8644. 'The father-in-law of Moses' means the source of the good that was joined to God's truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the father-in-law' as the good from which sprang the good that was joined to truth, dealt with in 6827; and from the representation of 'Moses' as God's truth, dealt with in 6752, 6771, 7010, 7014, 7382. The reason why 'the father-in-law' means the good from which sprang the good that was joined to truth is that the wife means good when the man means truth, 2517, 4510, 4823. Since the subject in what follows below is the joining together of Divine Good and Divine Truth, to the end that the arranging of truths into order may as a result take place with the member of the Church, it should be recognized that there is a difference between Divine Good and Divine Truth, in that Divine Good exists within the Lord, but that Divine Truth emanates from the Lord. They are like the fire of the sun and the light radiating from it. Fire exists within the sun but the light radiates from the sun; light holds no fire, only heat.

[2] Furthermore in the next life the Lord is the Sun, and He is the Light too. The Sun there, that is, He Himself, is Divine fire, which is the Divine Good of Divine Love. That Sun is the source of Divine light, which is Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. This Divine Truth also holds within it Divine Good, though not such as it is in the Sun; it is modified for its reception in heaven. Unless it had been modified for reception, heaven could not have come into existence; for no angel can bear the flame coming from Divine Love. An angel would be consumed by it instantly, just as anyone would be the instant that the flame of the sun in the world breathed on him.

[3] But the way in which the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love is modified for reception cannot be known by anyone, not even by angels in heaven, because it is a modification of the Infinite for the finite. The Infinite is such that it lies far beyond all the power of understanding which the finite possesses, so far beyond that when that power of understanding tries to fix its attention on the Infinite it falls away like someone sinking into the depths of the sea and perishes. Regarding the Lord, that He is the Sun in heaven, that the Sun there is the Divine Good of His Divine Love, and that the Light from it is Divine Truth, the source of intelligence, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3225, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4409, 4415, 4523, 4533, 4696, 7083, 7171, 7174, 7270, 8197.

8197. 'And it was cloud and darkness [for the former]' means that the falsity arising from evil on the one side was intensified; 'and it lit up the night [for the latter]' means that the truth springing from good on the other side grew brighter. This is clear from the meaning of 'cloud and darkness' as the intensification of falsity arising from evil ('cloud' means falsity, see 1043, 1047, 8137, 8138, as also does 'darkness', 1839, 1860, 4418, 4531, 7688, 7711); and from the meaning of 'lighting up the night' as the brightening of truth springing from good. 'A pillar of fire by night' means a state of dimmed truth, moderated by enlightenment from good, 8108.

[2] With regard to the pillar, that it brought darkness to the Egyptians but light among the children of Israel, the situation is that the Lord's presence, which is meant here by 'the pillar', is heavenly light itself. From this heaven derives its light, a light that is a thousand times brighter than light in the world at midday. Yet the same light turns into thick darkness among the evil, even though they may be in actual light; and it turns to even thicker darkness as the falsity arising from evil among them grows in intensity. The reason for this is that God's truth coming from the Lord appears before angels' eyes as light. But it cannot appear as light to those steeped in falsities arising from evil, only as thick darkness, since falsity is the opposite of truth and snuffs it out. This is why the pillar, which was the Lord's presence, brought cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, 'the Egyptians' meaning those steeped in falsities arising from evil, and lit up the night among the children of Israel, 'the children of Israel' meaning those guided by truth springing from good. The Lord appears to each person in a way suited to the kind of person he is, see 1861(end), 6832.