Arcana Coelestia #10156
10156. 'Who brought them out of the land of Egypt' means salvation from hell by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'being brought out of the land of Egypt' as being delivered from hell, dealt with in 8866, 9197, thus being saved. 'The land of Egypt' means hell because that land in its true and proper sense means the natural level and the factual knowledge there; and 'being brought out of' the natural man and the factual knowledge there and being raised to the level of the spiritual man, to intelligence and wisdom there, also constitutes being brought out of hell. For a person is born natural, but becomes spiritual through regeneration; and if he does not become spiritual he is in hell. The knowledge which the natural man, that is, a person who has not been regenerated, possesses dwells in the light of the world, whereas the intelligence which the spiritual man, that is, a person who has been regenerated, possesses dwells in the light of heaven. And as long as a person sees things solely in the light of the world he is in hell; but when he sees them at the same time in the light of heaven he is in heaven.
[2] But people who possess no more than natural knowledge and as a consequence do not see things in any light other than the light of the world can have no belief at all in the things that belong to heaven. Furthermore if they wish to investigate these things with the light they see by, called natural illumination, they encounter a kind of thick darkness which blinds them and blots out everything heavenly. For that in the mind which appears to be thick darkness is in reality such. This explains why a merely natural man, however much he thinks himself to be more enlightened than others, at heart rejects Divine and heavenly realities. It is also the reason why so many learned people are made brainless by their knowledge; for more of them than of simple people refuse to accept the things that constitute the faith of the Church and of heaven. It is different with those who allow themselves to be raised by the Lord to the light of heaven. These are first raised above the factual knowledge which the natural man possesses, and then in the light of heaven they behold the things within their natural man, which are called known facts, and clearly distinguish them, choosing those that make sense and are consistent, and rejecting or setting aside those that make no sense and are inconsistent.
[3] In short, the situation is that as long as a person is merely natural his interiors, which behold things in the light of heaven, are closed, and his exteriors, which behold things in the light of the world, are open. At this time the person looks downwards, that is, to the world and towards self; for everything composing his will and thought inclines in that direction. And the direction in which a person looks is also that in which his heart, that is, his will and his love, is turned. But when a person becomes spiritual his interiors, which behold things in the light of heaven, are opened, and then the person looks upwards, which is brought about through his being raised up by the Lord, so that he looks to heaven and towards the Lord. In this direction also everything that composes his will and his thought - thus his heart, that is, his love - is raised.
[4] For the human being has been created in such a way that his internal man should conform to an image of heaven, and his external man to an image of the world, 6057, 9279, to the end that heaven and the world might be brought together in the human being. Thus through him the Lord would flow from heaven into the world and govern it, with each individual person in particular and with all in general, and in this way would join the two together and thereby cause the likeness of heaven to exist in the world as well. When however a person is interested only in the world heaven with him has been closed; but when he allows himself to be raised by the Lord heaven with him is opened and the world becomes subordinate to it. And when this happens hell is separated and removed from him, at which point the person knows what good is and what evil is, but not before. This is what is called 'the image of God' with a person, Genesis 1:26-27.
[5] These matters have been stated in order that people may know what the spiritual man is and what the natural man is, and that the merely natural man, if he is not made spiritual by the Lord, is an embodiment of hell, consequently that they may know why hell is meant by 'Egypt', when yet the natural level and the factual knowledge there are meant by it.
'Egypt' means factual knowledge, see the places referred to in 9340.
It therefore means the natural level, see those referred to in 9391.
Luke 3
1
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
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Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
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And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
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As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
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Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
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And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
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Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
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Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
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And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
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And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
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He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
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Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
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And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
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And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
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And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
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John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
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Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
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And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
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But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
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Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
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Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
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And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
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And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
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Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,
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Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,
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Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,
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Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,
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Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,
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Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,
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Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,
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Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
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Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
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Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,
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Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,
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Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,
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Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
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Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,
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Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
