40. 'Creeping things which the waters bring forth' means facts which belong to the external man, while 'birds' generally means rational concepts and also intellectual concepts, of which the latter belong to the internal man. That creeping things from the waters, or fish, mean facts is clear in Isaiah,

I came, and there was no man. By My rebuke I will dry up the sea, I will make the rivers a desert. Their fish will stink because there is no water and will die of thirst. I will clothe the heavens with darkness. Isaiah 50:2-3.

[2] This is plainer still in Ezekiel where the Lord describes the new temple, or new Church in general, and the member of the Church, or person who has been regenerated, for every regenerate person is a temple of the Lord,

The Lord Jehovih ¹ said to me, Those waters which will go out to the boundary eastwards will come towards the sea, having been directed into the sea, and the waters will be fresh. And it will be that every living creature which swarms will live, wherever the water of the rivers reaches, and there will be very many fish, for these waters are going there and will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. And it will be that fishermen from En-gedi to En-eglaim will stand beside it, with nets spread out. Its fish according to their kinds will be very many, like the fish of the great sea. Ezekiel 47:8-10.

'Fishermen from En-gedi to En-eglaim with their nets stretched out' means people who are to teach the natural man about the truths of faith.

[3] In the Prophets 'birds' invariably means rational concepts and intellectual concepts, as in Isaiah,

Calling a bird of prey from the east, a man of My counsel from a distant land. Isaiah 46:11.

In Jeremiah,

I looked, and behold there was no man, and all the birds of the air ² had fled. Jeremiah 4:25.

In Ezekiel,

I will plant the sprig of a lofty cedar, and it will bring forth a branch, and bear fruit, and it will become a noble cedar, and under it will dwell every bird of every sort, ³ in the shade of its branches they will dwell. Ezekiel 17:23.

And in Hosea, when the subject is a new Church, or regenerate person,

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

Anyone may see that because the Lord 'is making a new covenant' with them, 'wild animal' is not used to mean a wild animal, nor 'bird' to mean a bird.

Footnotes:

10544. Verses 7-11 And Moses took a tent and pitched it for himself outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tent of meeting. And so it was, that everyone asking Jehovah a question went out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. And so it was, when Moses went out to the tent, that all the people rose and stood, each at the door of his tent, and looked after Moses ¹ until he had entered the tent. And so it was, when Moses entered the tent, that the pillar of cloud came down, and stood at the door of the tent, and talked to Moses. And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent; and all the people rose, and they bowed down, each at the door of his tent. And Jehovah spoke to Moses face to face, as a man (vir) speaks to his neighbour. And he returned to the camp, and his minister Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not move away from the midst of the tent.

'And Moses took a tent' means the holiness of worship, the Church, and the Word. 'And pitched it for himself outside the camp, far from the camp' means remote from the external things in which the interest of that actual nation lay. 'And called it the tent of meeting' means the external aspect of worship, the Church, and the Word, [which holds internal things within it.] 'And so it was, that everyone asking Jehovah a question went out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp' means that all instruction regarding the truths and forms of good belonging to the Church and to worship was imparted to everyone through the outward sense of the Word, far removed from the external things in which alone the nation itself was interested. 'And so it was, when Moses went out to the tent, that all the people rose and stood, [each] at the door of [his] tent' means that that nation did not abide in the external aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, but outside it. 'And looked after Moses until he had entered the tent' means that they see the external aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, but that it goes beyond what they are capable of understanding. 'And so it was, when Moses entered the tent, that the pillar of cloud came down, and stood at the door of the tent, and talked to Moses' means that when the Word had gone beyond what they were capable of understanding, extremely poor visibility descended on them away to the outside, and yet there was clear perception from within. 'And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent' means the extremely poor visibility descending on those to the outside. 'And all the people rose, and they bowed down, each at the door of [his] tent' means that nation's holy regard for and adoration of what was external with them. 'And Jehovah spoke to Moses face to face' means Divine things in the Word that are joined together. 'As a man (vir) speaks to his neighbour' means the joining together of truth and good. 'And he returned to the camp' means going back to the external in which the interest of that nation lay. 'And his minister Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not move away from the midst of the tent' means Divine Truth ministering meantime in the holy things of the Church and worship in place of Moses.

Footnotes: