5356. 'In the land of my affliction' means where the temptations were undergone. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land', in this case the land of Egypt, as the natural, dealt with in 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301; and from the meaning of 'affliction' as temptation, dealt with in 1846. From these meanings it is evident that 'in the land of my affliction' means in the natural where the temptations were undergone and therefore the place where truth from good was multiplied. Since that fruitfulness, or multiplication of truth from good, is brought about primarily by means of temptations, such words have therefore been used here. The reason why fruitfulness is brought about primarily by means of temptations is that temptations take away self-love and love of the world, and so evils too; and once these have been taken away, an affection for goodness and truth from the Lord flows in, see just above in 5354.

[2] Another thing temptations do is to provide a person with the kind of discernment he has about what is good and true; they provide it through the opposites that evil spirits introduce at such times. From his discernment of those opposites a person can make comparisons which enable him to see what the whole is like. For no one can know what good is unless he also knows what is not good; and he does not know what truth is unless he knows what is not true. Also, temptations serve to strengthen goods and truths; for in temptations a person battles against evils and falsities, and through being victorious in such he goes on to hold on more firmly to those goods and truths. In addition to this temptations also serve to subdue evils and falsities so completely that they do not dare to rise up again. Thus temptations serve to cast evils and falsities away to the fringes, where they hang downwards, in a limp condition. But forms of good together with truths are in the centre, and in the measure that the zeal of genuine affection is present they are raised upwards - up to heaven, towards the Lord who does the raising up.

1846. 'And these will afflict them' means their grievous temptations. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'afflicting' or affliction as persecution and therefore as temptation. In the Word of the Lord nothing else is meant by 'affliction', as in Isaiah,

I will refine you, but not with silver; I will single you out in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10.

'Affliction' stands for temptation.

In Moses,

You shall remember all the way in which Jehovah your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness to afflict you and to tempt you. Jehovah fed you with manna in the wilderness, which your fathers did not know, to afflict you and to tempt you, to do good to you in [your] latter end. Deuteronomy 8:2, 16.

'To afflict' plainly means to tempt.

[2] In the same author,

And the Egyptians ill-treated us and afflicted us, and imposed hard service upon us, and we cried out to Jehovah the God of our fathers, and Jehovah heard our voice and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression. Deuteronomy 26:6-7.

Here the same things are mentioned as in the present verse, that they served as slaves and were afflicted, by which - as also by their afflictions in the wilderness, which in addition represented the Lord's temptations - the temptations of believers were meant.

[3] As in Isaiah,

He was despised, a man of sorrows, on account of which as it were men hid their faces from Him. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our sicknesses and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:3-4.

These words mean the Lord's temptations. The words 'He has borne our sicknesses and carried our sorrows' are not used to mean that believers will not undergo any temptation, nor that He transferred their sins on to Himself and so bore them Himself. Rather, they mean that He who overcame the hells through the conflicts brought about by temptations and through victories would in the same manner - all by Himself, even as to His Human Essence - endure the temptations experienced by believers.

[4] The Lord too calls temptations afflictions: in Mark,

These are the ones sown upon rocky ground. When they have heard the word they have no root in themselves but endure for a while. Then, when affliction and persecution arise because of the word they immediately stumble. Mark 4:16-17.

'Affliction' clearly stands for temptation. 'Having no root in themselves' is having no charity, for it is in charity that faith is rooted, and those who are not endowed with that root give way in temptations. In John,

In the world you have affliction; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33.

'Affliction' stands for temptation.

[5] In Matthew,

Nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom. All these are the start of sorrows. At that time they will deliver you up to affliction. There will be great affliction then such as has not been from the beginning of the world. Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened. Matthew 24:7-9, 21, 29.

This refers to the close of the age, or last times of a Church. 'Affliction' stands for temptations, external and internal, external temptations being persecutions by the world, internal by the devil. The non-existence of charity is meant by 'nation against nation' and 'kingdom against kingdom', and by 'the sun' - that is, the Lord, love and charity - being 'darkened'.