198. How and when temptations take place.

Spiritual combats chiefly take place by the truths of faith (n. 8962). Truth is the first of combat (n. 1685). The men of the spiritual church are tempted as to the truths of faith, wherefore with them the combat is by truths; but the men of the celestial church are tempted as to the goods of love, wherefore with them the combat is by goods (n. 1668, 8963). Those who are of the spiritual church, for the most part, do not combat from genuine truths, but from such as they believe to be true from the doctrinals of their church; which doctrinals however ought to be such, as to be capable of being conjoined with good (n. 6765).

Whoever is regenerated must undergo temptations, and he cannot be regenerated without them (n. 5036, 8403); and temptations therefore are necessary (n. 7090). The man who is regenerating comes into temptations, when evil endeavors to gain dominion over good, and the natural man over the spiritual man (n. 6657, 8961). And he comes into them when good ought to have the precedence (n. 4248-4249, 4256, 8962-8963). They who are regenerated, are first let into a state of tranquillity, then into temptations, and afterwards return into a state of tranquillity of peace, which is the end (n. 3696[1-5]).

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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