778. Now as the "fowls of the heavens" signify truths of the understanding, and thus thoughts, they also signify their opposites, such as phantasies or falsities, which being of man's thought are also called "fowls" as for example when it is said that the wicked "shall be given for meat to the fowls of heaven and to the wild beasts" meaning phantasies and cupidities (Isa. 18:6; Jer. 7:33, 16:4, 19:7, 34:20; Ezek. 29:5, 39:4). The Lord himself also compares fantasies and false persuasions to "fowls" where He says:
The seed that fell by the wayside was trodden under foot, and the fowls of heaven came and devoured it (Matt. 13:4; Luke 8:5; Mark 4:4, 15), where the "fowls of heaven" are nothing else than falsities.
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