People inspired by evil desires and informed by false ideas want nothing more than to attack and destroy the things that are good and true in others. In an abstract sense, according to Swedenborg, it is the nature of evil to attack good, and is the nature of falsity to attack truth.
And since the most effective way to attack something is by surrounding it, coming at it from all sides and cutting off escape, the act of “surrounding” in the Bible is associated with attacks by evil and falsity.
If as a child you ever faced a bully, this will make sense. Nothing a victim says or does will do any good; everything gets turned against him; any word or action can be twisted into an excuse for a physical attack.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2347
2347. ‘They surrounded the house’ means that they were set against the good that flows from charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a house’ as celestial good, which is nothing else than good flowing from love and charity, dealt with in 2048, 2233, and also from the meaning of ‘surrounding’ as being opposed to that good, that is, approaching it with hostile intent and attacking it.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3448
[10] (portion) When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its devastation is near. Luke 21:20.
This refers to the close of the age or final period of the Church when faith does not exist any longer. ‘Jerusalem’ – which means the Church, see 2117 – is ‘surrounded by armies’ when beset by falsities.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 861
861. 20:9 And they went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. This symbolically means that, being roused up by followers of the dragon, these people scorned every truth in the church and attempted to destroy everything connected with the New Church and its fundamental doctrine regarding the Lord and life.
To go up over the breadth of the earth means, symbolically, to scorn every truth in the church, because going up over symbolically means to transcend and bypass, thus to scorn. And the breadth of the earth symbolizes the truth in the church, as will be seen below. To surround the camp of the saints means, symbolically, to besiege and try to destroy everything connected with the New Church, as will be seen in the number following next.