5805. 'And his brother is dead' means that internal good does not exist. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the spiritual, dealt with in 4592, 4963, 5249, 5307, 5331, 5332, thus internal good since this is the same as the celestial of the spiritual; and from the meaning of 'being dead' as existing no more, dealt with in 494. There is this difference between the representation of 'Joseph' as internal good and the representation of 'Israel' as spiritual good: 'Joseph' is internal good springing from the rational, whereas 'Israel' is internal good springing from the natural, see 4286. This difference is like that between celestial good, or the good which is that of the celestial Church, and spiritual good, or the good which is that of the spiritual Church. These two kinds of good have been dealt with quite often in what has gone before. It is the first kind of internal good - celestial good - that is said to be non-existent there, which is meant by 'his brother is dead'.

494. 'He died' means that this kind of perception existed no more. This is clear from the meaning of the expression 'to die', which means everything that ceases to be what it once was, as in John,

To the angel of the Church in Sardis write, These things says He who has the seven spirits and the seven stars, I know your works; you are said to be alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen what remains and is at the point of truth, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of God. Revelation 3:1-2.

In Jeremiah,

I will hurl your mother who bore you into another land where you were not born, and there you will die. Jeremiah 22:26.

Here 'mother' stands for the Church. For the course of the Church is such, as stated, that it declines and degenerates, and the perfection of earlier days is lost, chiefly because of the increase in hereditary evil. For every parent adds further evil to that which he has inherited. All evil of their own doing residing with parents takes on a kind of intrinsic nature, and when such evil is frequent in its recurrence, it does become part of their nature. It is added to what they have inherited and is handed on to children and so to descendants. In this way hereditary evil becomes more and more enormous in descendants. This anyone may recognize from the evil inclination in children being just like that in their parents and grandparents.

[2] The opinion of people who imagine that no hereditary evil exists beyond that which, they assert, has been implanted in us from Adam, is utterly and completely false; see 317. In reality everyone is producing hereditary evil through the sins of his own doing, and adding this to what he acquired from his parents. In this manner it mounts up and remains in all his descendants. Nor is it ever moderated except in people who are being regenerated by the Lord. This is the chief reason why every Church degenerates, including the Most Ancient.