1462. That relatively to the Lord, “Egypt” is the memory-knowledge of knowledges, but relatively to all other men is memory-knowledge [scientia] in general, is evident from its signification in the Word (concerning which above in 1164-1165 places, especially in n. 1164,1165). For the Ancient Church was in Egypt as well as in many other places n. 1238); and when this church was there, memory-knowledges [scientiae] flourished there more than anything else; hence by Egypt has been signified memory-knowledge. But after the people desired to enter by means of memory-knowledges into the mysteries of faith, and thus from their own power to investigate the truth of Divine arcana, Egypt became addicted to magic, and signified things of memory-knowledge which pervert, whence come falsities, and from these evils, as is evident in Isaiah 19:11.

[2] That useful memory-knowledges are signified by “Egypt,” thus in the present passage the memory-knowledge of knowledges, which is able to serve as vessels for celestial and spiritual things, is evident from the following passages in the Word.

In Isaiah:

They have seduced Egypt, the cornerstone of the tribes (Isaiah 19:13),

where it is called “the cornerstone of the tribes,” as it should serve for a support to the things that are of faith, which are signified by “the tribes.” Again:

In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak with the lip of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth; each shall be called the city of the sun. In that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah at the border thereof. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of the oppressors, and He shall send them a Saviour and a Prince, and He shall deliver them; and Jehovah shall become known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day; and they shall offer sacrifice and meat-offering, and shall vow a vow to Jehovah, and shall perform it. And Jehovah shall smite Egypt in smiting and in healing, and they shall return unto Jehovah, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them (Isaiah 19:18-22).

Here Egypt is spoken of in a good sense, denoting those who are in memory-knowledges [scientifica], that is, in natural truths, which are the vessels of spiritual truths.

[3] Again:

In that day there shall be a path from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria shall come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve Assyria. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land, which Jehovah Zebaoth shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance (Isaiah 19:23-25).

Here by “Egypt” is signified the memory-knowledge of natural truths; by “Assyria,” reason or rational things; by “Israel,” spiritual things; all of which succeed one another; and therefore it is said that “in that day there shall be a path from Egypt to Assyria,” and that “Israel shall be the third with Egypt and with Assyria.”

[4] In Ezekiel:

Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thine expansion, that it might be to thee for an ensign (Ezekiel 27:7); concerning Tyre, by which is signified the possession of knowledges; “fine linen with broidered work” denotes the truths of memory-knowledges, that serve; for memory-knowledges, being of the external man, ought to serve the internal man. Again:

Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, At the end of forty years will I gather Egypt from the peoples whither they have been scattered, and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:13-14);

denoting the same that is said in many places concerning Judah and Israel, in that they should be gathered from the peoples and brought back from captivity.

In Zechariah:

And it shall come to pass that whoso of the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King Jehovah Zebaoth, upon them there shall be no rain; and if the family of Egypt go not up and come not (Zechariah 14:17-18);

also concerning Egypt in a good sense, and by which the like is meant.

[5] That memory-knowledge, or human wisdom, is signified by “Egypt,” is evident also in Daniel, where the memory-knowledges of celestial and spiritual things are called “the hidden things of gold and silver,” and also “the desirable things of Egypt” (Daniel 11:43). And it is said of Solomon that “his wisdom was multiplied above the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and above all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (1 Kings 4:30). The house built by Solomon for Pharaoh’s daughter represented nothing else (1 Kings 7:8, etc.).

[6] That the Lord when an infant was brought into Egypt, signified the same that is here signified by Abram; and it took place for the additional reason that He might fulfill all the things that had been represented concerning Him. In the inmost sense the migration of Jacob and his sons into Egypt represented the first instruction of the Lord in knowledges from the Word, as is also manifest from the following passages. It is said of the Lord in Matthew:

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee. And he arose and took the young child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called My son (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-21); concerning which it is said in Hosea:

When Israel was a child then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1);

from which it is evident that by the “child Israel,” is meant the Lord; and that His instruction when a child is meant by the words, “I called My son out of Egypt.”

[7] Again in Hosea:

By a prophet the Lord made Israel to go up out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he kept (Hosea 12:13-14); where in like manner by “Israel” is meant the Lord; by “a prophet” is signified one who teaches, and thus the doctrine of knowledges.

In David:

Turn us again, O God Zebaoth, cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt, Thou didst drive out the nations, and planted it (Psalms 80:7-8); where also the Lord is treated of, who is called “a vine out of Egypt” in regard to the knowledges in which He was being instructed.

4060. Therefore the words quoted above [in 4056] mean the state of the Church at that time as regards good, that is, as regards charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord. This is clear from the internal sense of these words, which is as follows:

But immediately after the affliction of those days means the state of the Church as regards the truth of faith, which is dealt with in the verses immediately before this. In the Word desolation of truth is called 'affliction' in various places - 'days' being states, see 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785. From this it is evident that these words mean that once faith no longer exists neither will any charity exist. For faith leads to charity because it teaches what charity is, and charity acquires its particular character from the truths of faith. The truths of faith however receive their essence and life from charity, as has been shown many times in previous volumes.

