7039. Behold I will slay thy son, thy firstborn. That this signifies the extinction of faith without charity, and the consequent devastation of truth with them, is evident from the signification of "slaying," as being extinction; and from the signification of "son, the firstborn," namely, of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, as being faith without charity (see n. 3325). For by Pharaoh and the Egyptians are represented the memory-knowledges which are of the church (n. 4749, 4964, 4966, 6004), thus which are of faith, for these are of the church. But because they turned these memory-knowledges into magic (n. 6692), and from this their works were evil, and devoid of any charity, therefore by their "firstborn" are signified such things as are of the memory-knowledge of faith, thus faith without charity. That these are signified by the "firstborn of Egypt," is evident from the signification of the "firstborn of Israel," as being the faith of charity (of which above n. 7035).
[2] It is said "faith without charity," but by "faith" is here meant the memory-knowledge of such things as are of faith, for there is no faith where there is no charity. With those who are not in charity the things of faith are merely things of memory, and are in the memory under no other form than is any other memory-knowledge; and there is not there even the memory-knowledge of truth which is of faith, because it is defiled with ideas of falsity, and also serves as a means to defend falsities. As this is the case with faith without charity, it is therefore extinguished with the evil in the other life, and they are completely devastated as to truth, in order to prevent truths from being made into means for their evils, and thus lest hell should in some way have dominion in them over such things as are of heaven, and lest they should thereby hang between heaven and hell. This extinction and this devastation of truth are what is signified by the firstborn in Egypt being slain. That the Egyptians afterward perished in the sea Suph represented the subsequent state of damnation or the spiritual death of such persons, for as soon as the things of faith or of truth are taken away from them (which had been like wings that lifted them up), they soon sink down like weights into hell.