Swedenborg says that in a general sense, animals represent our spiritual activity, the things we actually do on a spiritual level. This is connected to our our emotions and affections, because what we do springs from what we want, but the activities themselves are not necessarily emotional. This is the case with birds, which represent our rational and intellectual thoughts, our reasoning, and thus the true things or false things we hold in our minds.
This makes sense if you think of what makes birds unique. They fly (most of them do, anyway), which means they move easily from place to place and are frequently in motion. Our intellectual concepts are similar, as we flit from idea to idea. Birds can also see a great deal because of their vantage point, and many of them have tremendous eyesight, which relates to the ability to take in a great deal of information quickly, and also to focus tightly on particular aspects. And their tremendous variety – in size, color, food habits, habitat, song and so forth – reflects the incredible variety we have constantly in our thoughts.
Birds can also be seen in the negative, of course, as false thinking preying on other animals or even consuming life that has been destroyed.
Passages from Swedenborg
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1100
- And a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.- That this signifies where there is nothing but falsities, from the falsified truths of the Word, is evident from the signification of a hold, as denoting where the falsifiers are, thus hell, as stated above; and from the signification of every unclean and hateful bird, as denoting falsities from the falsified truths of the Word. For birdssignify rational and intellectual things, thoughts, ideas, and reasonings, thus truths or falsities; and unclean signifies that which proceeds from an impure love, and especially from the love of ruling, since this is the cause of uncleanness in hell. By hateful is signified that which springs from a false principle, thus from a religious principle confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word falsified.
[2] That birds signify those things, both spiritual and infernal, that belong to man’s thought – that is, both truths and falsities; for these pertain to thought – is a result of correspondence. That this is the case is evident from the birds that are seen in the spiritual world, where all those things that appear before the eyes, and before the rest of the senses, are correspondences. There animals of the earth of every kind appear, and also both beautiful and unbeautiful birdsof the heaven; and the appearance of these is from the affections and thoughts of the angels or spirits – the animals from their affections, and fowls from their thoughts. All who are there know that they are correspondences, and they know to what affections and thoughts they correspond. That they are correspondences of affections and thoughts is manifestly evident, for when a spirit or angel goes away, or ceases to think of these things, they instantly vanish. Since birds are correspondences of both rational and non-rational thoughts, thus both of truths and falsities, therefore they signify these in the Word, for all things of the Word are correspondences.
That birds signify both rational and spiritual thoughts from truths is evident from the following passages.
In David:
“Let them praise the name of Jehovah, the wild beast, and every beast, creeping thing, and bird of wing” (Psalm cxlviii 5-10).
That wild beast (fera) and beast (bestia) signify the affections of the natural man, both those for truth and those for good, and, in the opposite sense, the lusts (cupiditates) of falsity and evil, may be seen above (n. 552, 650, 781). By bird of wing, therefore, are signified thoughts. And for this reason it is said that they shall praise Jehovah, for it is man who, from his affections and thoughts, that is from goods and truths, must offer praise.
[3] In Hosea:
“I will make for them a covenant in that day with the wild beast (fera) of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and the creeping thing of the earth; and the bow, and the sword, and war, will I break off from the earth” (ii. 18).
The subject here is the Lord’s coming, and the state of heaven and of the Church from Him. In that day means the Lord’s coming; the covenant which He will then make means conjunction with those who believe in Him. The wild beast of the field and the bird of heaven cannot therefore signify wild beasts and birds, but those things to which they correspond, which are affections for good and truth, and thoughts therefrom. The bow, the sword, and war shall be broken from off the earth signifies that then there shall be no infestation from falsities and evils from hell.
[4] In David:
“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands, thou hast put all things under his feet, the flock and the herd, and also the beasts of the fields, the bird of heaven, and the fishes of the sea” (Psalm viii. 7, 8, 9).
