In contrast, the Lord Himself will emerge as the glorious crown for the remnant of Israel, encompassing the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, acting as a spirit of righteous judgment for Hezekiah, king of Judah. He will be a refuge for those confined within the city’s walls after the devastation that struck the entire land. This will be illustrated by the prophetic account of how an angel struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian warriors. However, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were also intoxicated by idolatry, neglecting true worship in the temple to honor images of demons, oblivious to the Lord who sees all. Every table and offering were defiled, resulting in abominations of idolatry that not only filled the temple but also defiled the high places and groves, leaving the Lord without a dwelling among them.
This observation is made both literally and allegorically. We will maintain the former interpretation while respectfully engaging with the Septuagint’s understanding. Once the devil has ensnared the heretics who ascend the lofty peaks of pride, the Lord will become a crown of glory for those who remain true to the Church, a faithful remnant amidst the multitude who have strayed. He shall embody the spirit of judgment during the reckoning, purifying the daughters and sons of Zion with discerning fire. However, any man stained with blood shall not find cleansing through this judgment but rather through the refining flame. He will act as a fortress for His people, shielding them from those who are intoxicated, led astray by the venomous wine, as described in Scripture, and have stumbled because of their deceitful appetites.
It is often noted that wine originates from grapes, while “sikera,” translated by Aquila as "intoxication," includes any beverage that can lead to drunkenness or cognitive disarray, be it derived from wheat, barley, millet, fruit juices, palm fruits, or other sources. Thus, the priests and prophets of heretical movements were enraptured by sikera and depleted by wine, like Iriska and Maximilla alongside their leader Montanus, without understanding their folly. Wine represents the misinterpretation of the Holy Scriptures, while sikera symbolizes the engagement with secular reasoning and dialectics—mere shadows that vanish and corrupt. A curse will fall upon those who avoid pursuing godliness and act purely out of greed. The Apostle articulated this deception, indicating “the one who pays heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons speaks lies in hypocrisy.”
Furthermore, when the Lord brings low the scribes and Pharisees, along with Judas the traitor—who from the outset was a thief, pilfering from the collection for the impoverished—He will become the hope and glorious crown for believing Jews, especially for the apostles He will protect as they spread the Gospel, ensuring their lives are spared from immediate martyrdom. The scribes, Pharisees, and false prophets were deeply intoxicated by the very wine and sackcloth previously mentioned. Their plots and schemes amounted to little, as even Judas betrayed Jesus driven by monetary greed, and the priests who bribed him did so out of fear of losing their standing. With a whip crafted from cords, the Lord expelled those selling oxen and sheep from the temple, upending the tables of dove vendors and admonishing them: “It is written, ‘My Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.’”
In the deeper interpretation of the texts we referred to, noting that their tables overflowed with refuse and corruption, the heretics and scribes, Pharisees included, are depicted as having doctrines and ordinances that are full of impurity until they misinterpret the Sacred Scriptures, rendering them lifeless, only to spew forth the undigested and foul. It is perplexing why Theodotion, instead of utilizing the Hebrew term for “vomit,” translated it differently, possibly fabricating a term for a new concept. For among the Jews, the term is indeed composite, where “vomit” signifies one element, and “unclean” is another. Thus, all that induces nausea and purging can be termed accordingly.
THEOSIS