4274. 'And a man wrestled with him' means temptation that concerns truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'wrestling' as temptation. Temptation itself 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 what temptation is, because few at the present day undergo any temptation; 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.

4256. 'Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him' means the state of truth in relation to good, in which truth has made itself first. This becomes clear from what has been stated in various places above, especially from those which deal with the birthright which Jacob acquired to himself by means of the lentil pottage and with the blessing which he took from Esau by the use of deceit. What is represented and meant by those two incidents may be seen in the places dealing with them, where it is shown that truth seems to occupy the first position when a person is being regenerated and good the second, but that in reality good occupies the first and truth the second, as is plainly so once he has been regenerated. These matters are dealt with in 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247. When therefore order is being turned around and good plainly takes up the first position, that is, when it starts to have dominion over truth, the natural man experiences fear and distress, 4249, and also enters into temptations.

[2] The reason for this is that when truth occupied the first position, that is, when it seemed to itself to have dominion over good, falsities intermingled themselves. For truth is not able to see from itself whether it is the truth, but has to do so from good; and where falsities exist so does fear when good draws near. Furthermore all who are governed by good start to experience fear when falsities are seen in the light received from good, for they fear falsities and want to have them rooted out. But they cannot be rooted out if they are well established, except by Divine means provided by the Lord. This explains why, following the experience of fear and distress, those who are to be regenerated enter into temptations too; for temptations are the Divine means by which falsities are removed. And this reason why a person who is being regenerated undergoes spiritual temptations is a most profound one. Yet it is not seen at all by the person himself because it lies beyond his range of discernment, as does everything which stirs, pricks, and torments his conscience.