This treats of the Lord, of whom it is said here that He shall have dominion over all the works of the hands of Jehovah, which do not mean earthly things, such as flocks, herds, beasts, birds, and fishes. For what would these things be in regard to His dominion in the heavens, and from the heavens over men on earth, whom He will lead to eternal life? The spiritual things of the Church, therefore, are here meant. The flock signifies in general all spiritual things in man, the herd all the natural things in him, which correspond to spiritual things. The beasts of the fields signify the affections for good in the natural man, which pertain to the Church, for a field signifies the Church. The birds of heaven signify the thoughts of the rational man, and the fishes of the sea scientifics.
[5] In Ezekiel:
“I will take of the shoot of a lofty cedar, in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it, that it may lift up the branch and bear fruit, and spread out into a magnificent cedar, that under it may dwell every bird of every wing; in the shades of its branches shall they dwell” (xvii. 22, 23).
These words describe the establishment of a new church by the Lord. The establishment afresh or from its first beginning is meant by the shoot of the lofty cedar, the cedar here, as in other passages of the Word, denoting the spiritual-rational church, such as the church was among the ancients after the flood. By planting the shoot in the mountain of the height of Israel is signified in spiritual good, which is the good of charity; this good is signified by the mountain of the height of Israel. By spreading out into a magnificent cedar is signified the full establishment of that church; that under it may dwell every bird of every wing, signifies that there shall be rational truths of every kind; these terminated in natural truths are signified by dwelling in the shade of its branches, for they cover and guard rational truths, which are from a spiritual origin.
[6] In the same:
“Ashur is a cedar in Lebanon,” which “was of high stature; all thebirds of the heavens made their nests in his branches, and under his branches every beast of the field brought forth; and in his shade dwelt all great nations” (xxxi 5, 6).
The cedar here similarly signifies the spiritual-rational church, for Ashur signifies the Rational. Since the cedar signifies the church, it follows that the birds of the heavens which made their nests in its branches, and the beasts of the field which brought forth under them, mean rational thoughts concerning the truths of the church, and their affections. Because these things are signified, therefore, it is also said in his shadow dwelt all great nations.
[7] In Daniel:
“Nebuchadnezzar in a dream saw “a tree in the midst of the earth, the height thereof was great; and it grew and became strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof unto the end of the earth; the leaf thereof was fair, and the flower thereof much, and in it was food for all; under it the beast of the field had shadow, and in its branches dwelt the birds of heaven, and all flesh was nourished from it. But a watcher and holy one came down from heaven, crying aloud, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off the leaf, scatter the flower, let the beast flee away from under it, and the birds from its branches” (iv. 10-14, 20, 21).
The tree here also signifies the church called Babylon, in its beginning and progress, and then the church in the knowledges of truth and good. Its beginning and progress is described by its becoming great and strong, the leaf thereof being fair, and the flower thereof much, and by there being food in it for all. The affections for good and the thoughts of truth are signified by the beast of the field that had shadow under it, and the birds that dwelt in its branches. That it had assumed dominion over the holy things of the church and of heaven, is meant by the watcher and holy one coming down from heaven, and crying aloud, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches. That beast and bird there signify affections and thoughts is evident from this, that when the tree was cut down it was also said “let the beast flee away from under it, and the birdsfrom its branches.”
[8] Similar things are signified by the birds (aves) of heaven in the Evangelists: Jesus said,
“The kingdom of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, and it became a tree, so that the fowls (volatilia) of heaven came and built nests in the branches thereof” (Matt. xiii. 31, 32; Mark iv. 31, 32; Luke xiii 19).
The tree from a grain of mustard seed signifies the man of the church, and also a church beginning from a little spiritual good by means of truth. For if only a very small amount of spiritual good takes root in man, it will grow like a seed in good ground. And because a tree therefore signifies the man of the church, it follows that the fowls of heaven, which make nests in its branches, signify knowledges (cognitiones) of truth, and thoughts therefrom. That this is not a bare comparison any one may see; for of what use would be so many similar passages both in the Word and in the prophets?
[9] So also in David:
Jehovah, “who sendeth out the springs into the rivers; let them go between the mountains; they give drink to every wild beast of the fields; the wild asses quench their thirst, near them the bird of the heavens dwelleth, from among the boughs they utter their voices. The trees of Jehovah are saturated, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted, where the birds make their nests; the stork, whose house is in the fir trees” (Psalm civ. 10-12, 16, 17).
