Arcana Coelestia #40
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:
1. The Latin has Jehovah; for the form Jehovih see 1793
2. literally, bird of the heavens (or the skies)
3. literally, of every wing
Ezekiel 17:2-9
2
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;
3
and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:
4
he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs of it, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
5
He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow tree.
6
It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
7
There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.
8
It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
9
Say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or many people can it be raised from its roots.
