90. Which is in the midst of the paradise of God, signifies interiorly in the truths of wisdom and faith. "In the midst" signifies the inmost (n. 44, 383), here, the interior; "the paradise of God" signifies the truths of wisdom and faith; therefore "the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God," signifies the Lord with the good of love and charity interiorly in the truths of wisdom and faith; good is also within truths, for good is the esse of life, and truth is the existere of life thence derived, as is abundantly shown in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and Wisdom. That the paradise of God is the truth of wisdom and of faith, is evident from the signification of "garden" in the Word; "garden" there signifies wisdom and intelligence, because "trees" signify the men of the church, and their "fruits" the goods of life; nothing else is signified by "the garden of Eden," for by it is described the wisdom of Adam. [2] The like is meant by "the garden of God" in Ezekiel:
In thy wisdom and intelligence Thou hadst made for thyself wealth; thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering (Ezek. 28:4, 13). This is concerning "Tyre," by which is signified the church as to the knowledges of truth and good, thus as to intelligence; therefore it is said, "In thy wisdom and intelligence thou hadst made for thyself wealth." By "the precious stones which were a covering" are signified the truths of intelligence. [3] In the same:
Assyria is a cedar in Lebanon; the cedars in the garden of God did not hide it; nor was any tree in the garden of God equal to it in beauty. All the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God emulated it (Ezek. 31:3, 8-9). This is said of Egypt and Ashur, because by "Egypt" is signified science, and by "Assyria" rationality, by which comes intelligence; the like is signified by "cedar." But because by his rationality he came into the pride of his own intelligence, therefore it is said of him:
To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Since thou shalt be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the lower earth; and thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised (Ezek. 31:18). "The uncircumcised" are they who are without the good of charity. [4] In Isaiah:
Jehovah shall comfort Zion; and He shall make her wilderness into Eden, and her desert into the garden of Jehovah (Isa. 51:3). "Zion" there is the church; "the wilderness" and the "desert" are the defect and ignorance of truth; "Eden" and "the garden of God" are wisdom and intelligence. Wisdom and intelligence are also signified by "garden" in Isa. 58:11; 61:11; Jer. 31:12; Amos 9:14; Num. 24:6. [5] The man of the church is also like a garden as to intelligence, when he is in the good of love from the Lord, because the spiritual heat which vivifies him is love, and the spiritual light is intelligence therefrom. It is known that gardens in this world flourish by means of heat and light; it is the same in heaven. In heaven there appear paradisal gardens, with fruit trees according to their wisdom from the good of love from the Lord; and around those who are in intelligence and not in the good of love, there do not appear gardens, but grass; but around those who are in faith separated from charity, not even grass, but sand.
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