201. The Lord's Temptations. The Lord endured the most grievous and terrible temptations, which are but little treated of in the literal sense of the Word, but much in the internal sense, nos. 1663, 1668, 1787, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2814, 9528. The Lord fought from Divine Love towards the whole human race, nos. 1690, 1691, 1812, 1813, 1820. The Lord's love was the salvation of the human race, no. 1820. The Lord combated from His own power, nos. 1692, 1813, 9937. The Lord alone became Justice and Merit, through temptations and victories from His own power, nos. 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019. Through temptations the Lord united the Divine Itself which was in Him from conception, to His Human, and made this Divine; as He makes a man spiritual through temptations, nos. 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 3318, 3381, 3382, 4286. The temptations of the Lord in the end were attended with despair, no. 1787. Through the temptations admitted against Himself, the Lord subjugated the hells, and reduced all things in them and in the heavens to order, and at the same time glorified His Human, nos. 1737, 4287, 9315, 9528, 9937. The Lord alone fought against all the hells, no. 8273. He admitted temptations from hell against Himself, nos. 2816, 4295. The Lord could not be tempted as to the Divine, because the hells cannot assault the Divine; wherefore He assumed from the mother such a Human as could be tempted, nos. 1414, 1444, 1573, 5041, 5157, 7193, 9315. Through temptations and victories He expelled everything hereditary from the mother, and put off the Human from her, until at length He was no longer her son, nos. 2159, 2574, 2640, 3036, 10830. Jehovah, who was in Him from conception, appeared to be absent in His temptations, no. 1815. This was the state of His humiliation, nos. 1785, 1999, 2159, 6866. His last temptation and victory, by which He fully subjugated the hells, and made His Human Divine, was in Gethsemane and on the cross, nos. 2776, 2803, 2813, 2814, 10655, 10659, 10828. Not to eat any bread and not drink any water for forty days, signifies an entire state of temptations, no. 10686. Forty years, months, or days, signify a complete state of temptations from beginning to end; such a state is meant by the deluge lasting forty days; by Moses abiding upon Mount Sinai during forty days; by the sons of Israel sojourning in the desert, for forty years; and by the Lord's temptation in the desert for forty days; nos. 730, 862, 2272, 2273, 8098.