THEOSISTheodoret of Cyrus
When the adversaries I have sent to confront you strip you of your sovereignty and bring about your death, will you still, in your pride and disdain, claim to be God as though your divine name could instill fear in them? This cannot happen, for a shift in circumstances will lead to a transformation in mindset. You will be wounded, hardened, and brought to the end of your days, just like your uncircumcised subjects, and you will come to understand that you are a mere mortal, not a deity. God's judgment is firm and undeniable. This truth was articulated when He stated, ‘As I have spoken,’ declares Adonai the Lord. This applies to the malevolent spirit that inspired the delusions of the visible ruler of Tyre, whom God also condemns to destruction by foreign nations and conquerors.
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Such were those who once embraced divine wisdom through the ancient preaching of the Gospel. The Apostle also reminds us: at times we were foolish, disobedient, misled by our desires and various pleasures, living in malice and envy, detestable and hating one another (Titus 3:3). Additionally, through the prophet Moses, God expressed, ‘They have provoked Me to jealousy with what is not God; they have moved Me to anger with their idols: and 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 previously foolish, unreasonable, thoughtless, and idolatrous destroyers, the prophetic word anticipates the devil's defeat. It may also be noted that those referred to as strangers include the faithful who have come to believe. As it is written, ‘But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ’ (Ephesians 2:13). God asserts that they will wield their swords to dismantle the devil's deceit, annihilating your plots and bringing an end to your malevolent schemes against humanity. They will demolish the altars you have established, consigning you to oblivion, and they will receive the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all your might (Luke 10:19). Ultimately, you will realize that your claims of divinity have been in vain. This fate befalls you because your wisdom remains uncircumcised, and you have not severed the destructive passion of pride within you.