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Temptations A series of extracts compiled by Bazil Lazer from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg on the nature, cause and purpose of spiritual temptations CONTENTS
Introduction
"Regeneration takes place in order for the previous life of the person to die away and for a new life that is heavenly to come in. You can assume from this that there certainly will be a struggle, for the former person resists and does not want to die out, while the life of the new person can enter only where the old life has expired. Clearly there is a struggle on both sides, and a fierce one because it is a struggle for life" Emanuel Swedenborg
"Temptations" compiled by Bazil Lazer from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg New Translation of Latin quotations and revision of Basil Lazer's remarks by David F Gladish For Basil Lazer Trust The New Church Originally printed in Australia by Nadley Press • 68 Oak Road Kirrawee NSW 2232 ISBN 0 646 29546 2
Layout design and linocuts by Donna Heldon © 2009
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Regarding struggles with the hells and victories over
them, the fact is that once conquered, always conquered, for through
victory one gains power over them. To that extent a person establishes
his position and makes the goodness of love and the truth of belief part
of himself. The hells never dare attack this again. When the Lord was in the world He
opened Himself to struggles of temptation with all the hells, and
through them He made the human in Him Divine, at the same time reducing
the hells to obedience forever. For this reason, the Lord alone has
power over the hells forever and by Divine power fights for humankind.
Here is how
the influence of evil from hell begins. When someone takes up an evil
practice, first by consent, then by intention, and at last
wholeheartedly, the hell that specialises in that evil is opened up (for
the hells are classified according to evils and all their varieties),
and then the influence of that particular hell is added. When someone
takes up an evil in this way, it sticks with him, because the hell whose
influence he is then under finds fulfilment in its evil. Therefore, it
does not let go but holds on obstinately and makes the person think
about the evil, occasionally at first, then whenever anything like it
comes up. In the end this hell makes that evil the ruling authority in
the person. When this happens, he seeks ways
to establish that it is not evil until he fully convinces himself. Then,
so far as he can, he makes an effort to remove outward restraints, and
makes fitting, proper, and finally noble and honourable, things like
adultery, theft through sly tricks, various forms of arrogance and
ostentation, contempt for others, persecution in the guise of justice,
and so forth. These things work like open theft—after people commit an
evil on purpose two or three times, they are unable to stop, since it
obsesses their minds. Note, too, that it does a person no harm for evil to come to mind, since spirits out of hell constantly pour in evil, and angels constantly clear it out. But when evil enters someone's intention, it is harmful, for then it goes right into action so far as outward ______________________________________________________ things like adultery work like open theft after people commit an evil on purpose two or three times they are unable to stop, as it obsesses their minds ______________________________________________________ restraints do not prevent it. Evil enters the will
from being held in mind, from consent, and most of all through act and
consequent delight. It has
often been observed that evil spirits are notorious for adopting a
person's opinions and obsessions, and when they do, they lead the person at will, because whoever puts himself into
someone's obsessions and into his opinions gains control of the person
and makes him his servant. The influence through angels, however, comes
by way of people's affections, which they gently bend toward goodness
and do not break. This influence is quiet, almost unnoticeable, being
from within, and always through free will. Note that everything bad comes in through hell, and
everything good through heaven from the Lord. But evil can become part
of a person because he believes and is convinced that he thinks of it
and does it by himself, so he makes it his own. If he believed the real
facts, then he would not make evil something of his own but would take
on goodness from the Lord as a part of himself. Then as soon as evil
seeped in, he would think about it as coming from the evil spirits
around him, and when he thought that, angels would turn it aside and
force it back. For angels have influence in what someone knows and
believes, but not in what someone does not know and does not believe.
They can influence only what is a person's own. When someone takes on something evil as a part of himself, he acquires the sphere of that evil. Spirits from hell who enjoy that same evil attach themselves to the sphere, since like joins like. The spiritual sphere around a person in this life or around a spirit is what spreads out from his loves. It tells what he is like from a distance. In the other life, everyone gets together according to spheres, even communities. And they also separate by them, for opposite spheres collide and repel each other. So all the spheres of evil loves are in hell, and all the spheres of good love are in heaven—in other words, those who are in these spheres. [Arcana Coelestia 6206]
Read the next [7th] chapter "The mechanics of temptation"
Or go
to the previous [5th] chapter
"Inward, rational and
worldly"
[1] Where temptations come from
Appendix |
