Apocalypse Revealed # 863
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)
Numbers 10:11-28
11
It happened in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the testimony.
12
The children of Israel went forward according to their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud stayed in the wilderness of Paran.
13
They first went forward according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
14
First, the standard of the camp of the children of Judah went forward according to their armies. Nahshon the son of Amminadab was over his army.
15
Nethanel the son of Zuar was over the army of the tribe of the children of Issachar.
16
Eliab the son of Helon was over the army of the tribe of the children of Zebulun.
17
The tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tabernacle, went forward.
18
The standard of the camp of Reuben went forward according to their armies. Elizur the son of Shedeur was over his army.
19
Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon.
20
Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad.
21
The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary. The others set up the tabernacle before they arrived.
22
The standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies. Elishama the son of Ammihud was over his army.
23
Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur was over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh.
24
Abidan the son of Gideoni was over the army of the tribe of the children of Benjamin.
25
The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which was the rear guard of all the camps, set forward according to their armies. Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai was over his army.
26
Pagiel the son of Ochran was over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher.
27
Ahira the son of Enan was over the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali.
28
Thus were the travels of the children of Israel according to their armies; and they went forward.
