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.

761. It has been stated already that spiritual temptation when it takes place in someone is a conflict between the evil spirits and the angels residing with that person, and that he ordinarily feels that conflict in his conscience. As regards such conflict it should be recognized in addition that the angels are protecting man constantly and are warding off the evils that evil spirits direct against him. They protect even the falsities and the evils with a person, for they are fully aware of where the person's falsities and evils come from - from evil spirits and genii. Man in no sense produces any falsity and evil from himself. Instead it is the evil spirits residing with him who produce them, and as they do so they also convince him that these originate in himself. Such is the nature of their wickedness. And what is more, the moment they instill this into him and convince him, they also accuse and condemn him. This I can confirm from a multitude of experiences. Anyone who has no faith in the Lord is incapable of being enlightened in the matter; he inevitably believes that an evil is from himself. Consequently he makes the evil his own and becomes like those evil spirits residing with him. Such is the situation with man. And as the angels are aware of it they protect even a person's falsities and evils while he is undergoing the temptations that are part of regeneration. Otherwise he would go under, for with man there is nothing but evil and derivative falsity, so that he is just a heap and conglomeration of evils and derivative falsities.