7990. 'To lead them out of the land of Egypt' means deliverance from spiritual captivity. This is clear from the meaning of 'leading out' as delivering; and from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as the place where they were molested by the evil, thus where they were in spiritual captivity, as accords with the matters introduced in 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 7985. People are said to be in spiritual captivity when inwardly they are maintained by the Lord in goodness and truth, but outwardly they are kept by hell in evil and falsity, as a result of which there is conflict between the external man and the internal man. This is the state in which those who are being molested are held. During it, by an influx (or flowing into them) by way of their interiors, the Lord fights on their behalf against the afflux (or flowing towards them) of evil and falsity from the hells. At this time they are held like captives; for as a result of the influx from the Lord they wish to be guided by truth and good, but the afflux from the hells makes it seem to them that they are incapable of it. This conflict takes place to the end that the external man may be brought into obedience to the internal man, and in that way natural things may be made subordinate to spiritual ones.