5510. 'The man, the lord of the land, spoke' means the celestial of the spiritual ruling in the natural. This is clear from the representation of Joseph, to whom 'the man, the lord of the land' refers here, as the celestial of the spiritual ('the man' is used to refer to the spiritual, and 'the lord' to the celestial; for in the internal sense 'the man' is truth and 'the lord' good, truth from the Divine being what is called spiritual, and good from the Divine being what is called celestial); and from the meaning of 'the land', in this case the land of Egypt, as the natural mind, dealt with in 5276, 5178, 5280, 5288, 5301. The idea that the celestial of the spiritual, represented by 'Joseph', ruled in both parts of the natural is contained in the internal sense of the previous chapter; and to represent its rule Joseph was set in authority over the land of Egypt.

[2] There are within the natural these two: known facts and the truths known to the Church. The placing of facts into their proper order by the celestial of the spiritual, which is truth from the Divine, has been dealt with already. Now the truths known to the Church, which are represented by 'the ten sons of Jacob', are the subject. Facts must be placed in order within the natural before the truths known to the Church are placed in order there, for the reason that those facts are needed for the grasping of these truths. For nothing can enter a person's understanding without ideas formed from such factual knowledge as has been acquired by him since early childhood. For man is totally ignorant of this, that every truth known to the Church that is called a truth of faith is founded on the facts he knows, or that he comes to grasp that truth, retain it in his memory, and recall it from there with the help of ideas formulated from the facts he knows.

[3] It is quite normal in the next life to demonstrate in a visual way to those who desire it what those ideas are like; for things like this can be presented clearly in visual ways in the light of heaven. At the same time that visual presentation demonstrates in what darkness or else in what kind of beaming light they have kept the truth taught by the Church. With some people that truth is shown to be lying among falsities, with some among absurd, even scandalous ideas, with others among illusions of the senses, with others again among apparent truths, and so on. If a person has been governed by good, that is, if he has led a charitable life, truths are lit up by good, as if by fire sent down from heaven, and the illusions of the senses holding those truths within them are made beautifully radiant. And when they have innocence introduced into them by the Lord they actually look like truths.

5275. 'Behold, seven years are coming' means a state of providence. This is clear from the meaning of 'years' as states, dealt with in 487, 488, 493, 893; and from the meaning of 'coming' as an act of providence. For 'coming' and being done, when used in reference to the Divine, or to that which God does, means what happens providentially and is therefore an act of providence; for providence is meant by that done by God, see above in 5264, 5273. Regarding the seven years of abundance of corn and the seven years of famine that are the subject in what follows, where 'years' means states, 'the years of abundance of corn' are states when truth is multiplied in the natural, and 'the years of famine' are states when there is an absence and deprivation of truth in the natural. In general the seven years of abundance of corn and the seven years of famine in the land of Egypt describe in the internal sense the state when a person is reformed and regenerated, and in the highest sense the state when the Lord's Human was glorified. To represent these things was why such events took place in the land of Egypt. The reason that land was the one where they took place is that in the internal sense 'the land of Egypt' and 'Pharaoh' mean the natural, the glorification of which within the Lord is the subject here.

[2] It should be recognized that the events which took place at that time and have been recorded in the Word were representative in the highest sense of the Lord Himself and of the glorification of His Human, and in the representative sense of His kingdom, and consequently of the Church at a corporate level and also of the Church at an individual level. They were accordingly representative of a person's regeneration, for regeneration is the means by which a person becomes a Church at the individual level. The representation of such things by the events happening at that time was primarily for the sake of the Word - so that this could be written and thus be a Word that would contain the kinds of matters that would represent Divine, celestial, and spiritual realities in a continuous line of thought, and so would be of service not only to the member of the Church but also to the angels in heaven. From those representative descriptions angels perceive Divine realities and are thereby filled with holy feelings which are communicated to the person who reads the Word with affection; for he too receives a feeling of holiness. This is the reason why such events took place in the land of Egypt.