil is falsity which does consume good. Evil itself is opposed to good; yet it does not by itself consume any good but relies on falsity to do so. For falsity attacks the truths which are the defenders of good, those truths being so to speak the ramparts behind which good resides. Falsity is used to attack those ramparts, and once this has been done, good is given over to destruction.

[3] Anyone unacquainted with the fact that 'birds' means intellectual concepts will inevitably suppose that when mentioned in the Word the expression 'birds' is either used to mean birds literally or else is used, as in everyday speech, in a figurative sense. Except from the internal sense no one can know that 'birds' means things belonging to the understanding, such as thoughts, ideas, reasonings, basic assumptions, and consequently truths or falsities, as in Luke,

The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, which someone took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a big tree so that the birds of the air dwelt in its branches. Luke 13:19.

'The birds of the air' here stands for truths.

[4] In Ezekiel,

It will turn into a noble cedar, and under it will dwell every bird of every sort; ¹ in the shade of its branches they will dwell. Ezekiel 17:23.

'Bird of every sort' stands for truths of every kind. In the same prophet,

Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon. In its branches all the birds of the air made their nests, and under its branches every beast of the field brought forth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezekiel 31:3, 6.

'The birds of the air' stands in a similar way for truths.

[5] In the same prophet,

Upon its ruin will dwell every bird of the air, and on its branches will be every wild animal of the field. Ezekiel 31:13.

'Bird of the air' stands for falsities. In Daniel,

Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream. Behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; under it the beasts of the field had shade, and in its branches dwelt the birds of the air. Daniel 4:10, 12, 14, 21.

Here also 'the birds of the air' stands for falsities.

[6] In Jeremiah,

I looked, and behold, there was no man; and every bird of the air had flown away. Jeremiah 4:25.

'No man' stands for no good, 4287, 'the birds of the air which had flown away' for the fact that truths had been dispersed. In the same prophet,

From bird of the air even to beast they have flown away, they have gone away. Jeremiah 9:10.

Here the meaning is the same. In Matthew,

A sower went out to sow; and some fell on the pathway, and the birds came and devoured it. Matthew 13:3-4.

Here 'the birds of the air' stands for reasonings, and also for falsities. The same meaning may be seen in many other places.

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