AC 8732 - "Land"; AC 8753 - "Mount Sinai"

AC 8732

For the significatives (meanings) in the Word
accommodate themselves to the thing represented,
the signification which properly belongs to the expression
still remaining,
as for instance the signification of "land,"
which properly signifies (means) the church,
for the reason that those who are in heaven
do not think of land when it is read of in the Word,
but of the spiritual state of the nation which is in the land,
thus of the religion there;
and therefore when a "land" is read
of where the church is,
then they have an idea of the church there;
and when an idea of the church,
they have also an idea of the Lord's kingdom,
consequently of heaven;
and when an idea of heaven,
they have also an idea of the Divine there.
But when the thing represented
treats of any other holy thing in the church or in heaven,
then that thing can be understood by "land" --
as love, charity, good, faith.
Consequently it is evident
that the signification still remains
which properly belongs to the expression;
as when good is signified, or love or charity,
still through all there remains the signification of the church;
for these things are the essentials of the church,
and make it to be the church.

AC 8753 [2] - "Mount Sinai"

As regards "Mount Sinai,"
it signifies (means) in the supreme sense
Divine truth from Divine good;
"mountain," Divine good;
and "Sinai," Divine truth.
In the internal sense it signifies the truth of faith from good,
here the truth of faith that is to be implanted in good,
because the law had not yet been
promulgated (announced publicly) from it.
"Mount Sinai" has these significations (meanings)
because the law was promulgated by the Lord from there,
and "the law" denotes Divine truth from Divine good,
and also the truth of faith from good.
For this reason it was that the sons of Israel
encamped in the wilderness near that mountain,
for from it were promulgated
not only the ten commandments,
which are "the law" in a close sense,
but also all the statutes of the church,
which contained in themselves,
because they represented,
the spiritual and celestial truths and goods
of the Lord's kingdom.
That the law was promulgated from there,
is evident from the following chapter,
and that so also were the statutes of the church,
from the succeeding chapters, and also from Leviticus . . .