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 we eat represent our desire to be good and our will to do what is good; fruit that is produced is the actual good that we go into the world and do.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1015
1015. That ‘be fruitful and multiply’ means increases in good and truth in the interior man, ‘being fruitful’ having reference to goods and multiplying’ to truths, is clear from what has been shown already at verse 1 of this chapter where the same words occur. That they reside with the interior man becomes clear from the second half of this verse where the imperative multiply is repeated. This would be an unnecessary and therefore pointless repetition if it did not mean something specific, different from the previous use of the word. From these considerations, and from others mentioned so far, it is clear that here being fruitful and multiplying have reference to goods and truths residing with the interior man.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 199
199. The fruit from the tree from which they were allowed to eat means the good and truth of faith, that is, the cognitions of faith, revealed to them from the Most Ancient Church. This becomes clear from the fact that reference is made to ‘the fruit from the tree of the garden’ from which they were to eat, and not merely, as previously in 2:16 where the subject was the celestial man or Most Ancient Church, ‘from the tree of the garden’. As was stated at that point, the tree of the garden means perception, that is, the perception of good and truth. And because this good and truth are the product, it is here called fruit, as is also the meaning of ‘fruit’ many times in the Word.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 43
43. Verse 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas; and let birds be multiplied upon the earth.
Everything that has life in it from the Lord is fruitful and multiplies without limit. This does not happen during a person’s lifetime, but in the next life it does so to an astonishing extent. In the Word ‘to befruitful’ has reference to matters of love, while ‘to multiply’ has reference to matters of faith. The fruit of love contains the seed by which it multiplies itself to so great an extent. The Lord’ s blessing also means, in the Word, fruitfulness and multiplication, for they are the outcome of that blessing.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5355
5355. ‘For God has made me fruitful’ means leading to a multiplication of truth from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making fruitful’ as a multiplication, that is to say, of truth from good, for fruitfulness is used in reference to good and multiplication to truth, 43, 55, 913, 983, 1940, 2846, 2847. In the original language the name Ephraim is derived from a word meaning fruitfulness, the essential nature of which is contained in the statement ‘for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction’. That essential nature is one in which truth from good in the natural has been multiplied after the temptations undergone there have come to an end. But a brief description of what a multiplication of truth from good is must be given. When good, that is, love towards the neighbour, is present in a person, so also is the love of truth. Consequently, insofar as that good is present he feels an affection for truth, since good exists within truth like the soul within its body.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 55
55. Verse 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, Befruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air,* and over every living thing that creeps upon the earth.
Because the most ancient people applied the term Marriage to understanding and will, or faith and love, when joined together, they gave the name Fruitfulness to any good resulting from that marriage, and Multiplication to any truth. For this reason similar expressions occur in the Prophets, as in Ezekiel,
I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they will multiply and be fruitful, and I will resettle you** to be as in your ancient times, and I will bless you more than in your former times, and you will know that I am Jehovah, and I will cause man to walk upon you, even My people Israel. Ezek. 36:8-11.
Here ‘man’ is used to mean the spiritual man, who is also called Israel, ‘ancient times’ the Most Ancient Church, ‘former times’ the Ancient Church which came after the Flood. The reason why ‘multiplying’, which relates to truth, comes first and why ‘beingfruitful’, which relates to good, follows is that the subject is the person who is to be regenerated, not one who has been regenerated.
[2] When the understanding is coupled to the will, or faith to love, the individual is called by the Lord in Isaiah ‘a married land’,
Your land will no more be called Desolate, but you will be named My-good-pleasure-is-in-her, and your land, Married; for Jehovah will take His pleasure in you, and your land will be married. Isa. 62:4.
The resulting fruits which are matters of truth are called ‘sons’, and the fruits which are matters of good are called ‘daughters’. This recurs very frequently in the Word.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5622
5622. ‘Pistachio nuts and almonds’ means forms of the good of life that agree with those truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pistachio nuts’ as forms of the good of life that agree with the truths of exterior natural good, meant by ‘resin’, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘almonds’ as forms of the good of life that agree with the truths of interior natural good, meant by ‘aromatic wax and stacte’. Those nuts have that meaning because they arefruits, and ‘fruits’ in the Word means deeds – fruits produced by useful trees meaning good deeds, or what amounts to the same, forms of the good of life, since these, so far as the use they serve is concerned, are good deeds. The reason ‘pistachio nuts’ means forms of the good of life that agree with the truths of exterior natural good is that they are the fruit borne by an inferior kind of tree, and things of an exterior nature are meant by objects of an inferior kind, for the reason that essentially exterior things are not so specific as interior ones since they are the general appearances produced by large numbers of inner components.