Such things as these also would never have been said in the Divine Word, unless each of them involved correspondences of spiritual and celestial, and therefore of holy things. For what other purpose could there be in saying of rivers from springs, that they go between the mountains, and give drink to every wild beast of the field, that the wild asses quench their thirst, that the bird of the heavens dwelleth near them, and uttereth its voice among the boughs; and the stork [whose house is] in the fir trees? But when by springs are understood the truths of the Word, by rivers intelligence therefrom, by mountains the goods of love, by the wild beast of the fields the affections for truth, by wild asses the Rational, and by the birds of the heavens thoughts from Divine truths, then is the holy Word Divine, otherwise it would be merely human.
[10] In Job:
“Ask, I pray, the beasts, and they shall teach thee, or the birds of heaven, and they shall tell thee, and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee; who doth not know from all these, that the hand of Jehovah doeth it” (xii. 7, 8, 9).
That beasts, the birds of heaven, and the fishes of the sea, do not mean beasts, birds, and fishes, is evident, for these cannot be asked questions, nor teach, tell, and relate, that the hand of Jehovah doeth it. But they signify man as to those things which belong to his intelligence. Beasts mean his affections, the birds of heaven his thoughts, the fishes of the sea knowledges (cognitiones) and scientifics (scientifica). A man from these many teach that the hand of Jehovah doeth it. If he, as to those things that belong to his intelligence, were not signified by beasts, birds, and fishes, it could not be said “who doth not know from all these.”
[11] In Ezekiel:
“Son of man, say to the bird of every wing, and to every wild beast of the field, Gather yourselves together and come, gather yourselves from round about to the great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel; and I will give my glory among the nations” (xxxix. 17, 21).
The establishment of the church among the nations is here described, and the invitation and gathering together to it, for it is said, “So I will give my glory among the nations.” Therefore thebird of every wing and every wild beast of the field, signify all those who are in the affection for good, and in the understanding of truth.
[12] Similarly in the Apocalypse:
An angel standing in the sun “cried out with a great voice, saying to all the birds flying in the midst of heaven, Come, and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God” (xix. 17);
here birds flying in the midst of heaven cannot mean birds, but men who are rational and spiritual; for they are invited to the supper of the great God.
[13] In Jeremiah:
“I saw the mountains, and behold they are moved, and all the hills are overturned; I saw when behold there was not a man, and all thebirds of the heaven were fled; I saw when Carmel was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were desolated” (iv. 24, 25, 26).
These things are said concerning the devastation of the church in regard to all its good and truth. Mountains and valleys signify celestial and spiritual loves; and by being moved and overturned is signified to perish. For in the spiritual world, when celestial or spiritual love no longer exists with spirits there, the mountains and hills upon which they dwelt are actually moved and overturned. All the birds have fled signifies that there was no longer any knowledge (scientia), and consequent thought of truth. That there was no man, signifies no understanding of truth. Carmel a wilderness signifies the church without good and truth; and by the cities being desolate is signified that there were no longer any doctrinals of truth.
[14] In the same:
The habitations “are vastated, that there is not a man passing through, neither do they hear the voice of cattle; from the bird of the heavens even to the beast they are fled, they are gone, because I will make Jerusalem heaps, a habitation of dragons” (ix. 10, 11; xii. 9).
Here also the devastation of the church is treated of. The habitations which are vastated so that there is not a man passing through, signify the doctrinals of the church from the Word, where there is now nothing good and true. The voice of cattle, which they do not hear, signifies that there was not any good of charity or truth of faith. That the birds of the heavens even to the beasts are fled, they are gone, signifies that there is no longer any thought of truth from the cognition of it, nor any affection for good. That the flying away of the birds of the heaven and the departure of the beasts of the earth are not here meant, but the vastation of the church as to doctrine, is evident, for it is added, “I will make Jerusalem into heaps, a habitation of dragons.” Jerusalem signifies the church as to doctrine, and by making it into heaps, and into a habitation of dragons, is signified its devastation.
