933. 22:2 In between the street and the river on the one side and the other was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits. This symbolically means that inmostly present within the doctrinal truths and consequent life in the New Church is the Lord in His Divine love, from whom flow all the goods that a person in that church does, apparently as though of himself.

In between means, symbolically, in the inmost, and so in everything round about (nos. 44, 383). The street symbolizes the church's doctrinal truth (nos. 501, 917). The river symbolizes an abundance of Divine truth (nos. 409, 932). On the one side and the other symbolizes to the right and to the left, and truth to the right is truth seen clearly, and truth to the left is truth seen dimly. For in heaven the south is to the right, which symbolizes truth seen clearly, while the north is to the left, which symbolizes truth seen dimly (no. 901). The tree of life symbolizes the Lord in respect to His Divine love (no. 89). Fruits symbolize the goods of love and charity that are called good works, as will be seen in the next number. The number twelve symbolizes all and is predicated of the goods and truths of the church (no. 348). If we gather all of this into a single meaning, it follows that the statement, "in between the street and the river on the one side and the other was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits," symbolically means that inmostly present within the doctrinal truths and consequent life in the New Church is the Lord in His Divine love, from whom flow all the goods that a person does, apparently as though of himself.

[2] This is the case with people who turn directly to the Lord and refrain from evils because they are sins, thus with people who will be in the Lord's New Church, which is the New Jerusalem. For people who do not turn directly to the Lord cannot be conjoined with Him, thus not with the Father either, and therefore they cannot possess the love that comes from the Divine. Indeed, it is sight that conjoins - not an intellectual sight alone, but a sight of the intellect that springs from an affection of the will. And an affection of the will is present only if a person keeps the Lord's commandments. Consequently the Lord says,

He who... keeps (My commandments,) it is he who loves Me... And...(I) will come to him and make (My) abode with him. (John 14:21-24)

[3] We say "inmostly present within the doctrinal truths and consequent life in the New Church" because in spiritual matters everything comes from and emanates from what is inmost, as from a fire and its light in the center extending into the peripheries; or as from the sun, which is also in the center, come warmth and light throughout the solar system. Thus the case in the least of things is as it is in the greatest of things. Because the inmost of every truth is symbolized, therefore we say in between the street and the river, and not on either side of the river, even though that is what is meant. ¹

When the Lord is inmostly present, all goods of love and charity come from and emanate from Him, as is apparent from the Lord's own words in John:

(Jesus said,) "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-6)

Footnotes:

901. 21:13 Three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. This symbolically means that concepts of truth and goodness which have in them spiritual life from the Lord out of heaven and introduce into the New Church are provided for people who possess more or less love or affection for goodness, and for people who possess more or less wisdom or affection for truth.

The gates now symbolize concepts of truth and goodness which have in them spiritual life from the Lord out of heaven, because over the gates were twelve angels with the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel written on them, and these symbolize this life in those concepts, as is apparent from the explanation just above in no. 900. That the gates symbolize concepts of truth and goodness which introduce into the New Church may be seen in no. 899 above.

There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west, because the east symbolizes love and an affection for goodness in a higher degree, thus in greater measure, whereas the west symbolizes love and an affection for goodness in a lower degree, thus in lesser measure; and the south symbolizes wisdom and an affection for truth in a higher degree, thus in greater measure, whereas the north symbolizes wisdom and an affection for truth in a lower degree, thus in lesser measure. The east, west, south and north have these symbolic meanings because the Lord is the sun in the spiritual world, and east and west are determined by the direction He faces, with the south and north on either side - to His right the south, and to His left the north. Consequently people who possess love toward the Lord and its attending affection in a greater measure live in the east, and in a lesser measure in the west, while those who possess wisdom from an affection for truth in a greater measure live in the south, and in a lesser measure in the north.

That the dwellings of angels in heaven are arranged in this way may be seen in the book Heaven and Hell (London 1758), nos. 141-153.

There are three gates facing each of the cardinal points of the compass because the number three symbolizes all (nos. 400, 505).