Most of us would welcome a life without temptation. It would be
so easy to be good!
According to Swedenborg, however, a life without temptation would actually guarantee the opposite: It would leave us mired in evil and bound for hell. In fact, Swedenborg says that temptation is the only way we can root out our evils and let the Lord into our hearts, so we should recognize it as an opportunity even if we can’t exactly embrace it as a good time.
The reasoning behind this starts with the idea that we are what we love; that what we care about actually determines our character and defines our identity. That might sound odd at first, but consider: If you say that you “know” someone, you’re really talking about an awareness of what they love, not an awareness of all their thoughts. What we love is who we are.
And from the beginning of our lives, what we love is highly self-centered. Much as we love babies for their innocence, they can’t even form the concept of putting someone else’s needs first. And while children and teenagers learn to be kind and considerate, that kindness is more in their external levels – inside they are busy with the work of becoming themselves, and that remains a self-involved process.
Somewhere between there and the end of life, we’re called on to change completely, setting our self-interest aside and replacing it with a genuine love for others and love for the Lord. That, however, involves uprooting the things we love most. That’s really hard, and has to be done in many, many steps.
The key element working for us is the mind: from our knowledge and thoughts we can know what’s right even when we don’t want it. In fact, from our knowledge and thoughts we can actually want to be better people, while in our hearts we still want to wallow in those attractive evils.
Elevating the mind this way creates a conflict between “the person I want to become” and “the person I am,” between “what I want” and “what I want to want” (sort of like, “I want to be craving celery, but I’m really craving cookies”). And since the hells want to keep you enslaved by cookies, they go on the attack, using both blunt desire and twisted logic and argument to try to break you down.
Key to the hells’ attack is the fact that what we want forms our identity; giving up each evil thing we crave feels like sacrificing a little part of who we are. But the Lord’s promise is this: If we actually do it, stick through it and let that piece of ourselves be sacrificed, he will eventually replace it with the desire for something good, pure and loving.
An interesting twist is that if we tried to do this all at once, we actually would lose our identity, destroying every love we have at once. This may sound odd – wouldn’t we want such a transformation? – but imagine someone you think of as thoroughly evil: Hitler, perhaps, or Caligula, or Vlad Dracula. Then imagine removing, in one swipe, all their evil desires. Would we even recognize them anymore? Would they be themselves? Would they be anything?
But imagine a child’s stuffed bear, loved so much that it loses an arm. You replace the arm, and then it is loved so much that it loses the other arm. And then the legs, and the head, all replaced one at a time. Finally the body wears through and you replace that too. So what you have is the same bear, but with every part replaced. That’s kind of how the Lord works on us: Through a lifelong series of temptations we can root out and replace one little bit at a time until we emerge all-new and ready for heaven while still being who we are.
It’s clear, then, how crucial a role temptation plays. If we never had that conflict between what we want to be in our minds and what we are in our hearts, the evil would just stay in our hearts untouched. We have to take on those battles, one by one over a lifetime, to become the people the Lord wishes us to be.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4274
'And a man wrestled with him' means temptationthat concerns truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'wrestling' as temptation.Temptationitself is nothing other than a wrestling or conflict, for truth is attacked by the evil spirits and defended by the angels who are present with a person. And his awareness of that conflict taking place within himself is temptation, 741, 757, 761, 1661, 3927, 4249, 4256. But no temptation can arise unless the good of truth, that is, the love or affection for truth, exists in him. For anyone who does not love the truth he knows, or is not affected by it, does not trouble about it at all, whereas anyone who does love it is worried lest it should suffer harm. Nothing else constitutes the life in a person's understanding than that which he believes to be the truth, and nothing else the life of his will than that which, he has become convinced, is good. This being so, when that which he believes to be the truth is attacked the life of his understanding is attacked; and when that which, he has become convinced, is good is attacked the life of his will is attacked. And therefore when a person is being tempted his life is under attack.
