282. Because this cherub was like an eagle, and the eagle appeared as flying, it shall now be explained what is signified by flying in the Word. By flying are signified circumspection and presence, because a bird when it flies looks about from on high, and thus by its sight is present everywhere round about; but when flying is said, in the Word, of Jehovah, it signifies omnipresence, because omnipresence is infinite circumspection and infinite presence. This, then, is why this cherub appeared like a flying eagle; for by cherubim in general is signified the providence of the Lord that the higher heavens may not be approached except from the good of love and of charity; and by this cherub is signified the Divine intelligence, as was shown just above.

[2] That by flying, when, in the Word, it is said of the Lord, is signified omnipresence, and, when said of men, circumspection and presence is evident from the following passages. In David:

God "rode upon a cherub, he did fly, and was carried upon the wings of the wind" (Psalm 18:10; 2 Sam. 22:11).

He rode upon a cherub signifies the Divine presence; he did fly signifies omnipresence in the spiritual world; and was carried upon the wings of the wind, signifies omnipresence in the natural world. These words of the Psalmist can be understood only from the spiritual sense.

[3] In Isaiah:

"As birds flying, so will Jehovah Zebaoth protect Jerusalem" (31:5).

Jehovah is said to protect Jerusalem as birds flying, for by protecting is signified the Divine providence as to defence; by Jerusalem is signified the church, and by birds flying, with which comparison is made, is signified circumspection and presence, and in this case, as being said of the Lord omnipresence.

[4] In the Apocalypse:

"I saw, and heard one angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth" (8:13).

And again:

"I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to publish unto them that dwell on the earth" (14:6).

By the former angel is here signified the damnation of all who are in evils, and by the other angel is signified the salvation of all who are in good; by flying, is signified circumspection on every side where they are.

[5] In Isaiah:

"All the flocks of Arabia shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to the windows?" (60:7, 8).

The subject here treated of is the advent of the Lord and the enlightenment of the nations which shall then take place; and by the flocks of Arabia which shall be gathered together are signified the knowledges of truth and good. By the rams of Nebaioth which shall minister are signified truths, which form the life by virtue of spiritual affection; by flying as a cloud, and as doves to the windows, are signified seeking and investigation of truth from the sense of the letter of the Word, hence also by flying is signified circumspection; for a cloud signifies the sense of the letter of the Word; doves signify the spiritual affection of truth, and windows truth in light. That such a sense is contained in those words is evident from the signification of the flocks of Arabia, of the rams of Nebaioth, of a cloud, of doves, and of windows.

[6] In David:

"Fear and trembling are come upon me, whence I said, Who will give me wings like a dove? I will fly away where I may dwell. Lo, I will wander far off, and pass the night in the wilderness" (Psalms 55:5, 6, 7).

The subject here treated of is temptation and straitness at the time; fear and trembling signify that straitness; the seeking for truth at the time and casting about as to whither to turn oneself, is signified by, who will give me wings like a dove? I will fly away where I may dwell. The wings of a dove denote the spiritual affection of truth; to fly away where I may dwell denotes to rescue the life thereby from damnation; that there is as yet no hope of deliverance, is signified by, Lo, I will wander far off, and pass the night in the wilderness.

[7] In Hosea:

"Ephraim, as a bird shall their glory fly away; yea, if they have brought up sons, I will make them likewise bereaved of man" (9:11, 12).

By Ephraim is signified the enlightened understanding of those who belong to the church; by glory is signified Divine truth; by flying away as a bird is signified its deprivation. Comparison is here made with a bird, because a bird signifies the Rational and Intellectual, just as Ephraim does. By its being said, "If they have brought up sons, I will make them likewise bereaved of man" is signified that if they have even produced truths still they are not at all wise thereby; for sons denote truths, and to make them bereaved of man, is to deprive of wisdom.

[8] In Moses:

"Ye shall not make to you the form of any animal upon the earth, nor the form of any winged bird which flieth towards heaven" (Deuteronomy 4:15-17).

By these words, in the internal sense, is signified that man is not to procure to himself wisdom and intelligence from himself, or from proprium. For by the animals which walk upon the earth are signified the affections of good, from which is wisdom, and by birds are signified the affections of truth, from which is intelligence. By their being commanded not to make to themselves the form of any of these, is signified, that those things which they signify are not to be procured from man or from his proprium. It is said, "Any winged fowl that flieth towards heaven," because by winged fowl is signified the spiritual understanding of truth, and by flying towards heaven is signified the circumspection pertaining to intelligence in Divine things.