[15] In Hosea:
“No truth, and no mercy, and no knowledge of God in the earth; therefore the earth shall mourn; as to the wild beast of the field, and as to the bird of the heavens, and also the fishes of the sea, they shall be gathered together” (iv. 1-3).
That the wild beasts of the field, the bird of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, signify similar things as above, is evident, the subject treated of here being the devastation of the church, for it is said, no truth, no mercy, and no knowledge of God in the earth (terra); and by the earth is signified the church.
[16] In Zephaniah:
“I will consume man and beast, I will consume the bird of the heavens and the fishes of the sea; I will cut off man from the faces of the earth” (i. 3).
To consume man and beast, signifies to destroy spiritual and natural affection. To consume the birds of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, signifies to destroy the perceptions and the cognitions of truth. Because such things as belong to the church are signified by these, it is therefore said, I will cut off man from the faces of the earth, for by man is signified the all of the Church.
[17] In David:
God said, “I know every bird of the mountains, and the wild beast of my fields with me” (l. 11).
In Ezekiel:
“There shall be a great earthquake over the land of Israel, and the fish of the sea shall tremble before me, and the bird of the heavens, and the wild beast of the field, and every creeping thing creeping upon the earth, and every man who is upon the faces of the earth” (xxxviii 19, 20).
Things similar to those above are signified by the bird of the heavens and the wild beast of the field; an earthquake signifies a change of the state of the church.
[18] In Isaiah:
“Wo to the land shadowed with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Cush; the bird of the mountains and the beasts of the earth shall be left, but the bird shall loathe it, and every beast of the earth shall despise it” (xviii. 1, 6).
The subject here is the establishment of the church among the gentiles, and the devastation of the Jewish church; therefore thebird and the beast of the earth signify knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and affections for good.
[19] In the same:
“I am God, and there is no God else, and none as I, calling the birdfrom the east (ortu), the man of counsel from a land of far distance” (xlvi. 9, 11).
The bird which shall be called from the east, signifies the truth of the Word, which being from the good of love, is said to be from the east, the east (ortu) denoting the good of love. What else can be meant by the statement that God will call a bird from the east, and a man of counsel from a land of far distance? The man of counsel denotes a man who is intelligent from those truths, that are from the good of love.
[20] In Hosea:
“Ephraim, as a bird shall his glory fly away, from the birth, and from the belly, and from conception” (ix. 11).
In the same:
“I will not return to destroy Ephraim; they shall go after Jehovah, with honour shall they come as a bird from Egypt, and as a dove from the land of Assyria” (xi. 9, 10).
Ephraim signifies the understanding of the truths of the church; a comparison is thereof made with a bird, and it is said, as a birdshall his glory fly away. A comparison is made with a bird also in Hosea (vii. 12); for everything pertaining to the understanding, whether scientific (scientificum), cogitative (cogitativum), or rational, is signified by bird, and everything delightful or pleasurable, that is, that which belongs to the will and affection, is signified by beast and wild beast. The bird from Egypt signifies the Scientific, which belongs to the natural man, and the dove from Assyria the Rational; for Egypt signifies the Scientific, and Assyria the Rational. The subject treated of in this place is the church to be established by the Lord.
[21] As most things of the Word have also an opposite sense, so also have birds, and in that sense they signify both fallacies from the sensual man, and reasonings from falsities against truths, and also falsities themselves, worse and more deadly according to the genera and species of unclean birds. Falsities destructive of truths are specially signified by rapacious birds. In many passages in the Word it is said that “they shall be given for food to the birds and wild beasts,” and by this is signified to perish utterly by fallacies, falsities, and reasonings therefrom, also by lusts of evil, and in general by evils and falsities from hell. This is signified by being given for food to the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth in the following passages.
In Jeremiah:
“The carcase of this people shall be for food to the bird of the heavens, none shall frighten them away” (vii. 33).
In the same:
“I will visit upon you in four kinds, with the sword to kill, with dogs to drag about, with the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy” (xv. 3).
Again:
“By sword and famine shall they be consumed, that their carcase may become food for the birds of the heavens and the beast of the earth” (xvi. 4; chap. xix. 7; chap. xxxiv. 20).
