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.

5757. 'We brought back to you from the land of Canaan' means has been submitted, as the result of religious belief. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing back' as submitting, dealt with in 5624, and from the meaning of 'the land of Canaan' as their religious belief. 'The land of Canaan' has various meanings, and this is because it is the kind of thing that includes very many meanings. It means the Lord's kingdom and it means the Church, as a consequence of which it also means the member of the Church, for he is a Church. Having these meanings that land also means the celestial element of the Church, which is the good of love, and the spiritual element of it too, which is the truth of faith; and so on. Here therefore a religious belief which the Church possesses is meant; for the Church's religious belief is what causes a person to think that he should not lay claim to truth and good as his own. From this one may see why a single expression sometimes has many meanings; for when many meanings are included within an overall one, an expression can then convey a particular meaning as the train of thought in the internal sense may demand. As regards 'the land of Canaan' meaning the Lord's kingdom, see 1413, 1437, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705; and as regards its meaning the Church, 3686, 3705, 4447. All the other meanings which that expression possesses flow from these two.