2318. 'The two angels came to Sodom in the evening' means the visitation which takes place prior to judgement. This becomes clear from the statements made by the three men, that is, by Jehovah, in the previous chapter, also from what follows in the present chapter, as well as from the meaning of 'the evening'. In the previous chapter Jehovah said, 'I will go down and I will see whether the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah have done altogether according to the cry which has come to Me; and if not, I will know', verses 20-21. At that point it was shown that those words meant the visitation that takes place prior to judgement. In the present chapter the actual process of visitation is described and after that judgement, as is evident from what follows. That 'evening' means the time when visitation takes place will be seen below. As for what visitation is and the fact that visitation takes place prior to judgement, see 2242. In the previous chapter the subject was the corrupt state of the human race and the Lord's grief and intercession on behalf of those who are immersed in evil and yet with whom some good and truth exist. The present chapter therefore goes on to deal with the salvation of those with whom some good and truth exist, it being these who are represented in this chapter by Lot. At the same time it deals with the destruction of those who are immersed completely in evil and falsity, it being these who are meant here by Sodom and Gomorrah.

'Land' in the Word, denotes the church, for the things which signify the church also signify the things relating to the church, for these constitute the church. The reason why 'land' denotes the church in the Word is because the land of Canaan was the land in which the church had been since the most ancient times. Hence, when 'land' is named in the Word, it means the land of Canaan, which then means the church. For when the expression 'the land' appears there, people in the spiritual world do not concern themselves with the idea of a land, only with the idea of the nation inhabiting it. And yet not with an idea of that nation but with an idea of the essential nature of it.

'Land' or 'earth,' as in Genesis 20:15, signifies the doctrine of love and charity.

'Land' signifies the celestial principle of love in Genesis 24:4.

In Genesis 26:12, 'land' signifies rational things.

In Genesis 28:13, this signifies the good of the natural.

The 'land' represents the divine of the rational principle in Genesis 30:25.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 5577)