[2] The reason ‘almonds’ means forms of the good of life that agree with the truths of interior natural good is that the almond is a superior kind of tree. In the spiritual sense the tree itself means a perception of interior truth derived from good, its blossom means interior truth derived from good, while its fruit means the good of life resulting from that truth. The word ‘almond’ is used with this meaning in Jeremiah,
The word of Jehovah came [to me], saying, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, A rod of almond do I see. Then Jehovah said to me, You have seen well,* for I am watching over My word to perform it. Jer. 1:11, 12.
‘A rod’ stands for power, ‘almond’ for a perception of interior truth; and because this rod is said to be Jehovah’s it stands for a watching over that truth -‘word’ standing for truth.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 57
57. ‘The plant yielding seed’ is every truth that looks towards a use. ‘The tree in which there is fruit’ is the good that accompanies faith. ‘Fruit’ is what the Lord gives to the celestial man, while ‘seed’, the source of the fruit, is what He gives to the spiritual man. This is why it is said that ‘the tree producing seed will be for you for food’. That celestial food is called ‘fruit from a tree’ is clear from the next chapter where the subject is the celestial man. Here let just that be mentioned which the Lord spoke through Ezekiel,
Beside the river there is rising up upon its bank, on this side and on that, every tree for food. Its leaf will not fall nor its fruit fail. It is re-born monthly, for its waters flow out from the Sanctuary, and its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for medicine. Ezek. 47:12.
‘Waters from the Sanctuary’ means the life and mercy of the Lord, who is the Sanctuary; ‘fruit’ means wisdom, which is food for them; ‘leaf’ is intelligence, which is given them for a use, which is called ‘medicine’.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6172
6172. ‘And were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly’ means resulting forms of the good of charity and resulting truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being fruitful’ as bringing forth forms of the good of charity, and from the meaning of ‘multiplying’ as bringing forth truths of faith, dealt with in 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847. For the expression ‘to be fruitful’ is derived from the word ‘fruits’, by which the works of charity are meant in the internal sense, while the expression ‘to be multiplied’ is derived from the word ‘multitude’, which in the internal sense is used to refer to the truths of faith, since ‘much’ (multum) refers in the Word to truths, but ‘great’ to forms of good.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6647
6647. ‘And the children of Israel were fruitful and productive’ means that the Church’s truths increased in goodness. This is clear from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as spiritual truths, dealt with in 5414, 5879, and as the Church, 6637; from the meaning of ‘being fruitful’ as increasing in goodness, dealt with in 43, 55, 917, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146; and from the meaning of ‘being productive’ as further branching out; for once the Church has been established with a person, good increases constantly and branches out both within the internal and also towards the external, and within it.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7690
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 Matt. 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; Isa. 37:31; Jer. 17:8; 32:19; Rev. 22:2.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8326
8326. ‘And plant them’ means regeneration going on continuously. This is clear from the meaning of ‘planting’ as regenerating, for regeneration is like the activity of planting. When a tree is planted it grows into branches, leaves, and fruit, then from seeds in thefruit it grows into new trees, and so on. A person’s regeneration is similar, which also explains why in the Word a person is compared to a tree, and one who has been regenerated to a garden or paradise. The truths of faith with that person are compared to the leaves, and forms of the good of charity to the fruit; the seeds from which new trees grow correspond to truths which spring from good, or what amounts to the same thing, to faith which springs from charity. The expression ‘regeneration going on continuously’ is used because a person’s regeneration has a beginning but never ceases; he is continually being made more perfect not only while he lives in the world but also in the next life for evermore. Yet he can never reach any kind of perfection that enables him to be compared with the Divine.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 885
885. That ‘a leaf’ means truth is clear from various places in the Word, where man is compared to or actually called a tree. ‘Fruit’ in those contexts means the good that stems from charity, and ‘leaf’ the truth deriving from this, for these are indeed like fruit and leaves, as in Ezekiel,
Beside the river there is rising up upon its bank, on this side and on that, every tree for food, whose leaf does not fall, nor its fruitfail, but is reborn monthly, for its waters flow out from the Sanctuary, and its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for medicine. Ezek. 47:11; Rev. 22:1.
