We tend to think of "fruit" in two ways in natural language. One is as food that grows on trees and vines, sweet and delicious, and able to be eaten without harming the plant in any way. Another is as the things we produce, what our work yields for the betterment of the world. These are obviously connected: we are like trees, producing things that "feed" the world in some way, just as the tree produces fruit that feeds us. It makes sense, then, that the idea of fruit in the Bible is bound closely to the idea of goodness. Fruits that are eaten represent the desire for good and the energy to do what is good; fruit that is produced is the actual good that we go into the world and do.

226. All preachers are appointed by the Lord, and have therefore a gift for preaching. No one else is allowed to teach in the temples. They are called preachers, but not priests. They are not priests because the priesthood of heaven is the celestial kingdom, for priesthood signifies the good of love to the Lord, and those in the celestial kingdom are in that good. The royalty of heaven, however, is the spiritual kingdom, for royalty signifies truth from good in which are those who are in the spiritual kingdom (see above 24). ¹

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