The Third Round: The cyclic molestations and temptations are the processes that are necessary to have hell extracted from our sense of self (2 mins)

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AC 6657 [2] When therefore a member of the Church enters into temptation, which happens when he is let into his own evil, conflict takes place around him between the spirits from hell and the angels from heaven, 3927, 4249, 5036; and the conflict lasts for as long as the person is kept in his own evil. Sometimes in that conflict it seems to the spirits from hell that they are going to win, in which case they surge up. At other times it seems to them that they are going to be beaten, in which case they fall back, fearing that more angels from heaven will join up against them and so they themselves will be cast down into hell, never to emerge again, which is exactly what happens when they have been beaten. These are the things that are meant by superior strength if they increase and by the statement that allied forces who inflict harm will be made stronger.

[3] Spirits from hell, when they fight against angels, are in the world of spirits, where they are in a state of freedom, 5852. From all this one may now see what is meant in the internal sense when it says that the children of Israel were molested and oppressed in such ways by the Egyptians, but that the more they were molested, the more they multiplied, and that Jehovah, who is the Lord, fought for them, kept the Egyptians in check by means of plagues, and at length drowned all the Egyptians in the Sea Suph(the Red Sea).

Heaven and Hell 551 …when their externals are taken away from them in the other life, and the internals that their spirit had are revealed, they are wholly in evils and falsities, and not at all in truths and goods; and it is clear that truths and goods resided only in their memory merely as things known, and that they brought them forth therefrom when talking, pretending to the goods seemingly from spiritual love and faith. When such are let into their internals and thus into their evils they are no longer able to speak what is true, but only what is false, since they speak from evils; for to speak true things from evils is then impossible, since the spirit is nothing but his own evil, and from evil that which is false goes forth. Every evil spirit is reduced to this state before he is cast into hell (see above, 499-512). This is called being vastated in respect of truths and goods. ¹ Vastation is simply being let into one’s internals, that is, into what is the spirit’s proprium, or into the spirit itself (on these matters see above, 425).

1 Corinthians 10:13. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.