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.

It also means hell, 8866, 9197.

9256. 'You shall surely bring it back to him' means teaching and correcting. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing back', when it refers to those outside the Church who are governed by unauthentic good and truth, as teaching and correcting; for this is how they are 'brought back'. Doing good to those outside the Church is also meant by the Lord's words in Matthew,

You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? And if you salute only your brothers, what more are you doing [than others]? Matthew 5:43-47.

Here also 'enemies' and 'those who hate' in the spiritual sense mean those who have a different idea of what forms of good and the truths of faith are, in general those who are outside the Church, since the Jewish nation considered them to be adversaries whom they were allowed to consign to slaughter and to kill with impunity. It is evident that they are meant in the spiritual sense by 'enemies', since it says, 'If you salute only your brothers, what more are you doing [than others]?' For all were called brothers who were born of Jacob, thus who were within the Church.

[2] To enlarge on the subject of those outside the Church, called the gentiles, they are indeed subject to falsities in doctrine, which however is due to lack of knowledge because they do not possess the Word. Nevertheless when they have received instruction they have a clearer perception and consequently a more internal perception of what heavenly life means for a person than Christians have. The reason for this is that they have not set themselves firmly against the truths of faith as very many Christians have done. Consequently their internal man is not closed but is as it is with young children, open to and receptive of truth. For those who have set themselves firmly against the truths and forms of the good of faith, as all who lead an evil life do, close their internal man above and open it below.

[3] As a result of this the attention of the internal man is focused solely on things below, that is, on the external or natural man, and through this on things that exist in the world, round about their body, and on this planet. And when this is so, they look downwards, that is, towards hell. With people like this the internal man cannot be opened towards heaven unless the negative rejections of truth or positive acceptances of falsity which have closed it are banished; and these must be banished while they are in the world. This cannot be accomplished except by a complete turning around of their life, thus over a number of years. For falsities line up in rows, make a continuous chain from one to another, and form the actual natural mind and the way it sees things that belong to the Church and to heaven. Consequently all matters of faith and charity, that is, everything taught by the Church or contained in the Word, in general everything heavenly and Divine is thick darkness to those people, and conversely everything worldly and earthly is light. From this it is evident that destroying falsities with such people means destroying the life they have, and that if they are to possess a new kind of life falsities must be gradually rooted out and truths and forms of good implanted instead. And these must in a similar way form a continuous chain from one to another and be lined up in rows. This is what is meant by a complete turning around of their life that cannot take place except over a number of years. Therefore anyone who imagines that a person can be made new in an instant is much mistaken.

[4] But those who have not set themselves firmly against the forms of good and the truths of faith - those for instance who are outside the Church and yet have lived in some kind of faith and charity in accord with their religion - have not been able to close their internal man through negative rejections of truth and positive acceptances of falsity that are contrary to the truth of faith founded on the Word. Therefore also - if not in the world, nevertheless in the next life - their internal can be opened above, that is, in the direction of heaven and of the Lord. And at the same time all the earthly and worldly ideas they have brought with them from their life in the world are raised up, in order that they may all look upwards together. These then bring them into a condition to receive the truths of faith from the Lord and forms of the good of charity, to have intelligence and wisdom conferred on them, and so to be endowed with eternal happiness. Such is the condition of all who lead a good life in accord with their religion. For this reason the Lord's Church is spread throughout the whole world. But the Lord's Church on earth is like the Grand Man in heaven, whose heart and lungs are where the Word exists, and the remaining members and internal organs, which depend for their life on the heart and lungs, are where the Word does not exist.

[5] All this also goes to show why it is that a new Church is always established among gentile nations who are outside the Church, 2986, 4747, which takes place when the old Church has closed heaven to itself, as stated above. So it is that the Church was transferred from the Jewish people to gentile nations, and also that the Church at the present day is now being transferred to gentiles.

[6] The fact that the Church is transferred to gentile nations who acknowledge the Lord is clear from very many places in the Word, such as the following: In Isaiah,

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shone out. You have multiplied the nation; for them You have made joy great. Isaiah 9:2-3.

In the same prophet,

It will happen on that day, that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, which is standing as an ensign of the peoples; and His rest will be glory. Isaiah 11:10.

In the same prophet,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, because I will guard You, and give You to be a covenant of the people, ¹ a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of prison, out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7.

In the same prophet,

Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a Prince and Lawgiver to the peoples. ² Lo, You will call a nation You do not know, and a nation that did not know You will run to You, on account of Jehovah Your God, and because of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 55:4-5.

In the same prophet,

Nations will walk to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising. Lift up Your eyes round about; they all gather together and they come towards You. Your sons come from far, and Your daughters are carried at the side by nurses. Then You will see and abound, and Your heart will be astounded and enlarge itself because the abundance of the sea will be turned to You, the armies of the nations will come to You. Isaiah 60:3-5.

In Simeon's prophecy regarding the Lord after His birth, in Luke,

My eyes have seen Your ³ salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles. ⁴ Luke 2:30-32.

[7] All these places, in which the Lord is the subject, declare that gentile nations will come to Him. They come to Him when they acknowledge Him as their God; and what is amazing, such nations worship the one and only God manifested in human form. When therefore they learn about the Lord they receive and acknowledge Him; and a new Church cannot be established among any others. The fact that the Church is established among such nations is further evident from the following words that are the Lord's, in Matthew,

Have you not read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner-stone? ⁵ Therefore I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits [of it]. Matthew 21:42-43.

'The stone' is the Lord, 6426, 'the builders' are those who belong to the Church. And the fact that these will be last and the gentile nations first is evident from His words in Luke,

They will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, reclining in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Luke 13:29-30.

Footnotes: