28. The Son of man symbolizes the Lord in relation to the Word because prophets also were called sons of man. Prophets were also called sons of man because they represented the Lord in relation to the Word, and therefore they symbolized the doctrine of the church drawn from the Word. Prophets have no other meaning in heaven when they are mentioned in the Word. For the spiritual meaning of a prophet, as also that of the Son of man, is the doctrine of the church drawn from the Word, and when referring to the Lord it is the Word itself.

That the prophet Daniel was called son of man may be seen in Daniel 8:17.

That the prophet Ezekiel was called son of man may be seen in Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8, 3:1, 3-4, 10, 17, 25, 4:1, 16, 5:1, 6:2, 7:2, 8:5-6, 8, 12, 15, 11:2, 4, 15, 12:2-3, 9, 18, 22, 27, 13:2, 17, 14:3, 13, 15:2, 16:2, 17:2, 20:3-4, 27, 46, 21:7, 11, 14, 17, 19, 24, 22:18, 24, 23:2, 36, 24:2, 16, 25, 25:2, 26:2, 27:2, 28:2, 12, 21, 29:2, 18, 30:2, 21, 31:2, 32:2, 18, 33:2, 7, 10, 12, 24, 30, 34:2, 35:2, 36:1, 17, 37:3, 9, 11, 16, 38:2, 14, 39:1, 17, 40:4, 43:7, 10, 18, 44:5.

It is apparent now from this that the Lord in relation to His Divine humanity is called the Son of God, and in relation to the Word the Son of man.

Fire, in the spiritual sense, can mean either love or hatred depending on the context, just as natural fire can be either comforting in keeping you warm, or scary in burning down your house. Our language reflects this, too -- we use concepts like a smoldering hatred or a burning love. So fire signifies a love, either a good love of the neighbor and to the Lord, or, in a bad sense, selfish love of oneself that, if unchecked by conscience, leads to hatred of anyone that opposes it.