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.

8018. 'That Jehovah brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt' means that the Lord delivered those governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good from damnation. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing out' as delivering; from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those belonging to the spiritual Church, or what amounts to the same thing, those governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good, dealt with above in 7957, 8006; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as damnation. 'The land of Egypt' at this point means damnation because damnation is meant by the Egyptians' state at this time, 7766, 7778. The fact that the Lord delivered from damnation those belonging to the spiritual Church, that is, those governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good, see 6854, 6914, 7091 (end), 7828, 7932.

[2] Their deliverance by the Lord when He rose again is meant by the Lord's descent to the lower regions (ad inferos); ¹ and it was made plain by the raising of the dead from their tombs, described in Matthew,

And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of sleeping saints were raised; and coming out of their tombs after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matthew 27:52-53.

Their coming out of tombs, their going into the holy city, and also their appearing to many took place to bear witness to the deliverance by the Lord of those who until then had been held back in spiritual captivity, and to the introduction of them into heaven, heaven being meant in the internal sense by 'the holy city'. This is why the expression 'the holy city' is used when in actual fact it was not a holy but a profane city, since the Lord Himself - who was represented in all the ritual observances of their Church and described in the Word existing among them, and so was the God of their Church - was treated by them in so cruel a manner.

[3] Much the same is meant by this in Daniel,

At that time Your people will be rescued, every one who is found written in the book. Finally, many of those sleeping in the dust of the earth will awake - these to eternal life, but the rest to reproaches and to eternal disgrace. Daniel 12:1-2.

And also by this in Ezekiel,

Prophesy and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people, and I will bring you onto the land of Israel, in order that you may know that I am Jehovah when I open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people. And I will put My spirit in you, in order that you may live, and I will place you on your own land, in order that you may know that I Jehovah have spoken it and done it, said Jehovah. Ezekiel 37:11-14.

'The land of Israel', which is the land of Canaan, is used to mean heaven, 8011. The words quoted here from the prophet describe the new creation or birth of a person, and also the vivifying by the Lord of those belonging to the spiritual Church.

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