89. 'I will give to eat of the tree of life' signifies the appropriation of the good of love and charity from the Lord. By 'to eat' in the Word is signified to appropriate, and by 'the tree of life' is signified the Lord as to the good of love. Consequently by 'to eat of the tree of life' is signified the appropriation of the good of love from the Lord. 'To eat' signifies to appropriate, because just as natural food, when it is eaten, is appropriated to the life of a man's body, so spiritual food, when it is received, is appropriated to the life of his soul. The Lord as to the good of love is signified by 'the tree of life' because nothing else is signified by the TREE OF LIFE in the garden of Eden; also because a man's celestial and spiritual life is the result of the good of love and charity that is received from the Lord. 'A tree' is mentioned in many places, and by it is understood a man of the Church, and in the universal sense the Church itself, and by its fruit the good of life. This is because the Lord is the Tree of Life, from Whom is every good with the man of the Church, and in the Church; but of this in its own place. It is said 'the good of love and charity' because the good of love is a celestial good that is of love directed to the Lord, and the good of charity is a spiritual good that is of love towards the neighbour. What the one good is and what the other, and the quality of each, will be stated in the things following. Some things about them may be seen in the work concerning HEAVEN AND HELL (n. 13-19).