863. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. This symbolically means that they were destroyed by the lusts of their hellish love.

The fire that came down out of heaven and devoured them symbolizes lusts for evil, or the lusts of a hellish love, as in nos. 494, 748 above, since people who engage in external worship divorced from any internal worship are caught up in evils of every kind and in lusts for them, because the evils in them have not been removed by any actual repentance (no. 859).

We are told that the fire came down from God out of heaven. This occurred in ancient times when everything connected with the church was represented before their eyes, thus when the church was a representational one. But today, now that representations have ceased, similar imagery is used, and it has the same symbolic meaning as before when the meaning was represented.

That fire came down out of heaven on those who profaned sacred things may be seen in nos. 494, 748 above.

Something similar is said of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel:

I will cause... fire and brimstone to rain down on him, and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him. (Ezekiel 38:22)

I will send fire on Magog... (Ezekiel 39:6)

833. 19:19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. This symbolically means that all inwardly evil people who professed faith alone will, together with their leaders and followers, attack the Lord's Divine truths in His Word and assail those who will belong to the Lord's New Church.

The beast symbolizes people caught up in a religion teaching faith alone, as may be seen in nos. 567, 576, 577, 594, 598, 601 above. That they include only those people who are inwardly evil and have professed that religion will be seen below. The kings of the earth symbolize people who more than others are caught up in the falsities of that religion, thus its leaders. For kings of the earth symbolize people governed by the church's truths from the Word, and in an opposite sense, people caught up in falsities (nos. 20, 483, 704, 737, 720, 740). Here they are people caught up in falsities. Their armies symbolize all those among them who are likewise caught up in falsities (no. 447).

To make war means, symbolically, to attack, since war in the Word symbolizes spiritual war, which is one of falsity against truth, and of truth against falsity (nos. 500, 586, 707). He that sat on the horse symbolizes the Lord in relation to the Word (nos. 820, 821). And because people cannot fight against the Lord Himself, but fight against His Divine truths found in the Word, thus fighting also against the Lord because the Lord embodies the Word, therefore this is what is meant by making war against Him who sat on the horse.

That an army or host symbolizes people who possess Divine truths, thus abstractly Divine truths themselves, accordingly people who belong to the Lord's New Heaven and New Church, because it is they who possess Divine truths, may be seen in no. 826 above.