900. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours. That this signifies, that they shall have to fight no longer against evils and falsities, nor suffer infestation from them, is evident from the signification of, saith the Spirit, as denoting asseveration that it is true. For by "angel" is signified truth from the Lord; the same also is meant by "spirit"; and from the signification of labours, as denoting combats against evils and falsities, and also infestation from them, thus, temptations; of which we shall speak presently. Hence to rest from them, signifies, that they shall no longer be in them. It is evident, therefore, that by the Spirit saying, that they may rest from their labours, is signified, that it is true that they shall have to fight no longer against evils and falsities, nor suffer infestation from them.

In the preceding verse, the subject treated of is the temptations of those who live according to the Lord's precepts, and who acknowledge His Divine; therefore in this verse the consolations which follow spiritual temptations, are treated of. For, as was said above (n. 897), joys come into being after all spiritual temptations.

[2] The reason why by labours are meant temptations is, that temptations are labours of the soul, or spiritual labours. They are also meant by labour in Isaiah:

"Jehovah willed to bruise him, he weakened him; if he shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand; he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (53:10, 11).

These things are said of the Lord, who is treated of in the whole of that chapter. The Lord's temptations, which were most grievous, because they were endured against the hells, are described by, Jehovah willed to bruise him, He weakened him. For by temptations the loves of the proprium are broken, thus the body is bruised and weakened. If he shall make his soul an offering for sin, signifies, if he shall undergo temptations even unto death. He shall see his seed, signifies that Divine truth shall proceed from Him, seed denoting truth; and where it is said of the Lord, Divine truth. He shall prolong his days, signifies Divine good, which shall also proceed from Him. Long, and hence to prolong are said of goodness (see above, n. 629); and days signify states. And the will of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand, signifies that thus all things in general and particular, in the heavens and on the earth, shall be kept in Divine Order. Of the labour of his soul, signifies by temptations. He shall see, and shall be satisfied, signifies glorification. These things are signified by these words, in the highest sense, in which the Lord is treated of. But, in the relative sense, by the same words, the salvation of the human race, for which the Lord fought from Divine Love is described. It is said, if he shall make his soul an offering for sin, as if it were a matter of doubt that he would so make it.

[3] But this involves the same as that which He Himself says in John:

"I lay down my soul, and I take it again; no one taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my Father" (10:17, 18).

The mystery that lies hid in these words, only he can see who knows the nature of the temptations by which man is regenerated. For a man therein is preserved in his own freedom, from which it appears to him as if he fought from himself. In fact, in temptations a man has spiritual freedom more strongly than when not in them; for it is more interior. Unless he fought from it in temptations, he could not become spiritual; for all freedom is of love; a man therefore then fights from the love of truth, and consequently from the love of life everlasting. Thus and no otherwise is the internal opened, and a man regenerated. From these few things, it may in some degree be seen what these words of the Lord involve, that is, that He fought from His own freedom, and at last laid down His soul, in order that He might do all things from His own proper power, and consequently might become righteousness, from Himself; this He could not have become except by virtue of His freedom. Hence it is said, "I lay down my soul of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command have I received from my Father."

[4] Those who do not know this mystery, interpret these words like the Arians, saying that the Lord was not the actual, but the adopted, Son of God; thus, that He was adopted because He was willing to lay down His life, or undergo the death of the cross. They do not know that those words involve that He, by His own power, fought from His Human against the hells and overcame them, and by His own proper power glorified His Human, that is, united it to the very Divine in Himself, and by that means made it Divine; and this, had he not been left to Himself in absolute freedom as to the Human, could not have been accomplished. From these things it is now evident why it is said in Isaiah, "If he shall make his soul an offering for sin."

That freedom is that which belongs to the love and the will, and thence to the life of man, and that this appears to be, as it were, his own, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 141, 145). That a man must be in a state of freedom in order to be regenerated, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1937, 1947, 2876, 2881, 3145, 3158, 4031, 8700). That otherwise the love of good and truth cannot be implanted in man, and appear to be appropriated to him as his own (n. 2877, 2879, 2880, 8700). That nothing that is done from compulsion can be conjoined to a man (n. 2875, 8700). That to compel oneself, is from freedom; but not to be compelled (n. 1937, 2881). That in all temptation there is freedom, but that this freedom is more interiorly within a man from the Lord; this is why he fights and desires to conquer, and not to be conquered, which without freedom he would not do (n. 1937, 1947, 2881). That the Lord alone fought against all the hells, and from His own proper power, and overcame them (n. 1692, 1813, 2816, 4295, 8273, 9937). That hence the Lord was made righteousness, from Himself alone (n. 1813, 2025, 2026, 2027, 9715, 9809, 10019). That the Lord's last temptation was in Gethsemane and upon the cross, when He obtained complete victory, by means of which He subjugated the hells, and at the same time glorified His Human (n. 2276, 2803, 2813, 2814, 10655, 10659, 10828). All these things are from the Arcana Coelestia, still more may be seen collected from the same work in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, where man's freedom is treated of (n. 148, 149); concerning temptations in general (n. 196-200); and concerning the Lord's temptations (n. 201, 302).

