AC 8159 - The Lord Always Fights For Us

  AC 8159 [1, 2, 3-4, 5]

All temptation is effected by means of
an influx from the hells,
for the spirits who are from there
excite and draw forth all things in a person
that have been evilly done and evilly thought,
and thereby accuse and condemn him.
Thereupon the conscience is troubled,
and the mind comes into anxiety.
This is done by influx from the hells,
especially from this hell
which is represented by the sea Suph.

. . . As in the verses that now follow,
the subject treated of is the first temptation
of those who had been of the spiritual church,
be it known that they could not undergo temptations
until after the Lord had glorified His Human,
that is, made it Divine,
and in this was present with them.
If they had been tempted before,
they would have yielded,
for those who were of the spiritual church were saved
solely through the Divine Human of the Lord.

As regards temptations, the case with them is . . .
that the hells fight against a person,
and the Lord for a person;
to every falsity the hells inject,
there is an answer from the Divine.
The falsities which are from the hells
are injected and flow into the external or natural person;
but the answer from the Divine flows
into the internal or spiritual person.
This latter influx, which is from the Divine,
does not come to the person's perception
so much as do the falsities;
neither does it move the singulars of his thought,
but its generals, and in such a manner
that it scarcely comes to the perception
otherwise than as hope and the consequent consolation,
in which there are nevertheless innumerable things
of which the person is ignorant,
being such things as are in agreement with
his affection or love,
especially his affection or love of truth and good,
from which he has conscience.

These things have been said
in order that it may be known
that by the life of the sons of Israel in the wilderness
are described in their series the temptations
which those underwent
who had been of the Lord's spiritual church
and had been liberated.
They underwent temptations
in order that they might be further prepared for heaven;
for by means of temptations,
and by these as the only means,
goods and truths are confirmed and are conjoined;
and by means of temptations
charity becomes the charity of faith,
and faith becomes the faith of charity.

. . . But be it known that in temptations
the person does not fight;
but the Lord alone fights for the person,
although it appears as if it were done by the person;
and when the Lord fights for a person
the person conquers in all things.
At this day few are admitted into temptations,
for the reason that they are not in the life of faith,
and therefore not in the conscience of truth;
and he who is not in the conscience of truth
from the good of life, yields;
whereby his subsequent state
becomes worse than the former.