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.

Footnotes:

7950. 'Even to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon' means falsified truths of faith that occupy the last place of all. This is clear from the meaning of 'the firstborn in the land of Egypt' as faith separated from charity, as just above in 7948, and so also falsified truth of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the prisoner who is in the dungeon' as those who occupy the last place of all, for his firstborn is placed at the opposite end of the scale from 'Pharaoh's firstborn who was to sit on his throne', which means falsified truth of faith that occupies the first place, 7779, 7949. 'The prisoner who is in the dungeon' is used to mean in the spiritual sense closest to the actual words one who thinks only on the level of his physical senses, and so is in utterly thick darkness so far as matters of truth and good are concerned; for he does not even possess the ability to perceive, as those who think on a more internal level of the senses do. This is the reason why those who occupy the last place of all are meant.

[2] The reason why 'the firstborn in the land of Egypt' means falsified truth of faith is that 'the firstborn of Egypt' is faith separated from charity, 7948; and those with this kind of faith are in nothing but complete and utter darkness so far as truths of faith are concerned. They cannot be in any light, and so cannot at all perceive what truth is or whether something is true. This is because all spiritual light comes from the Lord through good, that is, through charity. For the good of charity is like a flame from which light radiates, since good comes of love, and love is spiritual fire, the source of enlightenment. Anyone who imagines that people leading an evil life can also receive enlightenment in the truths of faith is very much mistaken. Their state may be such that they are able to produce proofs, that is, they may be able to prove the teachings of their Church, sometimes with skill and ingenuity; yet they are not able to see whether the things they prove are true or not. The fact that even falsity can be proved so adroitly that it seems to be the truth, and that a person is wise not when he can prove that something is right but when he can see whether it is, see 4741, 5033, 6865, 7011, 7680.

[3] Therefore a person whose life is sunk in evil is steeped in falsity arising from his evil; and no matter how well he knows what is true he does not believe it. Sometimes he thinks he does, but he is mistaken. He will be allowed to know in the next life that he does not believe it, when his perceiving is made to conform to his desiring. When that is done he will disown the truth, oppose it, and spurn it, and will acknowledge its opposite - falsity - as the truth. This now explains why those who are governed by faith separated from charity cannot help falsifying the truths of faith.