[2] The reason why the conflict at first concerns truth or is about truth is that truth is what a person loves first. That which anyone loves is the object of evil spirits' attack, but once he starts to love good more than truth, which takes place when order is being turned around, the temptation of him concerns good. But few know whattemptation is, because few at the present day undergo anytemptation; for none are able to be tempted except those who are governed by the good of faith, that is, by charity towards the neighbour. If those who are not governed by such charity experienced temptation they would instantly give way; and in those who give way evil becomes more firmly established and falsity more firmly believed, because in their case the evil spirits with whom they are thereby associated are victorious. This is the reason why at the present day few are allowed to enter into any spiritual temptation, but only into some natural forms of distress in order that they may be held back by means of them from self-love and love of the world into which they would otherwise plunge without any restraint.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 755
That 'the six hundredth year, the second month, and the seventeenth day' means the second state of temptationfollows from what has been stated so far, for verse 6 down to this present verse 11 has dealt with the first state of temptation, which was temptationinvolving things of his understanding. Now however the second state is dealt with, namely temptationinvolving things of the will. This is the reason why his age is repeated. Previously it was said that 'he was a son of six hundred years', here that the Flood took place in 'the six hundredth year of his life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day'. No one would ever imagine that Noah's age, worked out to the exact year, month, and day, is used to mean a state of temptationinvolving things of the will. Yet, as has been stated, this was how the most ancient people spoke and wrote. And they found their chief delight in being able to work out periods of time and names and then to organize them into a semblance of history. It was in this that their wisdom consisted.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 730
'Forty days and nights' means the duration of temptation. This is quite clear from the Word of the Lord. The reason 'forty' means the duration of temptationis the fact that the Lord allowed Himself to be tempted for forty days, as is clear in Matt. 4:1, 2; Luke 4:2; Mark 1:13. And because every single requirement in the Jewish Church and in all other representative Churches before the Lord's Coming was merely a type and shadow of Him, so too were forty days and nights. In general they represented and meant all temptation, and in particular however long its duration. And since anyone undergoingtemptationexperiences vastation of all things that belong to the proprium and of things that are bodily - for things of the proprium and those that are bodily have to die, doing so indeed through conflict and temptation, before he is reborn a new man, that is, before he becomes spiritual and celestial - 'forty days and nights' therefore also means the duration of vastation. The same applies here where the subject is both the temptation of the member of the new Church called Noah and also the destruction of those who lived before the Flood.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 739
'A flood of waters' means the onset of temptation. This is clear from the fact that the temptationdealt with here regards things of the understanding, which temptation, as has been stated, comes first and is mild. Consequently it is called 'a flood of waters' and not simply a flood, as in verse 17 below. For the primary meaning of 'waters' is man's spiritual things, matters of faith in the understanding, and also their opposites, which are falsities, as may be confirmed from so many places in the Word.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8403
'And all the assembly of the children of Israel grumbled' means grief and [therefore] complaint on account of the severity of thetemptation. This is clear from the meaning of 'grumbling' as grief caused by the bitterness of the temptation, and complaint, dealt with in 8351, 'the assembly of the children of Israel' being those who belong to the spiritual Church, as above in 8398. The subject here is a third temptation, which arises because there is a lack of delight and good. This temptationfollows the previous one in the series, which arose because there was a lack of truth.
[2] People uninformed about human regeneration suppose that a person can be regenerated without temptation, and some that he has been regenerated after he has undergone a single temptation. But let it be known that no one can be regenerated without temptation, and that he suffers very many temptations, following one after another. The reason for this is that regeneration takes place to the end that the life of the old man may die and a new, heavenly life may be instilled. From this one may recognize that conflict is altogether inevitable; for the life of the old man stands its ground and refuses to be snuffed out, and the life of the new man cannot enter except where the life of the old has been snuffed out. From this it is evident that fierce conflict takes place between mutually hostile sides, since each is fighting for its life.
