109. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. That this signifies that he who receives in the heart shall be filled with the good of love, and hence with heavenly joy, is evident from the signification of overcoming, as being to receive in the heart, concerning which we shall treat in what follows; and from the signification of eating, as being to appropriate and to be conjoined (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 2187, 2343, 3168, 3813, 5643); and from the signification of the tree of life, as being the good of love, and thence heavenly joy, concerning which also we shall speak presently. The reason why to overcome denotes to receive in the heart is, that everyone who is about to receive spiritual life will fight against the evils and falsities of his natural life, and when he overcomes them, then goods and truths, which belong to the spiritual life, are received in the heart (to receive in the heart is to receive in the will and love, for the heart in the Word signifies the will and love, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2930, 3313, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 10336); wherefore to receive goods and truths in the heart, is to do them from the will or love; this is what is meant by overcoming.

[2] The reason why the tree of life signifies the good of love, and thence heavenly joy is, that trees signify those things that are internally in man, which pertain to his interior mind (mens), or his external mind (animus), the boughs and leaves those things which pertain to the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, and the fruits the goods of life themselves. This signification of trees originates in the spiritual world; for in that world trees of all kinds are seen; and these trees correspond to the interiors of the minds of angels and spirits; beautiful and fruitful trees to the interiors of those who are in the good of love, and thence in wisdom; trees less beautiful and fruitful to those who are in the good of faith; but trees bearing leaves only, and without fruit, to those who are only in the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; and trees of a dismal hue, with malignant fruits, to those who are in knowledges (cognitiones) and in evil of life; but by those who are not in knowledges, and are in evil of life, trees are not seen, but instead stones and sand.

These appearances in the spiritual world, actually flow from correspondence; for the interiors of the mind of the inhabitants of that world are by such forms actually presented before their eyes. (These things may be seen better from two articles in the work, Heaven and Hell; in the first, where the correspondence of heaven with all things of the earth is treated of, n. 103-115; and in the other, where representatives and appearances in heaven are treated of, n. 170-176, and n. 177-190.)

[3] This then is why trees are so often mentioned in the Word, by which are signified those things which pertain to a man's mind; and why it is, that in the first chapters of Genesis, two trees are said to have been placed in the garden of Eden, one of which was called the tree of life, and the other the tree of knowledge (scientia). By the tree of life mentioned there is signified the good of love to the Lord, and thence heavenly joy, which those possessed who at that time formed the church, and who are meant by the man and his wife; and by the tree of knowledge is signified the delight of knowledges (cognitiones) without any other use than to be accounted learned, and to acquire renown for erudition, solely for the sake of honour or gain. The reason why the tree of life also signifies heavenly joy is, because the good of love to the Lord, which is specifically signified by that tree, has heavenly joy in it. (See the work, Heaven and Hell 395-414, and The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 230-239.)

[4] That trees, so often mentioned in the Word, signify the interiors of man's internal and external minds, and the things produced by the trees, as the leaves and fruit, such things as are derived from them, is evident from the following passages:

"I will give in the desert the cedar, the schittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the wilderness the fir tree, the pine and the box" (Isaiah 41:19).

The establishment of the church is there treated of;

"The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary" (Isaiah 60:13).

"Let all the trees of the field know that I, Jehovah, humble the lofty tree, and exalt the humble tree, cause the green tree to become dry, and make the dry tree to bud" (Ezekiel 17:24).

"Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall consume every green tree in thee, and every dry tree" (Ezekiel 20:47).

"The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are withered, because joy is withered away from the sons of men" (Joel 1:12).

"When the angel sounded, there followed hail and fire which fell upon the earth; and the third part of the trees was burnt up" (Apoc. 8:7)

Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream "a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great, the leaf thereof fair, and the flower thereof much, and in it was food for all" (Dan. 4:10-12).

