appears from Luke iv. 1, 2, 3. A. R. 546. See also Exposition, chap. i. 80; ii. 4.

Inasmuch as a wilderness signifies a state of temptation, and forty, whether years or days, an entire duration from beginning to end, therefore the temptations of the Lord, which were more grievous than all others, and which He endured from childhood even to the passion of the cross, are meant by the temptations of forty days in the wilderness; not that it is meant, that the Lord was in the wilderness only forty days, and at the end of those days was tempted by the devil, but that forty signifies, that His temptations continued during His whole life, even to the last period, when He suffered intense affliction in Gethsemane, and afterwards on the cross; for the Lord, by temptations admitted into His Human principle, which He had from the mother, subdued all the hells, and at the same time glorified His Human principle: [but concerning the Lord's temptations, see what is written in the Arcana Coelestia, as collected in the doctrine of the NEW JERUSALEM, n. 201;] all those temptations of the Lord are signified by the temptations in the wilderness during forty days and forty nights, since a wilderness signifies a state of temptations, and forty days and nights their whole duration. A. Ē. 730.

The Lord was born as another man, and derived evils with Himself from the mother, against which He fought, and which He overcame; it is a known thing, that the Lord underwent and endured the most grievous temptations, and indeed so grievous, that He fought alone and from His own proper power against all hell; no one can undergo temptation, unless evil adheres to him, for where this is not the case, it is impossible there should be the least temptation, since it is evil which the infernal spirits excite; yet with the Lord there was not any actual or proper evil, as with all men, but hereditary evil from the mother, which, in Gen. xii. 6, is called, "The Canaanite then in the land," concerning which see what is said in A. C. 1414, viz. that there are two hereditary principles which are connate with man, one from the father, the other from the mother; what is from the father remains to eternity, what is from the mother is dispersed by the Lord during man's regeneration; but the Lord's hereditary principle from His Father was Divine; the hereditary principle from the mother was evil, by which He underwent temptations, concerning which temptations see Mark i. 12, 13; Matt. iv. 1; Luke iv. 1, 2; but, as was said, He had no actual or proper evil, nor any hereditary evil from the mother after that by temptations He had overcome hell A. C. 1444.

That the Lord derived hereditary evil from the mother, is very manifest from this consideration, that He underwent temptations; no one can be tempted, who has no evil, since it is the evil pertaining to man which tempts, and by which he is tempted. That the Lord was tempted and underwent more grievous temptations than any man can endure as to a ten thousandth part, and that He sustained them alone, and overcame evil, or the devil and all hell, is also manifest. It is impossible for any angel to be tempted by the devil, since, whilst he is in the Lord, the evil spirits cannot approach him, being instantly seized with horror and terror; much less could hell have approached to the Lord, if He had been born divine, that is, without evil adhering from the mother. A. C. 1573.

In the Word of the Lord's Life, by the Evangelists, no mention is made of any temptation which He endured except the last, and what He endured in the wilderness; more temptations were not discovered to the disciples, and those which were discovered appear so slight according to the sense of the letter, as scarcely to amount to any thing; for so to say, and so to reply, is not any temptation, when yet it was more grievous than any human mind can conceive or believe; no one can know what temptation is, unless he has been in it; the temptation which is recorded Matthew iv. 1-11; Mark i. 12, 13; Luke iv. 1-13; contains the nature of the Lord's temptations in general, viz., that by virtue of love towards the whole race of mankind, He fought against the loves of self and of the world, with which the hells were replete; in every temptation an assault is made on the love in which man is principled, and the degree of temptation is according to the degree of the love; if no assault is made upon the love, there is no temptation; to destroy any one's love is to destroy his very life, for love is life; the life of the Lord was love towards the whole human race, and indeed a love so great and of such a nature, that it was nothing but pure Love. Against this, His Life, were admitted continual temptations, from His earliest childhood to His last hour in the world: the love, which was the very essential Life of the Lord, is signified by this, that "He hungered," and that "the devil said to Him, If Thou be the Son of God, say to this stone that it be made bread; and Jesus answered him saying, It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” Luke iv. 2, 3, 4; Matt. iv. 2, 3, 4. That He fought against the love of the world, or against all things relating to the love of the world, is signified by this, "That the devil, taking Him up into a high

mountain, shewed Him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in a moment of time, and said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them, for it is delivered to me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it; if, Thou, therefore, wilt fall down before me, all shall be Thine; and Jesus answering said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt fall down before the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve" Luke iv. 5-8; Matt. iv. 8-10. That He fought against self-love, and against all things relating to self-love, is signified by these words, "The devil took Him into the holy city, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, and upon their hands they shall carry Thee, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone; and Jesus said unto him, It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God" Matt. iv. 5-7: Luke iv. 9-12. His continual victory is signified by these words, "That after the temptation angels came and ministered unto Him" Matt. iv. 11 : Mark i. 13. In short, the Lord, from His earliest childhood, even to the last hour of His life in the world, was assaulted by all the hells, which were continually withstood, subdued, and conquered by Him, and this solely by virtue of His love towards the whole human race, from which love it may appear how grievous were His combats, and how great the fierceness of the hells, inasmuch as it was not human but Divine Love, and temptation is great in proportion to the love that these things were so, I know of a certainty. A. C.

