When we’re suffering temptation, often the worst part of it is the feeling that the Lord has abandoned us – that just when we need Him most, he’s not there. The fact is, of course, that He is there; that feeling is part of the necessary process if we are to truly trust Him and let him take our evils from us.

That feeling is illustrated in this verse, when the angels – who represent the Lord’s human aspect and his active effect – initially turn down Lot’s invitation.

The story here is about the Lord judging the remnants of the Ancient Church, which had fallen into falsity and love of self. Lot represents the people within that church who still had a desire to be good; they recognized that judgment was near and ask the Lord to be with them. But their cry seems to go unheard; when the angels say they will sleep in the square, it represents the idea that the Lord is willing to judge the people based solely on factual evidence, which would have condemned them.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 2328)