454. Out of every nation, and [of all] tribes.- That these words signify all those who are in the good of life according to the doctrinals of their religion, is evident from the signification of nation, as denoting those who are in good, concerning which see above (n. 175, 331); here, those who are in the good of life; and from the signification of tribes, as denoting the goods and truths of the church in their whole extent, concerning which see also above (n. 431). But because those who are in the good of life according to their religion, are here treated of, by tribes are signified the doctrinals of religion, which they believe to be truths and goods; for these also are meant by tribes, when such are treated of in the Word, whereas, the tribes of Israel, which we have spoken of above, mean all those who are in the genuine truths and goods of the church, and in the abstract those truths and goods. Out of every nation and [of all] tribes, here therefore signifies all those who are in good of life according to the doctrinals of their religion.

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.