In Ezekiel:
“Upon the faces of the field shalt thou fall, thou shalt not be brought together nor gathered; to the wild beast of the earth, and to the bird of heaven have I given thee for food” (xxix. 5).
Again:
“Upon the mountains of Israel thou shalt fall, to the bird of the heavens of every wing, and to the wild beast of the field, have I given thee for food” (xxxix. 4).
These things are said of Gog. In David:
“The nations have come into thine heritage, they have polluted the temple of thy holiness, they have laid Jerusalem in heaps, the dead body of thy servants have they given for food to the bird of the heavens, the flesh of thy saints to the wild beast of the earth” (Psalm lxxix. 1, 2).
[22] Because such things were signified by the birds of the heavens and the wild beasts of the earth, and because the nations of the land of Canaan signified the evils and the falsities of the church, therefore it was customary for the Jewish nation to expose the dead bodies of their enemies whom they had slain in battle to the wild beasts and birds, by which they were devoured. Consequently it was formerly, and is at this day, regarded as a horrible and profane thing to leave dead men unburied upon the face of the earth even after battle. This also is signified in the Word by such words as “they should not be buried,” and “their bones should be drawn out of the sepulchres and cast forth.” Infernal falsities are also signified by the birds which came down upon the carcases, which Abram drove away (Gen xv. 11), also by the birds in the Apocalypse (xix. 21); and also by the birds which devoured the seed that was sown upon the hard way (Matt. xiii. 3, 4; Mark iv. 4; Luke viii. 5).
In Daniel
“In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. At length upon the bird of abominations desolation, and even unto the consummation and decision, it shall drop upon the devastation” (ix. 27).
This treats of the total devastation of the Jewish church that was in existence when the Lord was born. Its devastation by dreadful falsities is signified by the bird of abominations; that falsity is here meant by bird is clear. It must be understood that there are many kinds of falsities, and that these were individually signified by each class of birds enumerated in Moses (Levit. xi. 13 and following verses; and Deut. xiv. 11-20), and mentioned in various parts of the Word, as the eagle, the kite, the woodpecker, the raven, the screech owl, the cormorant, the heron, the owl, the long-horned owl and the dragon, and others.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 776
- ‘[Every] bird according to its kind’ means all spiritual truth, ‘flying things’ means natural truth, and ‘winged thing’ sensory truth. This is clear from what has been stated and shown already aboutbirds, as in 40. The most ancient people likened man’s thoughts tobirds, for in relation to things of the will, thoughts are like birds. Since bird, flying thing, and winged thing are mentioned here, and come consecutively in the way that intellectual concepts, rational concepts, and sensory impressions do in man, and to prevent anyone doubting that this is what they mean, let other places from the Word of a confirmatory nature be quoted, from which as well it will be evident that ‘beasts’ means such things as have been stated.
[2] In David,
You have given Him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet, flocks and all cattle, and also the beasts of the fields, the flying things of the air,* and the fish of the sea. Ps. 8:6-8.
This refers to the Lord, whose dominion over man and over what belongs to man is described in this fashion. If this were not so, what would ‘dominion over beasts and birds’ really be? In the same author,
Fruit tree and all cedars, wild animal and every beast, creeping thing and flying thing – they shall glorify the name of Jehovah. Ps. 148:9, 10, 13.
‘Fruit tree’ is the celestial man, ‘cedar’ the spiritual man, ‘wild animal and beast and creeping thing’ the goods of these kinds of man, as in the present context. ‘Flying thing’ is their truths from which they are able to glorify the name of Jehovah. This a wild animal, a beast, a creeping thing, or a flying thing can never do. In secular literature such statements can be used as hyperbole, but in the Word of the Lord they are never just hyperbole but meaningful signs and representatives.
[3] In Ezekiel,
They start to tremble before Me – the fish of the sea, and the birdsof the air,** and the wild animals of the field, and every creeping thing creeping over the ground, and every man that is on the face*** of the ground. Ezek. 38:20.
