7690. 'And all the fruit on the trees' means every recognition of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'fruit' as the works of faith or of charity, thus forms of good (which is why the expression 'being fruitful' is used in reference to good, 43, 55, 913, 987, 2846, 2847); and from the meaning of 'trees' as perceptions, and also cognitions, dealt with in 103, 2163, 2722, 2972. The reason why 'fruit' means the works of charity, and so forms of good, is that the earliest existence of a tree is the fruit containing the seed and the final stage in its development is the fruit containing the seed, the intermediate stages of its development being the branches, that is, the leaves. It is similar with the good of love and truth of faith. The good of love is the initial seed when a person is being regenerated or 'planted', and it is also the final development. The intermediate stages are the truths of faith, which grow from the good of love as their seed and look constantly to the good of love as their final objective, just as the parts of a tree that are formed at intermediate stages look to their fruit containing the seed. The fact that 'the fruit' means forms of good is evident from a large number of places in the Word, such as Matthew 3:8-9; 7:16-20; 12:33; 21:43; Luke 3:8-9; 6:43-49; 13:6-10; John 15:2-8, 16; Isaiah 37:31; Jeremiah 17:8; 32:19; Revelation 22:2.