Oh priests and rulers, who have misled my people, and you, who have been led astray, have sinned so profoundly that not only have you slain the offerings, but you have also cast them down into the abyss. Do not presume that due to your immense transgressions you have become utterly estranged from me. I am here as your teacher, wishing to guide you, not to punish, to save, not to condemn. I know Ephraim—Rehoboam, through whom the people have been led astray, as well as all the kings who have inherited his position and sins; Israel is not hidden from me, that is, the people of the ten tribes, for Israel has also become corrupt under the sinful king. It was the king who first went astray, abandoning the worship of God to pursue golden calves, and the people eagerly followed him, sharing in the same wickedness. They will not turn to the Lord, for they have discovered what they long for, and the spirit of fornication, which operates—according to the apostle in Ephesians—within the sons of disobedience, has taken hold of their hearts. Thus, under its influence, they have not come to know the Lord and have forgotten their Creator.
Therefore, the Lord is aware of those who lead through corrupt teachings, and the people are known not because they merit His awareness, but because nothing that is done secretly is hidden from Him—whether it be from those who have been led astray or those who have misled them. Those who persist in their own destruction will not consider repentance. The spirit of harlotry, with which they have strayed from the Church and abandoned true unions, remains within them; hence, they have not recognized the Lord.
THEOSIS