The fact that ‘beasts’ and ‘birds’ here have such meanings is quite clear, for what would Jehovah’s glory be if fish, birds, and beasts were to start to tremble? Could anyone think that such utterances are holy if they did not embody holy things within them? In Jeremiah,
I looked, and behold, there was no man; all the birds of the air** had fled. Jer. 4:15.
This stands for all good and truth. Here ‘man’ stands as well for good that stems from love. In the same prophet,
They have been laid waste so that no man passes through, neither do men hear the voice of the herd. From the birds of the air** down to beasts, they have scattered, they have gone away. Jer. 9:10.
This in a similar way stands for the departure of all truth and good.
[4] In the same prophet,
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the beasts and thebirds have perished, for men said, He will not see our latter end. Jer. 11:4.
Here ‘beasts’ stands for goods, and ‘birds’ for truths, which perished. In Zephaniah,
I will consume man and beast, I will consume the birds of the air** and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off mankind from the face**** of the ground. Zeph. 1:3.
Here ‘man and beast’ stands for the things which belong to love and good deriving from love, ‘the birds of the air** and the fish of the sea’ for those which belong to the understanding and so to truth. These are called ‘stumbling-blocks’ because for wicked people it is goods and truths, not beasts and birds, that are stumbling-blocks. These are also plainly referred to as man’s. In David,
The trees of Jehovah are watered abundantly, and the cedars of Lebanon which He planted. In them flying things build their nests. Ps. 104:16, 17.
‘The trees of Jehovah and the cedars of Lebanon’ stands for spiritual man, ‘flying things’ for his rational or natural truths which are like ‘nests’. What is more, ‘the birds build nests in the branches’ was a common saying by which people meant truths, as in Ezekiel,
[5] On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, and it will bring forth a branch, and bear fruit, and it will become a noble cedar, and under it will dwell every flying thing of every sort,***** in the shade of its branches they will dwell. Ezek. 17:23.
This stands for the Church among gentiles which was spiritual and which is ‘a noble cedar’. ‘Birds of every sort’***** stands for truths of every kind. In the same prophet,
In its branches all the birds of the air** made their nests, and under its branches every wild animal of the field gave birth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezek. 31:6.
This refers to Asshur, which is the spiritual Church and is called ‘a cedar’. ‘Birds of the air’** stands for its truths, ‘beasts’ for its goods.
[6] In Daniel,
Its branch was fair, and its fruit much, and food for all was on it. The beast of the field had shade under it, and in its branches dwelt the flying things of the air’* Dan. 4:12, 11.
Here ‘beast’ stands for goods, and ‘flying thing of the air’* for truths. This may become clear to anyone, for what else would birdand beast dwelling there really be? The same applies to what the Lord said, The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, which someone took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a big tree so that the birds of the air* dwelt in its branches. Luke 13:19; Matt. 13:32; Mark 4:32.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 745
- In general ‘bird’ means thoughts. This is clear from what has been stated in several places already about birds meaning intellectual concepts or rational concepts. In those places however they are called ‘birds of the air’* whereas here it is simply ‘bird’, which is why thoughts in general are meant. Indeed there are many kinds of birds, clean and unclean, which in verse 14 below are differentiated asbirds, flying creatures, and winged creatures. Clean ones are thoughts about truth, the unclean are false thoughts, which will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be dealt with later on.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5149
- ‘And the birds were eating them out of the basket, from upon my head’ means that falsity originating in evil would consume it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the birds’ as intellectual concepts and also thoughts, and consequently the things which flow from them – in the genuine sense truths of every kind, and in the contrary sense falsities – dealt with in 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 988, 7219; from the meaning of eating’ as consuming (in the original language the verb to eat also denotes to consume); and from the meaning of ‘the basket’ as the will part of the mind, dealt with in 5144, 5146, in this case evil coming from the will part since the basket has holes in it, 5145. From this it follows that ‘the birds were eating them out of the basket, from upon his head’ means that falsity originating in evil would consume it.
[2] Falsity has two different origins, doctrine and evil. Falsity originating in doctrine does not consume any form of good, for a person can have such falsity in his mind and yet desire what is good, which is why people taught any kind of doctrine, including gentiles, can be saved. But falsity originating in evil is falsity which does consume good. Evil itself is opposed to good; yet it does not by itself consume any good but relies on falsity to do so. For falsity attacks the truths which are the defenders of good, those truths being so to speak the ramparts behind which good resides. Falsity is used to attack those ramparts, and once this has been done, good is given over to destruction.