4295. 'And Jacob asked and said, Tell me, I pray, your name' means the angelic heaven and the nature of that heaven. This becomes clear from the representation of Jacob' as the Lord's Divine Natural, dealt with already, and from the meaning of 'God' whose name he asked for, and also of 'men', with whom he contended as a prince and prevailed, as truths and goods, and so as those who are governed by truths and goods, dealt with above in 4287. And since the angelic heaven is heaven by virtue of truths and goods it is that heaven specifically which is meant by God and men with whom the Lord prevailed. Angels are also sometimes called 'gods' in the Word, it being by virtue of truths and goods that they are called such, as in David,

God stands in the assembly of God, in the midst of the gods will He judge. I said, You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. Psalms 82:1, 6.

Here it is quite plain that 'the assembly of God' and 'the gods' are the angelic heaven. In the same author,

Who in the sky will be compared to Jehovah? Who will be likened to Jehovah among the sons of gods? Psalms 89:6.

In the same author,

Confess the God of gods; confess the Lord of lords Psalms 136:2-3.

From these quotations it is evident - as it is also from the fact that no one can contend as a prince with God and prevail, and likewise from the fact that the one who is called a god was unwilling to reveal his name - that it was the angelic heaven with which the Lord fought. It is quite plain from the actual words themselves 'Why is it that you ask my name?' that an arcanum lies within them, for if he had been Jehovah God he would not have concealed his name. Nor would Jacob have asked 'What is your name?' for asking the name implies some person or persons other than God Himself.

[2] The truth that the Lord at length fought with actual angels, indeed with the whole angelic heaven, is an arcanum which has not been disclosed up to now. But the implications of this are as follows: Angels do indeed possess supreme wisdom and intelligence, yet all their wisdom and intelligence comes to them from the Lord's Divine. They have no wisdom or intelligence at all that originates in themselves, that is, in their proprium. Therefore it is only insofar as they are governed by truths and goods received from the Lord's Divine that they are wise and intelligent. The fact that angels have no wisdom or intelligence at all originating in themselves they themselves openly confess. Indeed they are also quite angry if anyone attributes to them any wisdom or intelligence at all, for they know and perceive that it would be taking away from the Divine that which is His and it would be claiming for themselves that which is not theirs, and so would be engaging in the crime of spiritual theft. Angels also say that their entire proprium consists in evil and falsity, both because of their heredity and also because of their own conduct in the world when they were men, 1880. Nor, they say, is evil or falsity separated - that is, wiped away - from them, whereby they are made righteous; rather, the whole of it remains with them, though the Lord withholds them from that evil and falsity and keeps them in good and truth, 1581. These things are confessed by every angel, and no one is allowed into heaven if he does not know and believe them. For otherwise they cannot dwell in the light of wisdom and intelligence coming from the Lord, nor consequently in good and truth. From this one can also know how the words in Job 15:15 stating that heaven is not pure in the eyes of God are to be understood.

[3] This being so, in order that the Lord might bring the whole of heaven into proper heavenly order, He even allowed angels into Himself to tempt Him, who, insofar as they acted from their proprium, did not do so from good and truth. These temptations are the inmost of all, for they go to work solely on the ends one has in view and with a subtlety such as can by no means be detected. But insofar as angels do not act from their proprium they act from good and truth and are unable to tempt anyone. What is more, angels are being perfected constantly by the Lord, and yet their perfection cannot ever reach the point when their wisdom and intelligence can be compared with the Lord's Divine wisdom and intelligence, since they are finite whereas the Lord is Infinite, and no comparison of finite with Infinite is possible. From all this one may now see what 'God with whom Jacob contended as a prince' is used to mean, and also why he was unwilling to reveal his name.