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:

1096. And he cried out in strength with a great voice.- That this signifies manifestation before heaven and in the church from joy of heart, is evident from the signification of crying out, as denoting to make manifest, namely, that the Last Judgment was accomplished upon Babylon, for the words "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great" follow; and from the signification of in strength, as denoting in power before heaven and in the church, of which we shall speak in what follows; and from the signification of a great voice, as denoting joy of heart, for from that the voice becomes great. The cause of the joy of heart was, that after the Last Judgment upon those who are meant by the harlot or Babylon, the Divine Truth, which proceeds from the Lord, acquired light and power as stated in the article above. A great voice signifies joy of heart, because exclamation in a loud voice proceeds from some affection, and is more intense according to the affection or degree of love. The reason why in strength signifies in heaven and on earth, is, that strength signifies power, and the power then existed of manifesting those things before heaven and the world. Concerning this power see above (n. 1093).

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- The first and primary thought that opens heaven to man, is thought concerning God; the reason of this is, that God is the All of heaven, so that whether we speak of heaven or of God it is the same thing. The Divine things (Divina) taken together, which cause the angels, of whom heaven consists, to be angels, are God. This is the reason why thought concerning God is the first and primary of all the thoughts that open heaven to man; for it is the head and sum of all truths and loves celestial and spiritual. But there is thought from light, and there is thought from love, thought from light alone is the knowledge that God exists, which appears like acknowledgement, but is not.

[3] By thought from light, man has presence in heaven, but not conjunction with heaven. For the light of thought alone, does not conjoin, but is the cause of the presence of man before the Lord and the angels; for that light is like the light of winter, in which a man sees as clearly as in the light of summer, nevertheless that light does not enter into conjunction either with the earth, or with any tree, shrub, flower, or grass. In every man is implanted, by means of the light of heaven, the faculty of thinking about God, and, also, of understanding those things that pertain to God, but thought alone from that light, which is intellectual thought, is merely the cause of his presence before the Lord and before the angels, as said above.

[4] When a man is merely in intellectual thought concerning God and concerning those things which pertain to God, he appears then to the angels, from a distance, like an image of ivory or marble, which is capable of walking and uttering sounds, but in whose face and utterance there is yet no life. He also appears to the angels, comparatively, like a tree in winter time whose branches are bare and without leaves, which, is nevertheless, expected to be covered with leaves, and afterwards with fruit, when the heat is conjoined with light, as is the case in time of spring. As thought concerning God primarily opens heaven, so thought against God primarily closes heaven.