4516. Ye have troubled me, to make me to stink to the inhabitant of the land. That this signifies that they who were of the Ancient Church would abhor them, is evident from the signification of “troubling me, to make me to stink,” as being to cause them to feel abhorrence; and from the signification of “the inhabitant of the land,” as here being those who were of the Ancient Church, for by the “land” is signified the church (see n. 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 3355, 4447), thus by the “inhabitant of the land,” those who were of the church, here of the Ancient Church, because this still remained among some nations in the land of Canaan. The representative of a church was not instituted among the people sprung from Jacob until after this Ancient Church had altogether perished, which is also signified by the fact that the descendants of Jacob were not admitted into the land of Canaan until the iniquity of the inhabitants of the land had been consummated, as is said in Genesis 15:16; for no new church is set up until the former one has been vastated.

3354. From these things it is manifest what is meant by these words of the Lord, namely, the first state of the church’s perversion, which comes to pass when men begin no longer to know what is good and what is true, but dispute among themselves concerning them, whence arise falsities. As this is the first state, it is said that “the end is not yet,” and that “these things are the beginning of sorrows;” and this state is called “earthquakes in diverse places,” which signifies in the internal sense a change of the state of the church in part, or at first. That all this was said to the disciples, signifies that it is said to all who are of the church, for the twelve disciples represented all such (n. 2089, 2129, 2130); and therefore it is said, “See that no man lead you astray;” also, “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled.”