6654. 'Behold, the people of the children of Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves' means that the Church's truths are prevailing over alienated factual knowledge. This is clear from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as the Church's truths and forms of good, dealt with above in 6647; from the meaning of 'many and numerous' as prevailing, for 'multiplying', or becoming many, and 'numerous' are used in reference to truth, see also above, in 6648; and from the representation of the king of Egypt and his people, whom one should understand here by 'more than ourselves', as alienated factual knowledge, as above in 6652. From all this it is evident that 'Behold, the people of [the children of] Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves' means that truths are prevailing over alienated factual knowledge.

6647. 'And the children of Israel were fruitful and productive' means that the Church's truths increased in goodness. This is clear from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as spiritual truths, dealt with in 5414, 5879, and as the Church, 6637; from the meaning of 'being fruitful' as increasing in goodness, dealt with in 43, 55, 917, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146; and from the meaning of 'being productive' as further branching out; for once the Church has been established with a person, good increases constantly and branches out both within the internal and also towards the external, and within it. It has often been shown already that among those who belong to the spiritual Church good is increased by means of truths; for a member of the spiritual Church does not have perception as a member of the celestial Church has, and therefore he has no knowledge of what the Church's good - that is, spiritual good - is except through truths. This being so, when a member of that Church is being regenerated, the Lord uses the angels present with that person to bring truths to his awareness, and from those truths he is led on to good. But when that person has been regenerated, He brings both truth and good together to his awareness, and thereby leads him. But the character of the good with a member of the spiritual Church is determined by that of the truth, and so therefore is the character of his conscience, which serves him in place of perception, as a guide to the way he lives.