7147. 'And your people have sinned' means that for this reason they are guilty of having done what is evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'sinning' as becoming guilty of evil; and, if guilty, as receiving deserved punishment. What the situation is in general regarding the matters contained in this verse and in those that come before it must be stated. Those who are on the lower earth are molested by the falsities and evils introduced by the surrounding hells. Such molestation takes place in order that evils and falsities may be removed and truths and forms of good may be instilled, as a result of which they are brought into a state in which they can be raised to heaven, see 7090, 7122. But near the end they are molested more harshly than ever before, for at that stage truths are taken away from them and utter falsities are allowed to molest them, even until they are made to despair. For it is in accordance with Divine order that despair should be the final stage of molestation and temptation, see 1787, 2694, 5279, 5280. In order that this state experienced by those belonging to the spiritual Church might be represented by the children of Israel, Pharaoh acted as the narrative describes here. He did what he did when the molestations were near the end, that is to say, when the children of Israel were about to be set free and led to the land of Canaan.

[2] It should be recognized that molestations take place in the following way: Falsities and evils are introduced into a person's thoughts by the hells, and truths and forms of good by heaven, that is, by the Lord through heaven; and that introduction takes place in him because no man or spirit has any thought that originates in himself. Rather, everything flows in from without. Although this is entirely contrary to anyone's perception of what is going on inside him and for that reason seems impossible to believe, it is nevertheless absolutely true. See what has already been brought forward and shown from experience on the matter in 2886, 4151, 4249, 5846, 5854, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626. From these places one may know how to understand the idea that molestations are effected by the introduction of falsities, and are increased until a person is made to despair.

5854. The Lord sees to it that spirits should flow into a person's thoughts and desires, but that angels should flow into the ends he has in view and so through those ends into whatever ensues from them. The angels also flow by means of good spirits into the various good deeds he does in life and the truths he believes, and they use these to lead him away as far as possible from evils and falsities. This inflowing takes place silently, without the person knowing it; but even though it is hidden it works effectively. Above all the angels turn aside ends that are evil and introduce ones that are good. If this is not possible they withdraw; and the less possible it is, the further they withdraw and the more remote the position is from which they inflow, with the result that the evil spirits draw closer. For the angels cannot be present within evil ends, that is, within self-love and love of the world; even so, they remain present, but remotely so.

[2] The Lord could by means of angels use almighty force to lead a person to have good ends in view; but that would be to take the person's life away from him, since his life consists of loves entirely contrary to those ends. It is therefore an inviolable law of God that a person should be left in freedom, and that goodness and truth, or charity and faith, should be implanted when he is in freedom, and by no means under compulsion. For what is received in a state of compulsion does not remain but disperses. Compelling a person to do something is not the same as instilling it into his will, for under compulsion the person must do someone else's will; when therefore his own will, that is, his own freedom, is restored to him, whatever was instilled under compulsion is rooted out. For this reason the Lord governs people by means of their freedom and restrains them as far as possible from the freedom of thinking and willing what is evil. For unless restrained by the Lord they would be constantly hurling themselves into the deepest hell. It has just been stated that the Lord could by means of angels use almighty force to lead a person to have good ends in view; for even if a person is surrounded by tens of thousands of evil spirits, they can be driven away in an instant, and it takes only one angel to do it. But then the person would go through such torment and hell that he could not possibly stand it, for his life would be wrenched from him. For a person's life consists of evil desires and false notions opposed to goodness and truth. Unless evil spirits were used to sustain and thereby correct that life, or at least to guide it, he could not survive one minute. For nothing else takes hold of him but love of self and of gain, and of reputation for selfish and gainful reasons, thus of whatever is contrary to order. So if he were not brought gently and gradually back to a state of order by having his freedom guided he would perish instantly.