120. But are a synagogue of Satan, signifies the doctrine of all falsities with these. This is evident from the signification of "synagogue," as being doctrine (of which presently); and from the signification of "Satan," as being the hell from which are all falsities. There are two kinds of hells, one in which those are who are in evils, and the other in which those are who are in the falsities of evil. The hell in which those are who are in evils is called, in one word, Devil, and that in which those are who are in the falsities of evil is called, in one word, Satan. That the hells are thus named is totally unknown to those who know nothing about the hells, but have adopted the belief that the devil was created an angel of light, and because he rebelled was cast down with his crew, and thus hell was made. (That the hells are called Devil and Satan may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 311, 544, 553; and in the small work on The Last Judgment, in the chapter where it is shown that Heaven and Hell are from the Human Race, n. 14-22.)

[2] Let it be known, moreover, that as all goods and truths are from the Lord out of the heavens, so all evils and falsities are out of the hells. He is greatly deceived who believes that goods and truths have any other source than out of the heavens from the Lord, or that evils and falsities have any other source than out of the hells. Man is simply a receptacle of these, and to whichever he turns himself of that he is a recipient. If he turns himself towards heaven, which is effected by the goods of love and the truths of faith, he receives goods and truths from the Lord; but if he turns himself towards hell, which is effected by the evils of love and falsities of faith, he receives evils and falsities from the hells. Now as all evils and falsities are from the hells, and as the hells are called, in one word, either Devil or Satan, it follows that by Devil are also signified all evils, and by Satan all falsities. From this it is that by a "synagogue of Satan" the doctrine of all falsities is signified.

[3] By "synagogue" doctrine is signified, because in the synagogues there was instruction, and differences in matters of doctrine were also adjusted. That there was instruction in the synagogues is evident from Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 13:54; Mark 1:21, 22, 29, 39; 6:2; Luke 4:15, 16, 44; 13:10, 14; John 18:20. That differences in matters of doctrine were adjusted in the synagogues may be inferred from what is said in Matthew 10:17; Mark 13:9; Luke 12:11; 21:12; John 9:22; 12:42; 16:2, 3. That with the Jewish nation there was the doctrine of all falsities can be seen from many things known as to that nation; namely, that they denied the Lord; that they wish for a Messiah whose kingdom will be upon the earth, and who will exalt them above all other nations in the world; that they place all worship in externals, and reject the internals of worship, which are of faith in the Lord and of love to Him; that they apply all things in the Word to themselves; and falsify it by traditions of their own invention (See Matthew 15:6-9; Mark 7:1-13). Again, what the quality of that nation in respect to their interiors has been from the beginning can be seen from the song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32), and elsewhere in many passages (See also the quotations from the Arcana Coelestia, in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248).

8227. 'And the Egyptians were fleeing to meet it' means that they plunged themselves into the falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'fleeing to meet the sea' as plunging themselves into falsities arising from evil, which are meant by the waters of that sea, 8226. The situation is that a person who is ignorant of causes lying on more internal levels inevitably believes that the bad things which happen to the evil, such as their undergoing punishment, vastation, and damnation, and finally being cast into hell, are attributable to the Divine. That is exactly how it seems to him, since such things occur at the presence of the Divine, 8137, 8138, 8188. Even so, no such thing happening to them is attributable to the Divine, only to themselves. The Divine and His presence have one end alone in view, namely the protection and salvation of the good. When the Divine is present with them, protecting them from those who are evil, the evil feel all the more antagonistic towards them, and all the more antagonistic towards the Divine Himself; for they hate Him most of all. Those who hate good hate most of all the Divine. So they rush to the attack, and in the measure that they do so they subject themselves, in keeping with the law of order, to punishment, vastation, and damnation, and at length cast themselves into hell. From all this it becomes clear that the Divine, that is, the Lord, does only what is good and does nothing bad to anyone; rather, those ruled by evil subject themselves to such miseries. This is what is meant when it says that the Egyptians fled to meet the sea; that is, they plunged themselves into the falsities arising from evil.

[2] On this subject something further must be said. The belief also exists that bad things are attributable to the Divine because He allows them and does not take them away. And one who allows something and does not take it away when he has the power to do so appears to will it and so to be the cause of it. But the Divine allows it because He cannot prevent it or take it away. The Divine wills only what is good; if therefore He were to prevent or remove bad things, that is to say, the miseries of punishment, vastation, persecution, temptation, and the like, He would be willing something bad. For then the people who must suffer them could not have their faults corrected and evil would increase until it held sway over good. The situation is like that with a king who acquits the guilty. He is the cause of the ill done by them subsequently in his kingdom, and he is the cause of the resulting lawlessness of others, not to mention that the evil person becomes more deeply immersed in evil. Therefore although a good and righteous king has the power to cancel punishments, yet he cannot, for if he cancels them he does not do what is good but what is bad. It should be recognized that all forms of punishment as well as of temptation in the next life have good as their end in view.