4307. In the internal historical sense 'Jacob asked and said, Tell me, I pray, your name' means evil spirits. This becomes clear from many connections in this sense, in which these words and those that follow have reference to the descendants of Jacob; for the meaning in the internal sense depends on the specific subject under discussion. For not good spirits but evil ones are meant by him who wrestled with Jacob, as becomes clear from the consideration that 'wrestling' means temptation, 3927, 3928, 4274; and no temptation is ever carried out by good spirits, only by evil ones. For temptation consists in the activation of the evil and falsity residing with a person, 741, 751, 761, 1820, 4249, 4299. Good spirits and angels never activate evils and falsities but defend a person against them and turn them to good; for good spirits are led by the Lord, and from the Lord nothing except holy good and holy truth ever proceeds. The Lord does not tempt anyone, as is well known from teaching accepted in the Church; see also 1875, 2768. From this and also from the fact that the descendants of Jacob gave in to every temptation not only in the desert but also after that, it is evident that they were not good spirits but evil ones who are meant by him who wrestled with Jacob. What is more, the nation meant by 'Jacob' here was not governed by any spiritual or celestial love, only by bodily and worldly love, 4281, 4288-4290, 4293. The spirits present with any people depend on the loves governing those people, good spirits and angels being present with those who are governed by spiritual or celestial love, evil spirits with those who are governed solely by bodily or worldly love. So true is this that anyone can know which kind of spirits are present with him merely by noting the nature of his own loves, or what amounts to the same, the nature of his ends in view, since everyone has that which he loves as his end in view.

[2] The reason the one who wrestled with him called himself 'God' is Jacob's own belief that he was. In this he was like his descendants who believed unceasingly that Jehovah was present in their holy external observances, when in fact Jehovah was present solely in what these represented, as will be clear from what follows below. They also believed that Jehovah led them into temptations, was the author of all evil, and was full of anger and fury whenever they were punished. It is because they believed He was like this that such descriptions of Him appear in the Word, when in actual fact Jehovah never leads anyone into temptations, is never the author of anything evil, and is never full of anger, still less of fury, see 223, 245, 592, 696, 1093, 1683, 1874, 1875, 2395, 3605, 3607, 3614. This also explains why the one who wrestled with Jacob was unwilling to reveal his name. The reason why in the internal spiritual sense the one who wrestled with Jacob is used to mean the angelic heaven, 4295, is that the Lord, who in the highest sense is there represented by 'Jacob', allowed even angels to enter in and tempt Him, and that the angels were in that case left alone to their proprium, as has been shown in the paragraph just referred to.

4299. 'For I have seen God face to face, and my soul is delivered' means that He suffered the severest temptations, seemingly attributable to the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing God' as going closer to Him by means of interior things, that is to say, by means of goods and truths, and consequently as presence, dealt with in 4198; and from the meaning of 'the face' as interior things, dealt with in 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, and so as thoughts and affections, for affections and thoughts are interior things because they belong to the disposition and mind (animus et mens) and reveal themselves in the face; and from the meaning of 'my soul is delivered' as suffering God's presence. The fact that all these words mean that He suffered the severest temptations seemingly attributable to the Divine, cannot be seen from anything else than the immediate causes and the remote causes of temptations. The evils and falsities present with a person which lead him into temptations, and therefore the evil spirits and genii who instill them are the immediate causes, 4249. Nevertheless, no one can be tempted, that is, undergo any spiritual temptation, except him who has a conscience. Indeed spiritual temptation is nothing else than the torture of a person's conscience, and consequently none can be tempted but those who are governed by celestial and spiritual good. For the latter have conscience, but all others do not; indeed they do not even know what conscience is.

[2] Conscience is a new will and a new understanding received from the Lord, and so is the Lord's presence with a person, a presence which becomes all the closer the more the person is stirred by the affection for good or for truth. If the closeness of the Lord's presence exceeds the amount of affection for good or for truth in him, he enters into temptation. The reason why is that the evils and falsities which reside with him, and which are moderated by the goods and truths residing with him, cannot suffer that closer presence. This becomes clear from the following things that happen in the next life: Evil spirits cannot by any means move towards any heavenly community without starting to feel distress and torment; also, evil spirits cannot stand angels looking at them because they are instantly tormented and collapse unconscious. And in addition there is the fact that hell is remote from heaven, for the reason that it cannot suffer heaven, that is, the Lord's presence in heaven. This explains why in the Word it is said in reference to evil spirits,

Then they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. Luke 23:30.

And elsewhere,

They will say to the mountains and rocks, Rush down on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne. Revelation 6:16.

Also the sphere of cloud and thick darkness which emanates from the evils and falsities of those in hell looks like a mountain or rock beneath which they are hidden, see 1265, 1267, 1270.

[3] From these considerations it can now be recognized that 'I have seen God face to face and my soul is delivered' means the severest temptations, seemingly attributable to the Divine. Temptations and torments do seem to be attributable to the Divine because they arise, as has been stated, through the Lord's Divine presence. Yet they do not originate in the Divine or the Lord but in the evils and falsities residing with the person who is being tempted or tormented. From the Lord nothing else proceeds but a holiness which is good and true and merciful, and it is this holiness - which is good, true, and merciful - that those subject to evils and falsities cannot suffer; for such evils and falsities are opposite or contrary to it. Evils, falsities, and lack of mercy are bent all the time on doing violence to those qualities belonging to holiness; and in the measure they assail these, they themselves suffer torment. And when they assail them and consequently suffer torment they imagine that it is the Divine who torments them. These are the considerations meant by 'seemingly attributable to the Divine'.

[4] It was well known to the ancients that no one can see Jehovah face to face and live, and from them knowledge of the same came down to the descendants of Jacob. This explains why they were so glad when they saw any angel and remained alive, as in the Book of Judges,

Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah, therefore Gideon said, O Lord Jehovih! Inasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said to him, Peace be to you; do not fear, for you will not die. Judges 6:22-23.

In the same book, Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, for we have seen God. Judges 13:22.

And in Moses, Jehovah said to Moses, You cannot see My face, for no man will see Me and live. Exodus 33:20.

[5] The reason why it is said of Moses that he spoke to Jehovah face to face, Exodus 33:11, and that Jehovah knew him face to face, Deuteronomy 34:10, is that He showed Himself to him in a human form suited to his reception, which was an external form - as a bearded old man sitting with him, as I have learned from angels. For the same reason the Jews had no other idea of Jehovah than of one who was very old with a long white beard, who was better able to perform miracles than other gods. They did not have the idea of His being the most holy because they did not know what holiness was, let alone that they could not in any way see the holiness proceeding from Him because they were governed by bodily and earthly love devoid of internal holiness, 4289, 4293.