396. 8121. Verse 7. For they live in an entirely contrary order of life, so that their minds are not like birds, yet are here compared to birds because birds symbolize thoughts, each one according to its kind. Each bird in this verse has its own explanation. For they are led by their feelings, which are inborn and occur in accordance with an order. But with these people it is the opposite order. This, too, I told them once, namely, that birds portray the kingdom of God the Messiah, and this was also demonstrated by many instances, as also do animals and the vegetation of the earth, wherein depictions of the Kingdom of God are most apparent. For nothing can be lasting that is not a portrayal of the Kingdom of God the Messiah. This was indeed shown to them quite vividly, because my thought, which was in the form of speech, was almost of the kind that enabled me actually to portray these matters in a spiritual way, as spirits do, which also surprised them. They fully acknowledged that those things did portray the Kingdom of God the Messiah; for they could not contradict the truth. So then they were also shown that only the kind of people on earth and spirits who do not let themselves be led by God the Messiah, do not portray the Kingdom of God the Messiah, but on the contrary, that they represent the kingdom of the devil, and thus the lower regions, not the higher. [Bird; Kingdom; Portrayal (Representation)]