778. As then 'birds of the air' ¹ means intellectual truths and so thoughts, they also mean things that are the contrary, such as delusions or falsities, which because they are part of man's thought are called birds as well. 'The wicked being given as food to birds of the air ¹ and to wild animals', for example, stands for delusions and evil desires, Isaiah 18:6; Jeremiah 7:33; 16:4; 19:7; 34:20; Ezekiel 29:5; 39:4. Also the Lord Himself compares delusions and persuasions of falsity to birds when He says,

The seed which fell on the pathway was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air ¹ devoured it. Matthew 13:4; Luke 8:5; Mark 4:4, 15.

Here 'birds of the air' ¹ are nothing other than falsities.

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650. 'Length' means the holiness, 'breadth' the truth, and 'height' the good, of the remnants described by the numbers. This cannot be confirmed so easily from the Word because every single thing has reference to the particular subject or thing under discussion. For example, when 'length' applies to time it means perpetual and eternal, as in 'length of days' Psalms 23:6; 21:4, but when it applies to space it means consequent holiness. The situation is the same with 'breadth' and 'height'. All earthly objects are three-dimensional, but no such dimensions can be used in reference to celestial and spiritual things. When they are used to refer to these they mean the degree of perfection, greater or less, independent of the dimensions given, as well as identity and quantity. In this case they are identified as remnants, which are few in quantity.