12. The Lord Came into the World to Subdue the Hells and to Glorify His Human Nature; the Suffering on the Cross Was the Last Battle by Which He Completely Defeated the Hells and Completely Glorified His Human Nature.

It is common knowledge in the church that the Lord conquered death, which means hell, and that afterward he ascended into heaven in glory. What the church does not know, though, is that the Lord conquered death or hell by means of battles that are tests, and in so doing also glorified his human nature; and that his suffering on the cross was the last battle or trial by which he effected the conquest and glorification.

This is treated of in many passages in the prophets and David, but not so frequently in the Gospels. In the Gospels the trials that he was subject to from his childhood are summed up in his trials in the wilderness, in his later trials by the Devil, and in the final trials he suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross.

On his trials in the wilderness and later by the Devil, see Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13. By these, however, are meant all his trials, even to the last. He did not disclose anything more about them to his disciples, for it says in Isaiah,

He was oppressed, but did not open his mouth, like a lamb being led to slaughter. Like a sheep before its shearers he kept silence and did not open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

On his trials in Gethsemane, see Matthew 26:36-44, Mark 14:32-41, and Luke 22:39-46; and on his trials on the cross, see Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-38, Luke 23:33-49, and John 19:17-37. Trials are nothing more nor less than battles against the hells. On the trials or battles of the Lord, see the booklet The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Teachings (published in London) 201 and 302; and on trials in general see of the same work 187-200.