6366. 'Your father's sons will bow down to you' means that truths will submit themselves of their own accord. This is clear from the meaning of 'bowing down' as submitting oneself, and from the meaning of 'father's sons' as truths that spring from spiritual good; for 'the sons of Israel' are spiritual truths, 5414, 5879, 5951, and 'Israel' is spiritual good, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833. The reason why those truths submit themselves of their own accord is that when celestial love, represented by 'Judah', flows into spiritual truths, represented by 'the sons of Israel', it rearranges them into order and submits them in that condition to the Lord. For by flowing into spiritual things what is celestial has the capacity to produce that effect; that is, good has that capacity by flowing into truth. This also explains why the Lord's celestial kingdom is the inmost or third heaven, thus is the one closest to the Lord, while His spiritual kingdom is the middle or second heaven, and so is further away from the Lord. It is because they are arranged in this order that the Lord flows indirectly into the spiritual kingdom by way of the celestial kingdom, as well as directly. The nature of His inflow is such that the spiritual kingdom is maintained in order by means of the celestial and in that condition made submissive to the Lord. The inflow takes place from the celestial kingdom through love towards the neighbour, since that love is the exterior of the celestial kingdom and the interior of the spiritual kingdom and causes the two to be joined together, see 5922.

5879. 'Is my father still alive?' means the presence of spiritual good from the natural. This is clear from the representation of Israel, to whom 'father' refers here, as spiritual good from the natural, dealt with in 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833 (its derivation from the natural being dealt with in 4286); and from the meaning of 'is he still alive?' as the presence of that good. For when he revealed who he was Joseph thought first about his father, whom he knew to be alive. His father was therefore present in his thought at the beginning, and also constantly after that when he talks to his brothers. The reason for this is that the internal celestial, which is 'Joseph', cannot become joined to the truths in the natural, which are 'the sons of Jacob', except through spiritual good from the natural, which is 'Israel'. And once that joining together has taken place they are no longer the sons of Jacob but the sons of Israel; for 'the sons of Israel' are spiritual truths within the natural.