THEOSISTheodoret of Cyrus
When those I have sent against you strip you of your sovereignty and bring about your demise, can we still pridefully refer to ourselves as divine, attempting to instill fear with the name of God? Such a claim is impossible. A shift in your situation will lead to a transformation in your perspective. You will be afflicted, hardened, and perish, just like your uncircumcised subjects, coming to the realization that you are merely human, not a deity. For my judgment is firm and indisputable. This truth is expressed by God when He states, ‘As I have spoken,’ says Adonai the Lord. This message is directed towards the ruinous spirit that has instigated this deceitful ruling over Tyre.
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Thus, God also warns him of impending destruction by foreigners, by those who will devastate and from different nations. These were the ones who received the divine knowledge brought forth by the Gospel in ancient times. The Apostle points out that at times we are foolish, disobedient, and led astray, engaging in lust and indulgences, living in malice and envy, detestable and filled with hatred for one another (Titus 3:3); and God Himself declared through the prophet Moses, ‘They have provoked Me to jealousy with what is not God; they have moved Me to anger with their worthless idols; so I will provoke them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will anger them with a foolish nation’ (Deuteronomy 32:21). Therefore, through these once foolish, senseless, wayward, and vile destroyers, outsiders and Gentiles, the prophetic word anticipates the crushing of the devil. However, it may be that these so-called strangers refer to those who have come to believe in God. For it is written, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). God declares that they will dismantle and render to dust the wickedness of the devil’s schemes, shattering your plots and ending your malevolent machinations against humanity. They will demolish the altars erected for you, and as if through death, they will cast you into oblivion, taking dominion over the serpent, the scorpion, and all your power (Luke 10:19). Ultimately, you will discover that your assurances to humanity of being a god have been in vain. This fate will befall you because your wisdom remains uncircumcised, and you have failed to sever the grievous affliction of pride within you.