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:

716. And ten horns.- That this signifies much power is evident from the signification of horn, as denoting the power of truth against falsity and evil, and, in the opposite sense, the power of falsity against truth and good (concerning which see above, n. 316, 567); and from the signification of ten, as denoting all men and things, also many men and things (concerning which also see above, n. 675); it is therefore plain that the ten horns signify much power. That the dragon had much power is evident from what follows, namely, that because of him the male child which the woman brought forth was caught up unto God; that his tail drew down from heaven the third part of the stars; also, that he fought with Michael and his angels; and afterwards, that he stirred up Gog and Magog, and the nations in great number, to war against the saints.

[2] The dragon had such power, because by him are meant those who have separated faith from the goods of charity, which are works, and have confirmed this by means of the sense of the letter of the Word, which they have thus twisted from its genuine sense, and as it were drawn down from heaven; and because, at the end of the church, which the Apocalypse treats of, there is no charity, the dragon then has power. For at the end of the church every one desires to live for himself, for the world, and according to his own natural bent, and few wish to live for the Lord, for heaven, and eternal life; and the principle concerning faith alone, which is faith separated from charity, favours that life, and like the current of a river draws in and bears all away to such belief and to such a life. This is why the dragon, which signifies such persons and such things, appeared to have ten horns.

[3] It has been previously said that falsities from evil have no power, but it must be understood that falsities have no power against truth from good; for truth from good is from the Lord, and all power belongs to the Lord through His Divine Truth. But falsities from evil have the power that is signified by the ten horns of the dragon, because they prevail against those who are in falsities from evil, for they act as one. And a man is hereditarily in evil and thence in falsities from his parents, and afterwards from actual life, especially at the end of the church, and those falsities from evil cannot be driven out from him in a moment, but only by degrees; for if they were to be expelled in a moment, a man would die, because they constitute his life. Because such is the state of man at the end of the church, therefore falsities of evil prevail, although they have not the least power against truth from good. The Lord by means of His Divine Truth could cast out the falsities of evil in a man instantly, but this would result in his being immediately cast into hell; these must first be removed, and as far as they are removed, so far room is given for truths from good to be implanted, and the man is reformed. Such as are here meant by the dragon are also meant by the goat that fought with the ram (Daniel viii.), and also by the goats inMatthew 25; for the goats there signify those who are in faith separated from charity, and the ram and the sheep, those who are in charity.