[3] Anyone thinking with enlightened reason can see and perceive from all this that a person cannot be regenerated without conflict, that is, without spiritual temptation, and also that a person is not regenerated by undergoing a single temptation, only by undergoing very many of them. For there are numerous kinds of evil that have formed the delight of the former life, that is, have constituted the old life. All those evils cannot be subdued on one occasion and all together. They cling stubbornly to the person, for they become deeply rooted in his forebears going back many centuries and are for that reason innate in him. They have also been made stronger since early childhood by the evils of his own doing. All these evils are diametrically opposed to the heavenly good that is to be instilled and that must constitute the new life.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2334
'And they said, No' means the doubting which is usually present during temptation. This becomes clear from their saying 'No' but nevertheless entering his house. All temptationentails feelings of doubt regarding the Lord's presence and mercy, regarding salvation, and other things such as these; for people who experience temptationsuffer mental distress, even to the point of despair, in which state they are kept for the most part so that at length they may be confirmed in the conviction that all things are subject to the Lord's mercy, that they are saved through Him alone, and that with themselves there is nothing but evil - convictions in which they are strengthened through conflicts in which they are victorious. Remaining from temptationafter this is over, there are further states of truth and good to which their thoughts - which would otherwise dart off into interests that are insane and draw the mind away into an aversion to what is true and good - can subsequently be turned to the Lord.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5246
'And they hurried him out of the pit' means a hasty casting aside of such things as, belonging to a state of temptation, were a hindrance, and a consequent change that was made. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pit' as a state in which vastation and alsotemptationtake place, dealt with in 4728, 4744, 5038; and from the meaning of 'hurrying him out of it' as a hasty casting aside of such things as belong to this - to a state of temptation. For as 'the pit' describes a state of temptation, 'hurrying someone out of it' describes the removal of such things as belong to that state, consequently the casting aside of them, as is evident from what follows next - he cast aside what belonged to the pit, that is, he clipped [his hair and beard] and changed his clothes.
[2] In comparison with the state that follows it, a state in whichtemptation takes place is like conditions in a pit or prison - squalid and unclean. For when a person undergoes temptation unclean spirits are near him and round about him. They activate the evils and falsities residing with him; and they also confine him to these, increasing them to the point where he reaches despair. So it is that the person dwells at such times amid uncleanness and squalor; and when a visual presentation of that state is made in the next life (for there they can present visually the nature of any spiritual state) it is seen as a cloud issuing from filthy places. And one also smells the stench emanating from the same source. A sphere such as this is what surrounds someone undergoing temptation and also someone undergoing vastation, that is, one who is in the pit on the lower earth, dealt with in 4728.
[3] But when the state involving temptation comes to an end the cloud is dispersed and the air is made clear. The reason this happens is that temptations are the means by which the evils and falsities residing with a person are exposed and removed, the cloud presenting itself while they are being exposed, the clear air when they are being removed. The change that takes place in that state is also meant by Joseph clipping [his hair and beard] and changing his clothes.
[4] One may also compare the state in which temptation takes place to a person's condition when he falls among robbers. When he gets away his hair is dishevelled, his face is rough, and his clothes are torn. If he yields in temptation he remains in that state; but if he overcomes in temptation his condition is happy and peaceful once he has attended to his face, combed his hair, and changed his clothes. What is more, there are hellish spirits and genii who, behaving at such times like robbers, surround and attack him, and so subject him to temptations. From all this it is now evident that 'they hurried him out of the pit' means a hasty casting aside of such things as, belonging to a state of temptation, were a hindrance, and a consequent change that was made.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 757
'The floodgates of heaven were opened' means the full extent oftemptationinvolving things of the understanding. This too is clear from what is said above. Temptationinvolving things of the will, which are evil desires, can never be separated from temptationinvolving those of the understanding. If it were separated, there would be no temptation at all but a deluge like that which occurs with those who lead lives amid the fires of evil desires, in which, like spirits of hell, they feel the delights of their lives. 'The floodgates of heaven' are so called from the deluge of falsities or reasonings, concerning which the following is also said in Isaiah,
He who is fleeing at the sound of the terror will fall into the pit; and he who is climbing out of the middle of the pit will be caught in the snare, for the floodgates from on high have been opened and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. Isa. 24:18.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1690
That 'the rest fled to the mountain' means that it did not happen to all of them is clear without explanation from the fact that they had now become 'the rest', who fled away. The subject in the internal sense is the temptations which the Lord underwent in childhood, about which nothing is recorded in the New Testament Word. No temptations are recorded there apart from the temptationin the wilderness, or shortly after He came out of the wilderness, and the last temptationlater on in Gethsemane and after that. The fact that the Lord's life from earliest childhood right through to the last hour of His life in the world consisted in constant temptationand constant victory is clear from many places in the Old Testament Word; and the fact that it did not end with His temptation in the wilderness is clear from the following in Luke,
After the devil had ended every temptation he departed from Him for a time. Luke 4:13,
as well as from His undergoing temptations right through to His death on the Cross, and so to the last hour of His life in the world. From these considerations it is evident that the whole of the Lord's life in the world from earliest childhood consisted in constanttemptation and constant victory. The last was when on the Cross He prayed for His enemies, and so for all people in the whole world.
