When 'islands' are contrasted to 'earth' or 'mountains,' they signify the truths of faith, because they are in the sea. They signify doctrinal things which are rituals. 'Islands' signify peoples who are more remote from the worship of God. People who are steeped in the internal sense of the Word, such as angels, do not know what islands are, because they no longer have any concept of such places. Instead they have a perception of more remote worship, like the gentiles outside the church.

'Islands,' in Ezekiel 27:6, signify people in the church in a natural, materially-oriented state but still rational.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 406; Isaiah 1, Isaiah 49, 49:1)

In Genesis 25:3, this signifies knowledge of celestial things or people who uphold the doctrine of charity. (Arcana Coelestia 3240[3])

In Ezekiel 27:15, this signifies knowledges of lower celestial matters in rituals. (Arcana Coelestia 1172)

In Jeremiah 49:8, this signifies rituals lacking internal worship or adoration of the Lord from the heart. (Arcana Coelestia 1172) Dedan, in Jeremiah 49:8, signifies rituals wherein there is no internal worship. Dedan (Genesis 10) signifies the knowledges of celestial things of an inferior order, such as those in ritual observances.