[2] The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light means love to the Lord, which is 'the sun', and charity towards the neighbour, which is 'the moon'. 'Being darkened' and 'not giving light' mean that that love and charity will not be in evidence and so will disappear. For 'the sun' means the celestial kind of love and 'the moon' the spiritual kind; that is, 'the sun' means love to the Lord, and 'the moon' charity towards the neighbour which comes through faith, see 1053, 1529, 1530, 2120, 2441, 2495. The reason why the sun and the moon have these meanings is that the Lord is seen in the next life as a sun by those in heaven who are governed by love to Him and are called celestial, and as a moon by those who are governed by charity towards the neighbour and are referred to as spiritual, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643.

[3] The sun and the moon in heaven, or the Lord, are never darkened, nor do they lose their light but are shining unceasingly. Thus in heaven there is no darkening or loss of light in the love which celestial angels have for the Lord or in the charity which spiritual angels show towards the neighbour. Nor on earth is there any in people with whom angels are present, that is, in people who are governed by love and charity. But those who are not governed by any love or charity, only by self-love and love of the world, and consequently by feelings of hatred and revenge, bring that kind of obscurity to themselves. It is like the sun of this world which is shining constantly; yet when clouds intervene the sun is not visible, see 2441.

[4] And the stars will fall from heaven means that cognitions of good and truth will perish. When mentioned in the Word 'stars' have no other meaning than those cognitions, 1808, 2849.

And the powers of the heavens will be shaken means the foundations of the Church which are said to be shaken and jolted when those cognitions perish. This is because the Church on earth is heaven's foundation; for the influx of good and truth from the Lord through the heavens culminates ultimately in the goods and truths present with the member of the Church. Consequently when the state of the member of the Church is so perverse that he no longer allows good or truth to flow into him 'the powers of the heavens' are in that case said 'to be shaken'. That being so, the Lord always provides for some vestige of the Church to be left. And when the old Church perishes a new one is established.

[5] And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven means the manifestation of Divine truth - 'sign' meaning a manifestation, 'the Son of Man' the Lord as regards Divine truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704. This manifestation, or this 'sign', is what the disciples asked for when they said to the Lord,

Tell us, when will those things take place; what especially will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? Matthew 24:3.

For they knew from the Word that when the age drew to a close the Lord would come, and they knew from the Lord that He would be coming again, by which they understood the Lord's coming a second time into the world since they were not yet aware of the fact that the Lord had come as often as the Church had been brought to ruin. Not that any of these comings had been a coming in person, as was the case when, through birth in the world, He took on the Human and made this Divine. Rather, those comings had been made through appearances or manifestations of Himself, such as when He appeared in Mamre to Abraham, in the bush to Moses, on Mount Sinai to the Israelites, and to Joshua when he entered the land of Canaan. There were other comings of a less visible nature, such as those at times when inspiration was received and the Word was given by means of it, and later on through the Word itself. For the Word has the Lord present within it; every detail there comes from Him and has reference to Him, as may be recognized from what has been shown many times up to now. This is the kind of appearance that is meant here by 'the sign of the Son of Man' and is the subject in the present verse under consideration.

[6] And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn means that all in whom the good of love and the truth of faith dwell will experience grief. This is what is meant by 'mourning', see Zechariah 12:10-14; and 'the tribes' means all aspects of good and truth, that is, of love and faith, 3858, 3926, and so consequently those in whom these things dwell. The phrase 'the tribes of the earth' is used because those inside the Church are meant - 'the earth' being the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2928,

[7] And they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory means that at that time a revelation of the internal sense of the Word - the sense in which the Lord is present - will take place. 'The Son of Man' means Divine truth within the Word, 2803, 2813, 3704, 'the clouds' the literal sense. 'Power' has reference to the good and 'glory' to the truth present there. For this meaning of 'seeing the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven', see Preface to Genesis 18. This is the kind of coming of the Lord that is meant here, not a literal manifestation of Him in clouds. Next follows a reference to the establishment of a new Church, which takes place once the old has been brought to ruin and cast aside.

[8] He will send out His angels with a trumpet and a loud voice means election - not by visible angels, still less by trumpets and by loud voices, but by an influx of holy good and of holy truth from the Lord through angels, so that the expression 'angels' in the Word means something essentially the Lord's, 1925, 2821, 3039. In this instance it means things which come from the Lord and have reference to the Lord. 'A trumpet and a loud voice' means the proclamation of the Gospel, as in other places in the Word.

[9] And they will gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other end of them means the establishment of a new Church, 'the elect' being people in whom the good of love and faith dwell, 3755 (end), 3900, 'the four winds' from which they will be gathered being all states of good and truth, 3708, and 'one end of the heavens to the other' the internal and the external features of the Church. These are the considerations that are meant by these words spoken by the Lord.