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:

488. As has been stated, 'days' means states in general, and 'years' states in particular. This too becomes clear from the Word, as in Ezekiel,

You have brought your days near, and you have come even to your years. Ezekiel 22:4.

This refers to people who behave abominably and sin to the fullest extent, and so 'days' has reference in this case to such people's state in general, 'years' to that state in particular.

In David,

You will add days to the king's days; and his years as generation after generation! Psalms 61:6.

This refers to the Lord and His kingdom, where again 'days' and 'years' stand for the state of His kingdom.

In the same author,

I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. Psalms 77:5.

Here 'days of old' is states of the Most Ancient Church, and 'years of long ago' states of the Ancient Church. In Isaiah,

The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4.

This stands for the final times, where 'the day of vengeance' stands for a state of condemnation, and 'the year of the redeemed' for a state of blessedness.

Similarly, in the same prophet,

To proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:2.

Here again 'days' and also 'years' are mentioned and mean states.

In Jeremiah,

Renew our days as of old. Lamentations 5:21.

Here 'days' plainly stands for state.

[2] In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a tiny of cloud and gloom, as has never happened of old, nor will be again after it through the years of generation after generation. Joel 2:1-2, 11.

Here 'day' stands for a state of darkness, thick darkness, cloud and gloom - a state of individuals in particular and of all in general.

In Zechariah,

I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. On that day you will shout, each to his companion, under his vine and under his fig tree. Zechariah 3:9-10.

And elsewhere in Zechariah,

There will be one tiny, it is known to Jehovah, which is neither day nor night, and at evening time there will be light. Zechariah 14:7.

State is clearly meant here, for it is said that 'it will be a day, which is neither day nor night; at evening time there will be light'.

The same meaning is also clear from the following in the Decalogue,

Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with you in the land. Deuteronomy 5:16; 25:15.

Here 'a prolonging of days' does not mean living on into old age but a state that is happy.

[3] In the sense of the letter 'day' cannot be seen to mean anything other than a period of time, but in the internal sense it means a state. Angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, do not know what a period of time is, for the activity of the sun and moon with them does not produce divisions of time. As a consequence they do not know what a day or a year is, but only what states and changes of state are. This is why among angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, anything connected with matter, space, and time, goes unnoticed, as with the following usages in the sense of the letter in Ezekiel,

The day is near, even the day of Jehovah is near, a day of cloud; it will be a time of the nations. Ezekiel 30:3.

And in Joel,

Alas for the day! For the day of Jehovah is near, and as destruction. Joel 1:15.

Here 'a day of cloud' stands for cloud or falsity, 'a day of the nations' for the nations or wickedness, and 'the day of Jehovah' for vastation. When the concept of time is removed there remains the concept of the state of the things existing during that period of time. The same applies to the days and the years that are mentioned so many times in this chapter.