46. That 'beasts' means affections residing with man - evil affections in evil men and good affections in good men - becomes clear from many examples in the Word, as in Ezekiel,

Behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, so that you will be tilled and sown; and I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they will be multiplied and be fruitful, and I will resettle you ¹ to be as in your ancient times. Ezekiel 36:9-11.

This refers to regeneration. In Joel,

Fear not, you beasts of My field, for the dwelling-places of the wilderness have been made green. Joel 2:22.

In David,

I was stupid, a beast ² was I with God. Psalms 73:12.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast, and I will watch over them to build and to plant. Jeremiah 31:27-28.

This refers to regeneration.

[2] 'Wild animals' (fera) has a similar meaning, as in Hosea,

I will make for them a covenant on that day, with the wild animals of the field, and with the birds of the air, ³ and with the creeping things of the earth. Hosea 2:18.

In Job,

You will not fear the wild animals of the earth, for your covenant will be with the stones of the field, and the wild beasts of the field will be at peace with you. Job 5:22-23.

In Ezekiel,

I will make with them ⁴ a covenant of peace, and I will banish the evil wild animal from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness. Ezekiel 34:25.

In Isaiah,

The wild animals of the field will honour me, for I have given water in the desert. Isaiah 43:20.

In Ezekiel,

In its branches all the birds of the air ³ made their nests and under its branches every wild animal of the field gave birth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezekiel 31:6.

This refers to Assyria, which means the spiritual man and is compared to the Garden of Eden. In David,

Praise Jehovah, all his angels, praise Him from the earth, sea monsters, fruit trees, wild animals, and all beasts, creeping things, and flying birds! Psalms 148:2-4, 7, 9-10.

Here the list is precisely the same - sea monsters, fruit trees, wild animals, beasts, creeping things, and birds. Unless they all mean things that are alive in human beings, they cannot possibly be referred to as praising Jehovah.

[3] A careful distinction is made in the Prophets between beasts and wild animals of the earth, and between beasts and wild animals of the field. The practice of calling goods 'beasts' extends to calling people in heaven who are nearest to the Lord 'living creatures', both in Ezekiel and in John,

All the angels stood around the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God. ⁵ Revelation 7:11; 19:4.

The expression 'creatures' is also used of people who are to have the gospel preached to them because they are to be created anew, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15.

Poznámky pod čarou:

9514. 'And the cherubs shall be spreading out their wings upwards' means a raising accomplished by the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'wings' as the truths of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'spreading out the wings upwards' as being raised, for in the spreading out of the wings upwards the endeavour to raise oneself is present, the fulfillment of the endeavour being the actual raising up. From all this it is evident that 'the wings of the cherubs, outspread upwards' means a raising of good in the Lord's direction by means of the truths of faith; for access to Him through good is meant by 'the cherubs'. Something brief must be stated here to show what a raising of good by means of the truths of faith implies. There are two realities with which everything in heaven and also everything in the world have connection - good and truth. Good without truth is not good, and truth without good is not truth; for without truth good lacks any specific quality, and without good truth is devoid of anything to give it being. Indeed truth is the actual outward form taken by good, and the form must exist to give it specific quality; but the good is the essential being, the manifestation of which is the truth.

[2] The relationship of good to truth is altogether like that of the will to the understanding, in that the will is dedicated to the reception of good and the understanding to the reception of truth. The will receives specific quality from the understanding, and the understanding its essential being from the will. For the will is formed within the understanding and thereby clothes itself with a specific quality. The relationship of good to truth is also like that of the body to the arms and feet, or to the wings in the case of birds. A body without arms and feet or without wings cannot move itself; but with the use of them it does move. Furthermore in the Word the body corresponds to good, and its arms or wings to truths and also to the powers good possesses in and exercises through truths. From these comparisons which are also correspondences one may see what is implied by a raising of good by means of the truths of faith, which in general are called spiritual truths. As regards the meaning of 'wings' as the truths of faith, see what has been shown in 8764.