6279. The Angel who redeemeth me from all evil. That this signifies the Lord’s Divine Human by which is effected deliverance from hell, is evident from the signification of “angel,” as being the Lord’s Divine Human (of which below); from the signification of “redeeming,” as being to deliver (of which also below); and from the signification of “evil,” as being hell. The reason why “evil” denotes hell is that hell itself is nothing but evil; for whether you say that all in hell are evil, or that hell is evil, it is the same. In the spiritual sense, when “evil” is mentioned, hell is meant, for they who are in the spiritual sense, as are the angels in heaven, think and speak abstractedly from persons, because universally, and therefore to them evil is hell. It is the same with “sin,” when thereby is meant the ruling evil, as in Genesis:

Jehovah said unto Cain, If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee is his desire, and thou shall rule over him (Genesis 4:6-7); where “sin” denotes hell, which is at hand when a man does evil. The very evil with man is nothing else than hell, for it inflows therefrom, and the man is then a hell in the least form, as also is everyone there. So on the other hand, the very good in man is nothing else than heaven in him; for good flows in through heaven from the Lord; and the man who is in good, is heaven in the smallest image, as also is everyone in heaven.