IOS – Can the App Store be installed on Xcode’s iOS Simulator on the new ARM/M1 powered Macs

Apple's review team will reject your app if it looks capable of downloading executable code. They have erred on the side of rejecting apps that legitimately look like they will only even "interpret" the code since Apple stands far more to lose when third parties discover this path to executing code and inject the code between your web server and your app.

The stakes are too high - so you'll want to be very careful that you understand the risk to your app if you include this functionality.

The briefs app - which was submitted to the app store in Late 2009 I believe, was hung up in this "what is the difference between interpreted code, downloadable game data (think new levels for a game), executable code" review state until April 2013

• http://blog.robrhyne.com/post/659211315/almost-on-the-app-store
• http://iphonedevelopment.blogspot.com/2010/08/briefsapp.html
• Wireframe iOS design apps for iPad?

Clearly, there are far more apps on the store that use interpreters so your path to approval is likely to be smoothed by the efforts and pain of the pioneers that got Apple used to the idea that they can ensure interpreted code and configuration doesn't turn into executables.

This is fine. Apple doesn't approve of apps which download executable Objective-C. Other languages seem to be fine, including but not limited to JavaScript. A configuration file, regardless of the language, is perfectly within the guidelines.

The specific wording of the guideline indicates that content (used figuratively to mean data, executables, scripts, etc) that is provided by the app developer, modifying the functionality of the app further than is already built in to the app at review time, is prohibited. This is to prevent apps changing completely once they've been reviewed and accepted. Your app which runs Lua scripts presumably can run Lua built in, rather than executing the scripts externally and receiving the result. This means that all the functionality is within the app, thus acceptable.