7. The first state is the state which precedes, both the state existing from earliest childhood onwards and that existing immediately before regeneration; and it is called a void, emptiness, and thick darkness. And the first movement, which is the Lord's mercy, is 'the Spirit of God hovering over the face ¹ of the waters'.

Footnotes:

4669. 'Joseph' means the Lord's Spiritual [from His] Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph' in the highest sense as the Lord's Divine Spiritual, dealt with in 3969. It is well known in the Church that the Lord is represented by 'Joseph', for when the heavenly Joseph is spoken of, no one else is meant. But what aspect of the Lord is represented by 'Joseph' is less well known, namely the Divine Spiritual which proceeds from His Divine Human. The Divine Spiritual which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human is the Divine Truth received from Him in heaven and in the Church; essentially the Spiritual is nothing else. The Divine Spiritual or Divine Truth is also that which is called the kingship of the Lord, as well as being that which is meant by 'Christ' or 'Messiah', see 2015 (end), 3009, 3670. This also explains why Joseph became virtually the king in Egypt - so that he might at that time represent the things which constitute the Lord's kingship.