[3] Anyone unacquainted with the fact that ‘birds’ means intellectual concepts will inevitably suppose that when mentioned in the Word the expression ‘birds’ is either used to mean birdsliterally or else is used, as in everyday speech, in a figurative sense. Except from the internal sense no one can know that ‘birds’ means things belonging to the understanding, such as thoughts, ideas, reasonings, basic assumptions, and consequently truths or falsities, as in Luke,
The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, which someone took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a big tree so that the birds of the air dwelt in its branches. Luke 13:19.
‘The birds of the air’ here stands for truths.
[4] In Ezekiel,
It will turn into a noble cedar, and under it will dwell every bird of every sort;* in the shade of its branches they will dwell. Ezek. 17:23.
‘Bird of every sort’ stands for truths of every kind. In the same prophet,
Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon. In its branches all the birds of the air made their nests, and under its branches every beast of the field brought forth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezek. 31:3, 6.
‘The birds of the air’ stands in a similar way for truths.
[5] In the same prophet,
Upon its ruin will dwell every bird of the air, and on its branches will be every wild animal of the field. Ezek. 31:13.
‘Bird of the air’ stands for falsities. In Daniel,
Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream. Behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; under it the beasts of the field had shade, and in its branches dwelt the birds of the air. Dan. 4:10, 12, 14, 21.
Here also ‘the birds of the air’ stands for falsities.
[6] In Jeremiah,
I looked, and behold, there was no man; and every bird of the air had flown away. Jer. 4:25.
‘No man’ stands for no good, 4287, ‘the birds of the air which had flown away’ for the fact that truths had been dispersed. In the same prophet,
From bird of the air even to beast they have flown away, they have gone away. Jer. 9:10.
Here the meaning is the same. In Matthew,
A sower went out to sow; and some fell on the pathway, and thebirds came and devoured it. Matt. 13:3, 4.
Here ‘the birds of the air’ stands for reasonings, and also for falsities. The same meaning may be seen in many other places.
* lit. of every wing
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 988
- ‘Upon every bird of the air’* means over falsities that go with reasoning. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a bird’. In the Wordbirds mean intellectual concepts – gentle, useful, and beautiful ones mean intellectual concepts that are true, but savage, useless, and ugly ones intellectual concepts that are false, that is, falsities that go with reasoning. That they mean intellectual concepts, see 40, 776, 870. From this it is also evident that birds mean reasonings and the falsities that go with them. To leave no one in any doubt, the places quoted below, in addition to what is mentioned in 866 concerning the raven, will serve to confirm the point. In Jeremiah,
I will visit them with four kinds [of destroyers], with the sword to slay, with dogs to tear, with the birds of the air,* and with the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. Jer. 15:3.
In Ezekiel,
Upon its ruin will dwell every bird of the air,* and on its branches will be every wild animal of the field. Ezek. 37:13.
In Daniel,
At length upon the bird of abominations will come desolation. Dan. 9:27.
In John,
Babylon, a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. Rev. 18:1.
And the Prophets declare many times that dead bodies would be given as food to the birds of the air* and to the beasts of the earth, Jer. 7:33; 19:7; 34:20; Ezek. 29:5; 39:4; Ps. 79:2; Isa. 18:6. This meant that they would be destroyed by falsities, which are ‘thebirds of the air’**, and by evils or evil desires, which are ‘the beasts of the earth’.
* lit. bird of heaven (or the sky)
** lit. birds of heaven (or the sky)
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 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. Isa. 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* 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. Ezek. 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. Isa. 46:11.
In Jeremiah,
I looked, and behold there was no man, and all the birds of the air** had fled. Jer. 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,*** in the shade of its branches they will dwell. Ezek. 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,** 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.
* The Latin has Jehovah; for the form Jehovih see 1793
** lit. bird of the heavens (or the skies)
*** lit. of every wing