:

1690.

It is a known thing in the church, that the Lord conquered death, by which is meant hell, and that afterwards, He ascended with glory into heaven; but it has not yet been known that the Lord by combats, which are temptations, conquered death or hell, and at the same time by temptations glorified His Human principle, and that the passion of the cross was the last combat or temptation, by which He conquered and was glorified. These subjects are much treated in the Prophets and in David, but not so much in the Evangelists; with these latter, the temptations which He endured from His childhood are described in a summary way by His temptations in the wilderness, and afterwards from the devil, and the last by what He suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross; but by those temptations are meant all even to the last; He revealed no more concerning them to the disciples, for it is said in Isaiah, "He endured exaction, yet He opened not

His mouth as a lamb at the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers, is dumb, He opened not His mouth" liii. 7. D. Lord, 12.

Plenary temptation is also signified by Moses being forty days and nights on Mount Sinai, and at that time eating no bread and drinking no water, Exod. xvi. 18; in like manner Jesus being forty days tempted of the devil; from which considerations it may be manifest, that by the number forty in the Word, is signified plenary vastation and consummation, that is, when all the good of the church is vastated, and evil consummated; also that by the same number is signified plenary temptation, and likewise the establishment of the church. anew or reformation. A. E. 633.

It is to be observed, that there are two kingdoms, into which the heavens are distinguished, viz., the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom; to these two kingdoms correspond two opposite kingdoms, into which the hells are distinguished to the celestial kingdom corresponds the opposite infernal kingdom, which consists of devils, and is hence called the devil; and to the spiritual kingdom corresponds the opposite infernal kingdom, which consists of satans, and is hence called satan; and whereas the celestial kingdom consists of angels, who are principled in love to the Lord, so the opposite infernal kingdom consists of devils, who are principled in the love of self; hence it is, that from that hell evils of every kind issue forth; and whereas the spiritual kingdom consists of angels who are principled in charity towards the neighbour, so the opposite infernal kingdom consists of satans who are principled in falses derived from the love of the world; hence it is that from that hell falses of every kind issue forth. From these considerations it may be manifest what is signified by the Lord being tempted of the devil, viz., that He was tempted by the hells whence evils issue forth, thus by the worst hells, for those hells principally fought against the Lord's Divine Love, inasmuch as the ruling love in those hells is the love of self, and this love is opposite to the love of the Lord, thus to the love which is derived from the Lord. A. E. 740. See also H. H. 20-28.

Verse 3. If thou be the Son of God.-See Exposition, chap. i. 31, 32, 35.

Say to this stone, &c.-See Exposition, chap. iii. 8.

Verse 4. Man shall not live by bread alone, &c.-In the Word mention is frequently made of eating and drinking, and they who are unacquainted with the spiritual sense, suppose that these expressions signify nothing more than natural

eating and drinking; whereas they signify spiritual nourishment, consequently, the appropriation of good and truth, eating signifying the appropriation of good, and drinking the appropriation of truth; any one may know, who believes in the spirituality of the Word, that by eating and drinking, as by bread, food, wine, and drink, is signified spiritual nourishment, for otherwise the Word would be merely natural, and not at the same time spiritual, thus only for the natural man, and not for the spiritual man, much less for the angels. To be spiritually nourished is to be instructed and imbued, consequently it is to know, to understand, and to be wise; unless man enjoys this nourishment, together with the nourishment of the body, he is not a man, but a beast; which is the reason that they who place all delight in feastings and banquetings, and daily indulge their palates, are stupid as to things spiritual, however they may be able to reason concerning the things of the world and of the body, whence, after their departure from this world, they live rather a beastly than a human life, for instead of intelligence and wisdom they have insanity and folly. A. E. 617. See also Exposition, chap. ix. 12-17; xxii. 29, 30.

Verse 5. The devil taking Him up into a high mountain, &c.By this is signified that the devil tempted the Lord by the love of self, for this is signified by a high mountain; for the three temptations described in Luke, chap. iv., signify and involve all the temptations which the Lord sustained in the world; for the Lord, by means of temptations which He admitted into Himself from the hells, and by victories therein obtained, reduced all things in the hells to order, and also glorified His Humanity, that is, made it Divine. The reason why all the temptations of the Lord are so briefly described, is, because He no otherwise revealed them; nevertheless they are amply described in the internal sense of the Word. A. E. 405.

There are two kinds of hells, one in which are they who are in evils, and another in which are they who are in the falsities of evil. The hell in which the former are, is by one expression called the Devil, and that in which the latter are, is called by one expression Satan. A. E. 120.

Verse 12. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.-That the Son of God, or the Lord as to good in the Human Divine principle, could not be tempted, is evident from the above reply of the Lord to the tempter. A. C. 2813.

Verse 13. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.-That the life of the Lord, from earliest childhood even to the last hour of life in the world, was a continual temptation and continual victory, is