[9] From these considerations it is evident what is signified by this cherub appearing like a flying eagle, as also what is signified in Isaiah,

by the seraphim; each one had six wings; "with twain," of which "he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly" (6:2).

By the wings with which each of the seraphim covered his face is signified the spiritual affection of truth; by the wings with which he covered his feet, the natural affection of truth therefrom; and the wings with which he did fly denote circumspection and presence, in this case omnipresence, because the seraphim signify the same as the cherubim, namely, the Divine providence as to guardianship.

[10] The reason why by flying, when said of man, is signified circumspection, and at the same time presence, is that the sight is present with the object which it sees; that it appears afar off, or distant, is owing to intermediate objects, which appear at the same time, and can be measured as to space. This may be fully confirmed from those things which exist in the spiritual world; there, spaces themselves are appearances arising from the diversity of affection and of thoughts therefrom; therefore, when any persons or things appear afar off, and an angel or spirit desires from intense affection to be with them, or to view those things which are there, he is immediately present. The same is the case with thought, which is a man's internal or spiritual sight; this perceives those things which he before saw in himself, without space, thus altogether as present. This is why to fly is said of the understanding and of its intelligence, and why thereby are signified circumspection and presence.

6400. 'Biting the horse's heels' means false notions received from the lowest natural level. This is clear from the meaning of 'biting' as clinging to and thereby causing harm, and from the meaning of 'the horse's heels' as false notions received from the lowest natural level; for 'the heel' is the lowest and bodily part of the natural, 259, 4938-4952. While 'horse' is the understanding part of the mind, 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321, 6125. 'Horse' here means false notions because the lowest natural level of the understanding, which is that of the senses, is meant. People who are guided by truth but not as yet by good are subject to false notions received from that lowest natural level. This may be recognized from the consideration that truth is not in any light unless good resides with it or exists within it. For good is like a flame radiating light, and when that good meets some truth it not only throws light on it but also draws it into that radiating light, towards itself. People therefore who are guided by truth but not as yet by good are in a kind of gloom and darkness, because truth possesses no light at all of its own, and the light which those people receive from good is as feeble as light which fades away. When such people therefore think and engage in reasoning about truth, and from truth about good, they are like those who see apparitions in the darkness and believe them to be real bodies. Or they are like people who in the gloom see streaks on a wall and whose imagination leads them to make some shape out of them, either of a human being or of some other living creature. But when daylight comes it is seen that they are merely streaks without any such shape. It is much the same with the truths residing with them; for they see as truths what are not truths, which ought rather to be likened to apparitions or streaks on the wall. What is more, people of this kind - those who have been guided by some truth from the Word but not by any good - have been the source of all the heresies that have arisen within the Church; for heretical belief has been seen by them to be altogether the truth. So too with falsities within the Church. Those who have disseminated them have not been guided by good, as may be recognized from the consideration that they cast the good of charity far behind the truth of faith and as a consequence have for the most part invented ideas which are in no way compatible with the good of charity.

[2] Since it is said that those who are guided by truth but not as yet by good use false notions received from the lowest natural level to reason about truth and about good, let something also be said about what false notions are. Take for example a person's life after death. People subject to false notions received from lowest nature, such as those who are guided by truth but not as yet by good, do not believe that any part of a person except his body has life, or that a person can possibly rise again when he dies unless he gets back his body. If these people are told that the interior man is the one who has life within the body and who is raised up by the Lord when the body dies, and that this interior man has a body like those that spirits or angels have, and that like a person in the world he can see, hear, talk, mix with others, and seem to himself to be altogether a person, they cannot grasp any of it. False notions received from the lowest natural level cause them to believe that such things cannot be true.

[3] The chief reason why they do not believe them to be true is that they cannot see those things with their physical eyes. When such people think about the spirit or soul, the only idea they can have of it is that it is like things the eye cannot see in the natural world. Consequently they consider it to be either something breath-like, or else something air-like, ether-like, or flame-like, or - according to some - something purely thought-like, which possesses scarcely any vitality until it is joined again to the body. These people think the way they do because to them everything of an interior nature is gloom and darkness and only those of an external nature are in light. This shows how easily such people can fall into error; for if they limit their thought to the body and how it will be reassembled, to the destruction of the world and the fact that it has been awaited in vain for so many centuries, to animals and the fact that they have life not unlike man's life, or to the fact that no dead persons reappear and declare their state of life, they easily recede - when they think of these and other such things - from belief in resurrection, as they do from many other matters of belief. The reason they recede from that belief is that they are not guided by good and do not through good see in the light. Such being their condition it also says, 'And its rider will fall backwards; I wait for Your salvation, O Jehovah', meaning a receding from [the truth] unless the Lord comes to their aid.