8164. 'And they said to Moses' means the climax of the temptation, and despair. This is clear from the words that follow, for 'they said' includes them. The fact that the words which follow are words uttered in temptation when this has reached its climax and when there is despair is self-evident. The term 'despair' is used because this is usually the final phase or comes within the final phase of spiritual temptations, 1787, 2694, 5279, 5280, 7147, 7155, 7166. Since there are few at the present day who undergo spiritual temptations and therefore the nature of them is unknown, let something more be said about them. There are spiritual temptations or trials and there are natural temptations or trials. Spiritual temptations belong to the internal man, whereas natural trials belong to the external man. Spiritual temptations sometimes occur separately from natural trials, at other times together with them. They are natural trials when a person suffers in ways that affect his physical body, position in society, and wealth, in short his natural life, that is, the kinds of sufferings he undergoes when he is sick, unfortunate, persecuted, wrongly punished, and so on. Anxious feelings in such circumstances are what are meant by natural trials. But these trials contribute nothing whatever to the person's spiritual life; nor should they be called trials or temptations but miseries. For they arise as a result of harm done to his natural life, which is the life of self-love and love of the world. Criminals sometimes endure such miseries; and the more that they love self and the world, and so depend on these for their life, the greater is their misery and anguish.

[2] But spiritual temptations belong to the internal man; they are attacks made on his spiritual life. Anxious feelings in this case do not exist on account of any loss in their natural life, but on account of the loss of faith and charity, and consequently of salvation. Natural trials are often the means by which those spiritual temptations come about. For if a person is suffering natural trials - that is to say, sickness, sorrow, loss of wealth or position, and so on - and during them comes to think of the Lord's help, His Providence, and the state of the wicked, in that they boast and rejoice when the good suffer and endure various miseries and losses, then spiritual temptation is bound up with natural trial. Such was the Lord's final temptation, in Gethsemane, and when He endured the Cross, which was the severest of all. From all this one may see what natural trial is and what spiritual temptation is. A third kind of temptation or trial also exists, which is anxiety and depression caused for the most part by physical or mental infirmity. Such anxiety may involve some degree of spiritual temptation or it may not involve any at all.

7122. 'And pay no attention to lying words' means to keep them from turning towards truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'paying attention to' as turning towards; and from the meaning of 'lying words', when the expression is used by those steeped in falsities, as truths, since those steeped in falsities call truths falsities, thus 'lying words', while they call falsities truths. For theirs is a contrary attitude of mind. These verses have now described in the internal sense the molestation of the upright in the next life by falsities, and have also disclosed the way in which those people are molested. That molestation is allowed to take place to the end that falsities may be removed and truths instilled, which cannot possibly be accomplished without molestation. For after death there clings to a person, lodged in [both] his memories, ¹ all the thought he had in the world, all his intentions, all his will, all that he said, and all that he did. Nothing is wiped out; rather, these things have become imprinted in his memories, especially his interior memory, which is strictly speaking the memory belonging to his spirit, see 2469, 2470, 2474, 2475. And because this is so, things which are foul and disgusting, as well as evils and falsities, inevitably cling to the person as a result of his life in the world and cause the truths which he has also learned and the forms of good which he has adopted to be hidden from view.

[2] Truths and forms of good when amid those kinds of things cannot come into view. Therefore before truths and forms of good can be seen, thus before the person can enter into association with those in heaven, it is necessary for those evils and falsities to be revealed, in order that he may see them and know them for what they are, and thereby learn what truth is and what good is. This cannot possibly be accomplished without conflict with the evils and falsities present in him. An actual conflict takes place in which evil spirits stir up falsities and evils, but angels excuse them, if the person's end in view has been good, and instill truths. It feels to him as though this were going on within himself, as with a person's experience of temptation. This too is felt to be altogether something going on within himself, when in fact it is a conflict taking place between angels and evil spirits outside him. On this subject, see 3927, 4249, 4307, 5036, 6657. Much experience has enabled me to have definite knowledge of the truth of all this. These things have been stated in order that people may know why molestation by falsities happens to those who belong to the spiritual Church, as described in the internal sense of these verses and also those that follow.

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