Because trees in general signify such things as pertain to man, and constitute the interiors of his mind, and thus the spiritual things pertaining to the church, and both the latter and the former are various, therefore so many species of trees are mentioned, and every species signifies something different. (What the various species signify is shown in Arcana Coelestia, as what is signified by the oil tree, n. 9277, 10261 what by the cedar, n. 9472, 9486, 9528, 9715, 10178 what by the vine, n. 1069, 5113, 6375, 6378, 9277; what by the fig, n. 217, 4231, 5113, and so forth.)

[5] Moreover, the things which are upon trees, as leaves and fruits, signify those things that pertain to man; leaves signify the truths pertaining to him, and fruits the goods, as in the following passages:

"He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river; her leaf shall be green; neither shall it cease from yielding fruit" (Jeremiah 17:8).

By the river which went out from the house of God "upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, ascendeth the tree of food, whose leaf falleth not off, nor is its fruit consumed; it springeth again in its months, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary, whence its fruit is for food, and its leaf for medicine" (Ezekiel 47:12).

"In the midst of the street of it, and of the river (going out from the throne of God and the Lamb), on this side and on that side, was there the tree of life bearing twelve fruits, and yielding her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" (Apoc. 22:1, 2).

"Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law; he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither" (Psalms 1:1-3).

"Be not afraid, for the tree shall bear her fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength" (Joel 2:22).

"The trees of Jehovah are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted" (Psalms 104:16).

"Praise Jehovah, ye fruitful trees, and all cedars" (Psalms 148:9).

[6] Because fruits signified the goods of life with man, therefore in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church, it was commanded that the fruit of trees, like the men themselves, should be circumcised, concerning which it is thus written: The fruit of a tree serving for food shall be uncircumcised in the land of Canaan;

"three years shall it be uncircumcised unto you; and in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, the praises of Jehovah. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof" (Leviticus 19:23, 24, 25).

Because the fruit of the tree signified goods of life, therefore also it was commanded, that

in the feast of tabernacles they should take the fruit of the tree of honour, and the boughs, and should rejoice before Jehovah, and thus they should keep the feast (Leviticus 23:40, 41);

for by tabernacles were signified the goods of celestial love, and thence holy worship (see Arcana Coelestia 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4391, 10545); and by the feast of tabernacles was signified the implantation of that good of love (n. 9296). Because fruit signified the goods of love, which are the goods of life, therefore it was among the blessings that the tree of the field should yield its fruit; and among the curses that it should not yield its fruit (Leviticus 26:4, 20). And therefore also they were forbidden, when any city was besieged, to lay the axe to any tree of good fruit (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20).

From these considerations it is now evident that by fruits are signified the goods of love, or, what is the same, goods of life, which are also called works, as also what is meant in these passages in the Evangelists:

"The axe lies at the root of the trees; every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire" (Matthew 3:10; 7:16-21).

“Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and the fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:43, 44).

"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit shall be taken away: but every branch that beareth fruit shall be purged, that it may bring forth more fruit" (John 15:2-8).

"A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard: he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. Then saith he unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on the fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?" (Luke 13:6-9).

"Jesus saw a fig-tree in the way; he came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only; he said, Let no fruit grow on thee for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away" (Matthew 21:19; Mark 11:13, 14, 20).

By the fig-tree is signified the natural man and his interiors, and by the fruit his goods (see Arcana Coelestia 217, 4231, 5113); but leaves signify knowledges (cognitiones), (n. 885). Hence it is clear what is signified by the fig-tree withering away, because the Lord found on it leaves only, and no fruit. All these passages are quoted in order that it may be known that by the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, is signified the good of love proceeding from the Lord, and heavenly joy therefrom.

4535. The preliminary sections of previous chapters - Chapter 26 onwards - explained what the Lord foretold about His Coming or THE CLOSE OF THE AGE. Frequently in those sections it has been shown that His Coming or the Close of the Age means the last period of the Church, which in the Word is called the Last Judgement. Those who do not look beyond the literal sense cannot know of the Last Judgement as anything else than the destruction of the world, the particular source for such an idea being the Book of Revelation. There it is said that [John] saw 'a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away; and there was no more sea', and in addition that he saw 'the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven', Revelation 21:1-2. Prophetical utterances in Isaiah, where similar predictions occur, are also a source of the same idea,

Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. ¹ Be glad and rejoice for ever in the things I am creating; behold, I will create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. Isaiah 65:17-18; 66:22.

