8866. 'Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves' means deliverance by Him from hell. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing out' as deliverance; from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as molestations by those from hell, dealt with in 7240, 7278; and from the meaning of 'the house of slaves' as spiritual captivity, dealt with in 8049. The reason why 'the house of slaves' means spiritual captivity and also hell is that being held captive by those in hell and being led by them is slavery, whereas being led by the Lord is freedom, 892, 905, 2870-2875, 2882, 2884, 2892, 2893, 6205, 8209. The fact that those belonging to the spiritual Church, who are represented by the children of Israel, were delivered from hell by the Lord, through His coming into the world and making Divine the Human within Himself, see 6854, 6914, 7035, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8321.

2884. The freedom that goes with self-love and love of the world, and their accompanying desires, is anything but freedom; it is utter slavery. Nevertheless it is called freedom, even as the expressions love, affection, and delight are used in both ways, and yet self-love and love of the world are anything but love; they are hatred. And the same is so with affection and delight that accompany these loves. They are so called according to what they appear to be, not according to what they are in reality.