2344. Verse 4 Scarcely had they lain down when the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from boy even to old man, all the people from furthest away.

'Scarcely had they lain down' means the first phase of visitation. 'The men of the city' means those immersed in falsities. 'The men of Sodom' means those immersed in evils. 'Surrounded the house' means that they were set against the good that flows from charity. 'From boy even to old man' means falsities and evils, both recent and confirmed. 'All the people from furthest away' means every single one of them.

'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)