It is stated that our iniquities are numerous in Your presence, and our sins are against us. Our iniquities dwell within us, and our unrighteousnesses we have come to know. We have acted wickedly, spoken lies, and turned away from our God. We have uttered unjust words and exhibited disobedience. From our hearts, we have taught deceits. We have departed from judgment, and the truth has become remote, having been worn out in our wicked ways, unable to walk in righteousness. The truth was taken away.
The reasons behind our distress are clear; we have roared like bears and cooed like doves, awaited a judgment that never came, and looked for salvation now granted to the Gentiles, claiming, "Our iniquities have multiplied before You, from which You have long averted Your gaze, so as to not witness them or bring punishment upon us." Our sins have testified against us, leading us to receive what we deserve. Our offenses remain, and we have recognized our iniquities, treating them as truths we've long committed.
What are these iniquities? They consist of sinning and lying before God, or, as the Hebrew text translated by Aquila indicates, denying God, pointing toward the Savior. They assert that we have forsaken our God, claiming, "We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where He is" (John 9:29). Thus we speak slanderously, "If He were from God, He would not have violated the Sabbath," and accuse Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Luke 11:15).
The clearer term in Greek for our offense is "apostasy," which defines one who denies God and is found to be an apostate. We have conceived and spoken from the heart words of deceit, dismissing God's law in favor of human traditions that we have held in our hearts. The judgment has receded, and truth has moved away.
For what partnership exists between truth and iniquity? What accord is there between Christ and Belial (2 Cor. 6)? Truth has been obscured among the Gentiles and distanced from us, as it has fallen in the open square. For the path leading to destruction is broad and wide (Matthew 7), and many refuse to walk the narrow way where truth resides.
Truth has been lost to oblivion, as it is written, "Truth has sprung from the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven" (Psalm 84:12). It is noteworthy that the term truth often refers to the countenance of Christ, whose forsakers embrace falsehood. Those who distance themselves from lies face exploitation. Although this may appear bleak, it is explained this way: as we generated lies from our hearts and turned away from God's law, truth became distant, and justice was unable to reach us. The Son of God, who embodies truth, faced neglect, to the point that anyone wishing to distance themselves from Jewish traditions faced intrigues and persecution. The man born blind, who was granted sight, was cast out of the synagogues (John 9). After the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, those entrusted with the ministries distributed through the apostles faced persecution and hardship from the world’s churches.
THEOSIS