[2] Those who do not look beyond the literal sense cannot conceive of anything else than this - that the whole sky together with this planet will be annihilated, and then the dead - for the first time - will rise again and dwell in the new heaven and on the new earth. But these places in the Word should not be understood in that way, as may be recognized from other places in the Word where the heavens and the earth are referred to. Those who have any belief in an internal sense can see plainly that 'a new heaven' and 'a new earth' are used to mean a new Church which takes over when the previous one passes away, 1733, 1850, 3355 (end), and that 'heaven' is the internal aspect of that new Church and 'earth' the external aspect of it.

[3] This last period of the previous Church and the first of the new one are also called the Close of the Age, about which the Lord has spoken in Matthew 24. They are called also His Coming, for at that time the Lord departs from the previous Church and comes to the new. The description of that period as the Close of the Age may also be seen from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

On that day a remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the God of power. For though your people Israel will be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of it will return. The close has been determined, overflowing with righteousness, for the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth is bringing the whole earth to its close and to its determined end. Isaiah 10:20-23.

In the same prophet,

Now do not be derisive, lest your punishments increase, for a close and a cutting off I have heard from the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth over the whole earth. Isaiah 28:22.

In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, The whole earth will be a waste, yet I will not bring it to a close. Jeremiah 4:27.

In Zephaniah,

I will bring men into distress, and they will go as the blind, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. For Jehovah will bring to a close, indeed to a hasty one, all the inhabitants of the earth. Zephaniah 1:17-18.

From each detail stated here it is evident that 'a close' means the last period of the Church and 'the earth' the Church itself.

[4] The reason why 'the earth (or land)' means the Church is that the land of Canaan was the land where the Church had existed since most ancient times, and later on where among the descendants of Jacob a representative of the Church existed. When this land is said to have been 'brought to a close' it is not the nation dwelling there that is meant but the holiness of worship which existed with the nation where the Church was. For the Word is spiritual; but the actual land is not spiritual, nor is the nation dwelling in it, only that which constitutes the Church there. For evidence that the land of Canaan was the land where the Church had existed from most ancient times, see 567, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517; and this explains why 'the land' or 'the earth' in the Word means the Church, 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 3355, 4447. From all this one may see what is meant in Isaiah by 'bringing the whole earth to a close', and in Zephaniah by 'bringing all the inhabitants of the earth to a hasty one'. It is well known that the Jewish nation which inhabited that land was not 'brought to a close' but that the holiness of worship among them was.

[5] This meaning of 'the close' is even clearer in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. In the middle of the week he will cause sacrifice and offering to cease. At length upon the bird of desolations will come desolation; until a close and a cutting off will it drop upon the devastation. Daniel 9:24, 27.

[6] From this one may now see that the close of the age - about which the disciples were asking when they said to the Lord 'What will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age?' Matthew 24:3 - does not mean anything else than the final period of the Church. The same is also meant by the Lord's words, which are the very last in the same gospel,

Jesus said to the disciples, Teaching them to observe ² all things whatever I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you at all times ³ even to the close of the age. Matthew 28:20.

The reason why the Lord said that He would be with the disciples even to the close of the age is that the Lord's twelve disciples are similar in meaning to the twelve tribes of Israel. That is to say, they mean all things of love and faith, and therefore all things of the Church, see 3354, 3488, 3858, as do the twelve tribes, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060. The fact that the Church reaches its close when no charity exists there any longer, nor consequently any faith, has been shown several times already; and that within the Church at the present day, called the Christian Church, scarcely any trace of charity or consequently of faith survives there; and that the close of the age is accordingly now at hand, will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown further on.

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