8011. 'And shall be as if a native of the land' means that he shall be received as one who is in possession of that truth and good and who has been purified from filthy kinds of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'a native of the land' as one who was born within the Church and is in possession of its truth and good, consequently one who has been purified from filthy kinds of love. The expression 'a native of the land' is used because 'the land' means the Church. For the meaning of 'the land' in the Word as the Church, see 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2571, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577. And the reason why 'the land' means the Church is that in the Word 'the land' refers to the land of Canaan, and 'the land of Canaan' means the Lord's kingdom and the Church, 1413, 1477, 1585, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4116, 4240, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 5757, 6516. No land that is mentioned in the Word is taken by angels to mean that land but the nation inhabiting it. And in taking it to mean the nation they understand the character of that nation on the spiritual level, that is, in regard to things of the Church. It is well known that the idea of a nation's character comes to mind when a land is mentioned; for this is also what happens with a person, and especially with angels, who think in a spiritual manner about everything natural.

567. The whole of that region is called the area of the Church where people who have been instructed in the doctrine of true faith are situated, as the land of Canaan was when the Jewish Church was there, and as Europe is where the Christian Church is today. Lands or regions outside of them are not areas of the Church, or 'the face of the ground'. Where the Church existed prior to the Flood becomes clear also from the lands which were encompassed by the rivers flowing out of the garden of Eden, rivers which are also frequently described in the Word as the boundaries to the land of Canaan. Where it was situated prior to the Flood is also clear from what follows that description, for example, from the reference to the Nephilim being in the land, whose presence then in the land of Canaan is clear from the statement in Numbers 13:33 that the sons of Anak came from the Nephilim.