[2] In the part of the Word where the Lord's life is described - in the Gospels - no other temptation, apart from the last, is mentioned than His temptation in the wilderness. More than this was not disclosed to the disciples; and the things which were disclosed seem in the sense of the letter so slight as to amount to scarcely anything at all. For the things that are said, and the replies that are given, do not seem to constitute any temptation at all; yet in fact His temptation in the wilderness was more severe than the human mind can possibly comprehend and believe. Nobody can know what temptation is except someone who has experienced it. The temptation that is recorded in Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13, incorporates in a summary form all temptations, namely this, that out of His love towards the whole human race He fought against self-love and love of the world, with which the hells were filled completely.
[3] All temptation is an attack against the love present in a person, the degree of temptation depending on the degree of that love. If love is not attacked there is no temptation. Destroying another person's love is destroying his very life, for his love is his life. The Lord's life was love towards the whole human race; indeed it was so great and of such a nature as to be nothing other than pure love. Against this life of His, temptations were directed constantly, and this was happening, as has been stated, from earliest childhood through to His last hour in the world. The love that was the Lord's very life is meant by His being hungry and by the devil's saying,
If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. And Jesus answered, It is written that man will not live by bread alone but by every word of God. Luke 4:2-4; Matt. 4:2-4.
[4] That He fought against love of the world, or against all that constitutes love of the world, is meant by the devil's taking Him on to a high mountain and showing Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and saying,
To you I will give all this power and their glory, for it has been given to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship before me, it will all be yours. But answering him Jesus said, Get behind Me, satan! for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve. Luke 4:5-8; Matt. 4:8-10.
[5] That He fought against self-love, and all that constitutes self-love, is meant by these words,
The devil took Him into the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will give His angels charge regarding you, and on their hands they will bear you, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Matt. 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12.
Constant victory is meant by the statement that after temptationangels came and ministered to Him, Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13.
[6] To sum up, the Lord was attacked by all the hells from earliest childhood right through to the last hour of His life in the world. The hells were constantly overpowered, subdued, and vanquished by Him; and this He did solely out of love towards the whole human race. And because this love was not human but Divine, and because the intensity of the love determines that of the temptation, it becomes clear how severe His conflicts were, and on the part of the hells how fierce. That all this was indeed the case I know for sure.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2338
That 'he urged them strongly' means a state of temptationwhen a person overcomes does not become clear except to those who have experienced temptations. As has been stated, temptations involve feelings of doubt regarding the Lord's presence and mercy, and also regarding His salvation. The evil spirits who are present with man at such times and who are the cause of temptationdo all they can to infuse a negative outlook, but good spirits and angels from the Lord in every way disperse that doubting attitude, all the time preserving a feeling of hope and in the end strengthening an affirmative outlook. Consequently a person undergoing temptationhangs between a negative outlook and an affirmative outlook. Anyone who gives way in temptationremains in a doubting, and sinks into a negative, frame of mind, whereas one who overcomes still experiences feelings of doubt; yet he who allows himself to be filled with hope remains steadfastly in an affirmative outlook. Because man seems during such conflict to urge the Lord, especially through prayers, to be at hand, to take pity, to bring help, and to free from condemnation, this is described at this point where thetemptation of those who are becoming members of the Church is the subject. It is described by the angels first of all saying, No, they would spend the night in the street, but by Lot urging them strongly, so that they turned aside to him and came into his house.
Who (or What) is Swedenborg?
The ideas on this site are based on the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th-century Swedish scientist and theologian. Swedenborg claimed that his religious writings, the sole focus of the last three decades of his life, were done at the behest of the Lord himself, and constituted a revelation for a successor to the Christian Church.
In keeping with Swedenborg’s own statements, modern believers downplay his role as author, attributing the ideas to the Lord instead. For this reason they generally refer to Swedenborg’s theological works as “the Writings,” and some resist the label “Swedenborgian” as placing emphasis on the man rather than the message.
Since “the Writings” would be an unfamiliar term to new readers, we have elected to use the name “Swedenborg” as a label for those theological works, much as we might use “Isaiah” or “Matthew” to refer to books of the Bible. The intent, however, is not to attribute the ideas to Swedenborg, any more than we would attribute the divinity of the Bible to Isaiah the man or Matthew the man.
So when you read “according to Swedenborg” on this site, it’s really shorthand for “according to the theological works from the Lord through Swedenborg.” When you read “Swedenborg says,” it’s really shorthand for “the theological works of Swedenborg say.”