Birds and Fish

As Above, So Below

Throughout the six days of creation we are given a legend for the map of creation. The six days of creation start with the creation of heaven and earth, and through a series of creative acts we see heaven and earth progressively united, with their final consummation being in man. The purpose of the six days of creation is to set up the manner in which heaven and earth are united and, more ultimately, the manner in which the created interacts with its uncreated creator. The symbols presented to us in the six (seven) days of creation permeate the symbolism of the rest of the bible more than almost any other given set of symbols. There are countless instances of the bible presenting a narrative to us in a way which can be divided into seven sections, all of which draw and expand upon the set of symbols provided in the first seven-fold pattern, which is Genesis 1. On day 5 of creation God created the birds and the fish (and sea monsters). Why is that?

Birds and fish are symbolically related to each other in more ways than one. For starters, Birds travel in flocks and fish travel in schools. There is a sense in which the identity of the organisms are constituted by their participation in the greater body which they are a part of. While this is true of everything ever, including mankind and the Trinity, fish and birds exemplify this symbolism in a particularly striking manner. There is such an immense unity of consciousness among birds in a flock and fish in a school that there exists an un-ignorable difficulty in trying to analyse the thought and behavioural patterns of any given fish or bird. The word used in Genesis 1 to describe the birds flying “across (עַל־ פְּנֵ֣י / al-pineh) the firmament” is the same word used in Genesis 1:2 to describe the Holy spirit hovering “over (עַל־ פְּנֵ֣י / al-pineh) the face of the deep”. This symbolic correlation sets the precedent as to why the Holy Spirit descends upon Christ like a dove. This is also why in the recreation narrative of the flood, the dove takes the place of the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters looking for a good place to make its home. Related also are a series of symbolic expositions on the sevenfold pattern of Genesis 1 throughout the bible that associate the fifth day with clothing, as well as with incense. All of these are appropriate, because of the primary association of birds with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who unites the identity of the Father and the Son in Trinity. He carries the love of the Father to the Son and back, the same way our prayers arise as incense to the Lord (Ps. 141). The Holy Spirit clothes the dialogue between Father and Son in beauty. This is why the Holy Spirit is the one who is said to permeate and infuse the glory cloud of God which surrounds Christ in the prophetic visions of Ezekiel and Revelation. Christ is surrounded by His host of angels who exist in and through the Holy Spirit’s opening up of the dialogue of the Father and Son to the possibility of others outside of God. This is why fish and birds have such a unique presentation of unity in distinction, because they are symbolic of THE unity in distinction which is made possible by the Holy Spirit’s uniting of the Father and the Son in eternity. This is why it is on day 5 of creation that we first hear the blessing of multiplication. This is the first time we hear the commandment of “be fruitful and multiply”.