Here ‘tree’ stands for the member of the Church who has the Lord’s kingdom within him, ‘fruit’ stands for the good that stems from love and charity, ‘leaf’ for truths deriving from that good which serve to instruct the human race and to regenerate it. And because truths do this the leaf is said to be ‘for medicine’. In the same prophet,
Will He not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit so that it withers? And all the plucked off (leaves) from its off-shoot will wither. Ezek. 17:9.
The subject here is the vine, which is the Church, when it has been vastated, whose good, which is ‘the fruit’, and its truth, which is that ‘plucked off from its off-shoot’, thus wither away.
[2] In Jeremiah,
Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah. He will be like a tree planted beside the waters. His leaf will be green, and in the year of scarcity he will not be anxious. Nor will he cease to bear fruit. Jer. 17:7, 8.
‘Green leaf’ stands for the truth of faith, and so for faith itself which derives from charity. The same applies in David, Ps. 1:3. In the same prophet,
There will be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and its leaf has fallen. Jer. 8:13.
‘Grapes on the vine’ stands for spiritual good, ‘figs on the fig tree’ for natural good, leaf’ for truth, which has accordingly fallen. Likewise in Isa. 74:4. Similar things were meant by ‘the fig tree’ that Jesus saw, which was made to wither away when He found nothing but leaves on it, Matt. 21:20; Mark 11:13, 14. The Jewish Church in particular was what ‘the fig tree’ was used to mean on that occasion. With this Church no natural good existed any longer, only that preserved with them which was meant by ‘a leaf’, namely doctrine, or truth, concerning faith. A Church that has been vastated is one that knows truth but has no wish to understand it. They are like people who say they know the truth, or matters of faith, but who possess no good at all that stems from charity. They are merely ‘fig leaves’, and they wither away.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 782
782. 18:14 “The fruits that your soul longed for have gone from you, and all things rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.” This symbolically means that all the blessings and felicities of heaven, including the external ones they wish for, will altogether fly away and be seen no longer, because these Roman Catholics do not have in them any celestial or spiritual affections for goodness and truth.
Fruits that the soul longs for symbolize nothing else than the blessings and felicities of heaven, because those are the fruits of everything having to do with the doctrine and worship that are the subject here, and because they are what people desire when they are dying, and also what they continue to desire when they first come into the spiritual world.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 934
934. That fruits symbolize the good works that a person does out of love or charity is, indeed, something known without confirmation from the Word, for no one who reads the Word interprets fruits to mean anything else.
Fruits symbolize the goods of love or charity because a person is likened to a tree and is also called a tree (nos. 89, 400).
That fruits symbolize the goods of love or charity, which in common speech are called good works, may be seen from the following passages:
…the ax is laid to the root of the tree. Every tree…which does not bear good fruit shall be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:10, cf. 7:16-20)
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; …a tree is known by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33, cf. Luke 6:43, 44)
Every branch…that does not bear fruit (shall be taken away); and every branch that bears fruit (shall be pruned), that it may bear more fruit…. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears muchfruit…. (John 15:2-8).
…bear fruits worthy of repentance…. (Matthew 3:8)
He who received seed on the good ground is someone who hears the Word and heeds it (and) bears fruit…. (Matthew 13:23)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) “…I chose you…that you should…bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain…. (John 15:16)
A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; he came seeking fruit on it and found none. He said to the keeper of his vineyard, “…Cut it down; why should it render the ground fruitless?” (Luke 13:6-9)
…a certain householder…leased (his vineyard) to husbandmen…, that (he) might receive its fruit. But the husbandmen (killed) his servants (that he sent to them)…, and last of all…his son…. (Therefore he) will lease his vineyard to (others) who will render to him the fruits in their seasons…. Therefore…the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation producing the fruitsof it. (Matthew 21:33-35, 37-39, 41, 43)
And so on in many other places.