Wielding the Flame of Anor

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

Hiya, people! By the way, did anyone notice that Fire is one of the most chaotic elements mentioned in both the Silmarillion and the LOTR?

'King and father, wilt thou not restrain the pride of our brother, Curufinwe, who is called the Spirit of Fire, all too truly?'

Fingolfin refered to his half-brother Feanor as Spirit of Fire, meaning his chaotic nature. Fire is in fact one of Morgoth's favorite weapons; his dragons wield it. The Balrogs are Maia of Fire, and doubtless, Sauron being a Maia of Aule is associated with Fire in his smithing of the One Ring.

It do seem significant that the Bridge itself is surrounded with Fire, altogether to give the confrontation a hellish atmosphere:

Right across the floor, close to the feet of two huge pillars a great fissure had opened. Out of it a fierce red light came, and now and again flames licked at the brink and curled about the bases of the columns.

Incidentally, if the Flame of Anor should mean the Sun, did Gandalf literally mean that he is a servant of Arien, the Maia who carried the Anar? Anar is a fire-golden fruit of the Laurelin which Ungoliant poisoned, but Arien is the Maia who carried that fruit across the sky. Definitely sounds awkward if Gandalf refer to himself as the servant of a fruit... But the Flame of Anor came ultimately from er... the Holy Trees, which came from the Holy Lamps, which came from ... Varda and Manwe. (Varda put oil into the lamps and Manwe burnt incense inside them)

So, I guess you can say that Gandalf is telling the Balrog to back off because his boss is more cool than the Balrog's.