Swedenborg.ca | Temptations Online Book | Spiritual temptations Introduction

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The Word declares that people will be judged by what they have done, or their works. This means that they will be judged by their thoughts and intentions, for these are in what people do just the way their souls are in their bodies.

Arcana Coelestia 9824

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What someone intends and therefore thinks comes out in its unique physical effect—in his speech or in his action, for example. This shows that the whole person is characterized by his intentions.

Arcana Coelestia 10076

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People cannot be reformed unless they have freedom, because they are born with all kinds of evil propensities that have to be removed in order for them to be saved, and these cannot be removed unless a person sees them in himself, acknowledges them, rejects them, and at last turns away from them.

Heaven and Hell 598

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The purpose of this on-line presentation of quotations from the Writings of the New Christian Church is to show that temptation is more than just the enticement to do or think wrong that we notice when temptations strike. Temptation is the active interference of hell in our personal lives, through our weakest point, the vices that we love the most and expend the most effort to deny or excuse.

The quotations show an altogether new picture of what goes on in hell and heaven as someone struggles with temptations—the cunning powers of hell and the Lord's on-going participation in our struggles.

But where does this information come from, and how has it, thanks to God, reached us? How have such disclosures been made possible, and who was the Lord's instrument for this great purpose?

Emanuel Swedenborg, from whose works the quotations come, was by far the greatest and most comprehensive Revelator ever to be used by the Lord to bring to mankind Divine revelations and spiritual truths. The books containing these great teachings are known to many as "the Writings" of the New Church, and although first given to the world more than two hundred years ago, they are as inspiring and relevant today as if they had just been written. This is because, coming directly from the Lord through the pen of Swedenborg, they are ageless and as such have a perpetual appeal to every generation.

The Lord permitted Swedenborg to witness and describe in minute detail, over a period of nearly thirty years, life in heaven, hell, and the spiritual world in general, while he was still in this earthly life. Remarkable as that may seem, anyone who has read substantially in the Writings with an open mind can testify that this is not to be confused with spiritualism or occult practices of any kind. There turns out to be nothing eerie about it.

Swedenborg's greatest work, Arcana Coelestia, a title which might be translated "What you don't know about heaven," or perhaps "heavenly secrets," discloses in twelve volumes the spiritual or internal meaning of Genesis and Exodus as the story of every human being's spiritual birth and rebirth. As such, it of course includes numerous very profound revelations, not the least a thorough description of what causes temptations, why they happen, what they accomplish, and how we can cooperate with the Lord as He triumphs over them on our behalf.

The interested reader is directed to a few books which give a comprehensive description of this great man, Swedenborg, his years of preparation, and what has been accomplished through him by the Lord. These books are Swedenborg, Life and Teaching, by George Trowbridge; The Swedenborg Epic, by C. 0. Sigstedt; and The Essential Swedenborg, by Sigfried Synnestvedt.

In reading the Writings, one quickly learns that people live one life on earth, during which time they make their own choice by the life they live, as to whether they will go to heaven or hell after physical death. There their life continues to eternity with no discernable difference, but in a spiritual body, not in a physical body.

There are a few distinctive concepts that one should have in mind when reading what follows about temptation. One is that the term temptation does not refer so much to the element of enticement, as mentioned above, but more to the element of trial and choice in our lives. Another distinctive concept is that regeneration or rebirth is a life-long process, rather than a matter of vicarious atonement. Rebirth is a gift from the Lord, given as people make their day-by-day choices between good with its truthfulness, and evil with its self-justifying lies. Thirdly, the term charity refers to loving other people rather than to isolated benevolent acts. And finally, when the term innocence comes up, it means something more like integrity than lack of experience of evil. Someone who has been through the hell of evil ways and has been reborn through temptations, hard choices, and then right living, is innocent.

This presentation is divided into twelve sections, unified by the subject of temptation and following a logical progression, but each section is free-standing in the sense that knowledge of one section is not absolutely vital to understanding another section, A certain amount of repetition will therefore be noticed, but the reader who chooses to browse rather than to work systematically through the sections will be at no insurmountable disadvantage.

The numbers at the ends of the excerpted passages refer to the numbered paragraphs of Arcana Coelestia (AC), or of other books of the Writings as indicated (see Appendix). Swedenborg’s method was to number paragraphs independently of page numbers, and the practice has been followed in virtually all subsequent editions and translations of his works.

It is well to be aware of what we are up against in temptation and to see how victory is possible through the Lord, whose great love and mercy is continually operating in many different ways, leading us from evil to good. We have our own part to play in this, by seeing our own particular evils, avoiding them with determination, and praying to the Lord for victory over them. That such victories are possible, the quotations which now follow will show.