AE 504 - "Fire"

 AE 504 [10]

. . . the Lord's Divine love was meant by the fire
in which the Lord went
before the sons of Israel in the wilderness,
when they were journeying;
also by the fire over the Tent of meeting during the night,
which is thus described in Moses:

Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud,
to lead them in the way,
and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light;
neither the pillar of cloud by day
nor the pillar of fire by night
departed from before the people.
(Exodus 13:21, 22; Numbers 9:15-23; Deuteronomy 1:33)

The cloud of Jehovah was upon the tabernacle by day,
and there was fire in it by night,
in the eyes of all the house of Israel,
throughout all their journeys.
(Exodus 40:38; Psalm 105:32, 39)

The "cloud appearing by day, and the fire by night,"
represented the Lord's protection of heaven and the church;
for "the tabernacle" represented heaven and the church,
"cloud and fire" protection;
for "the day when there was the cloud"
means Divine truth in light,
and the "night" means Divine truth in shade.
Lest they might be hurt by too much light
they were guarded by a cloud,
and from being hurt by too much shade
they were guarded by a shining fire.

AE 504 [15]

So far respecting the meaning of "fire" in the Word,
when it is attributed to the Lord,
or when it is predicated of heaven and the church.
But when "fire" is predicated in the Word
of the evil and of the hells,
it signifies the love of self and of the world,
and from them every evil affection and desire
that torments the wicked after death in the hells.
"Fire" has this contrary meaning
for the reason that Divine love,
when it comes down out of heaven
and falls into the societies where the evil are,
is changed into a love contrary to the Divine love,
and thus into various heats of cupidity and of lusts,
and so into evils of every kind,
and also into torments,
because evils carry with them the punishments of evil.
From this change of the Divine love
into infernal love with the evil,
the hells where the love of self and the world
and hatreds and revenge prevail,
appear to be as if on fire,
both within and round about,
although the infernal crew that is in them
perceive nothing fiery.
Indeed, from these loves
the crew that is in such hells appear
with faces inflamed and reddened as from fire.