9305. To bring thee to the place which I have prepared. That this signifies a bringing by Him into heaven according to the good of life and of faith, is evident from the signification of “bringing to the place,” that is, into the land of Canaan, as being to bring into heaven, for by “the land of Canaan” is signified the church, and also heaven (see n. 1607, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4447, 5136, 6156); for by the bringing of the sons of Israel into that land was represented the bringing of the faithful into heaven; and from the signification of “preparing,” when said of heaven, which is signified by “the land of Canaan,” as being from mercy to bestow it upon those who are in the good of life and of faith; for heaven is said to be “prepared” for such; as in Matthew:

Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34).

To sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it hath been prepared (Mark 10:40).

I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you unto Myself; that where I am, ye may be (John 14:2-3).

For to prepare heaven is to prepare those who are to be brought into heaven, because heaven is given according to the preparation, that is, according to the reception of good. For heaven is in the man; and there is a place for him in heaven according to the state of life and of faith in which he is; because place there corresponds to the state of life; and therefore also place appears in the other life according to the state of life, and in itself is the state (n. 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381).

5136. Out of the land of the Hebrews. That this signifies from the church, namely, that celestial things were alienated from it through evil, is evident from the signification of the “land of the Hebrews,” as being the church. The “land of the Hebrews” here, is the land of Canaan; for Joseph was taken away from there. The reason why the land of Canaan in the Word signifies the church, is that the church has been there from the most ancient time: first the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood; next the Ancient Church, which was after the flood; afterward the Second Ancient Church, which was called the Hebrew Church; and at last the Jewish Church. And in order that the Jewish Church might be instituted there, Abram was commanded to betake himself thither out of Syria, and it was there promised him that this land should be given to his posterity for an inheritance. This is the reason why “land” or “earth” in the Word signifies the church, and the “whole earth,” as sometimes occurs, the universal church; and also the “new heaven and new earth,” a new church internal and external.

[2] The reason why the church was continued there from the most ancient time, is that the man of the Most Ancient Church, who was celestial, was of such a character that in each and all things in the world and upon the earth he saw a representative of the Lord’s kingdom; the objects of the world and the earth being to him the means of thinking about heavenly things. This was the origin of all the representatives and significatives that were afterward known in the Ancient Church, for they were collected by those who are meant by “Enoch,” and were preserved for the use of posterity (n. 519, 521, 2896). From this it came to pass that every place, and also every mountain and river, in the land of Canaan, where the most ancient people dwelt, and likewise all the kingdoms round about, became representative; and as the Word could not be written except by representatives and significatives, even of places, therefore for the sake of this end the church was successively preserved in the land of Canaan; but after the coming of the Lord it was transferred elsewhere, because representatives were then abolished.

[3] From the foregoing it is plain that by the land of Canaan, which is here called the “land of the Hebrews,” is signified the church; but see what has been previously adduced on these subjects; namely, that the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood, was in the land of Canaan (n. 567, 3686, 4447, 4454); that part of the Ancient Church, which was after the flood, was there (see n. 3686, 4447); also that a second Ancient Church, which was called the Hebrew Church, was there (n. 4516, 4517); that for the same reason Abram was commanded to go there, and that land was given to his posterity (n. 3686, 4447); that from this the land of Canaan represented the Lord’s kingdom (n. 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 4240, 4447); and that it is for this reason that by “earth” or “land” in the Word is signified the church (see n. 566, 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4447, 4535).