7193. 'And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Shaddai' means the temptations which the Lord underwent in His Human and the temptations that faithful believers undergo, and the subsequent periods of consolation. This is clear from the meaning of 'appearing' or 'being seen', when used in reference to Jehovah, as perception from the Divine, dealt with in 2150, 3764, 4567, 5400; and from the representation of 'Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' as the Lord in respect of the Divine itself and the Divine Human, dealt with in 6804, 6847. But here, since Jehovah is the speaker and says that He had appeared to them, the Lord in respect of the Human, that is, the Human before it had been made Divine, is meant, 'Abraham' meaning the celestial degree within that Human, 'Isaac' the spiritual degree, and 'Jacob' the natural degree.

[2] The reason why the Lord in respect of the Human, not the Divine itself and the Divine Human, is meant here by these three is that temptations are being referred to, and the Lord's Human before it was made Divine was able to be tempted, but not the Divine Human, still less the Divine itself; for the Divine is beyond any kind of temptation. Those in hell who are tempters cannot approach even celestial angels, for when they do approach them they are seized by a feeling of dread and anguish, and feel as if they were being deprived of air. Since they cannot approach celestial angels, because of the Divine presence among those angels, far less can they approach the Divine who is infinitely higher than the angelic level. From all this it may be recognized that the Lord took infirm humanity from His mother in order that He might undergo temptation, and by means of temptations might restore to order everything in heaven and in hell, and at the same time glorify His human, that is, make it Divine.

[3] For the meaning of 'God Shaddai' as temptations and subsequent periods of consolation, see 1992, 3667, 4572, 5628. The expression 'subsequent periods of consolation' is used because it is in keeping with Divine order that feelings of grief which temptations bring should be followed by those of comfort, just as evening and night are followed by morning and the dawn. These are also corresponding conditions, for there are alternations of states in the next life, just as there are alternations of times of day in the world. States involving temptations and molestations, and also states involving desolations, constitute evening and night in that life, while states which are periods of consolation and festivity constitute morning and dawn there. The reason why the same words, the words 'I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob', also mean the temptations that faithful believers undergo, and subsequent periods of consolation, is that a person's regeneration, which is effected by means of temptations, is an image of the Lord's glorification, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688, and therefore the things in the Word which relate in the highest sense to the Lord relate in the comparable internal sense to faithful believers.

3212. 'And Isaac was comforted after [the death of] his mother' means a new state. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'receiving comfort' as a new state, for a state of comfort is a new state, which, following the previous one, is meant by 'after his mother'. The new state is a state of glorification of the Rational; already so as to good, it now became glorified as to truth. The Rational was glorified when it became Divine as regards both good and truth.

[2] As to the Human the Lord was made new, that is, was glorified, or what amounts to the same, was made Divine; but nobody can possibly grasp this, nor thus believe it, who is immersed in worldly and bodily loves. He has no knowledge at all of what spiritual or celestial is, and does not even wish to know. But anyone who is not immersed in worldly and bodily loves can perceive it, for he believes that the Lord is one with the Father, that everything holy comes from Him, and consequently that He is Divine even as regards the Human. And anyone who believes this perceives it in his own way.

[3] The state of the Lord's glorification can be grasped to some extent from the state of man's regeneration, for man's regeneration is an image of the Lord's glorification, 3043, 3138. When a person is being regenerated he becomes completely different from before and is made new. Once he has been regenerated therefore he is called one who has been born again and created anew. At that point a person's face and speech remain the same, but not so his mind. Once he is regenerate his mind is open towards heaven, and love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, together with faith, reside in it. It is the mind that makes him a person who is different and new. Change of state cannot be discerned in a person's body, only in his spirit. The body is merely the covering for his spirit. When he lays aside the former his spirit is seen, and indeed in a form altogether different if he has been regenerated. In this case it is a visible form of love and charity that possesses beauty beyond description, 553, replacing the previous form, which had been a visible form of hatred and cruelty possessing ugliness also beyond description. From this it may become clear what a regenerate person is, that is, one born again or created anew, namely one who is altogether different from before and who is new.

[4] From this image one can have some conception of the Lord's glorification. He was not regenerated as man is but was made Divine, being made so from Divine love itself, for He was made Divine love itself. The nature of His form at that time was shown to Peter, James, and John when they were allowed to see Him not with their physical eyes but with those of the spirit, that is to say, on the occasion when His face shone like the sun, Matthew 17:2. This was His Divine Human, as is clear from the voice which at that time declared from the cloud, 'This is My beloved Son', Matthew 17:5 - 'the Son' being the Divine Human, see 2628.