The dark mountains are referred to as Babylon and the entirety of the Chaldeans, as noted at the opening of Isaiah’s vision against Babylon, where it states, “On the dark mountain you shall raise a banner.” Thus, they are commanded to seek repentance before experiencing the miseries of captivity. While they await the light, they will find themselves entrenched in darkness. If, however, one turns away from listening, their soul will mourn in obscurity or, as translated by Aquila, in darkness, lamenting from the pride that blinds them. The Saviour admonishes us to work while it is day, for night comes when no one can labor. Isaiah prophesies such a time when the celestial bodies will lose their brightness; “the stars of heaven, and Orion, and all the ornaments of heaven shall not give their light: and the sun that shines shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light.” Sophonias echoes this, proclaiming a day of anguish and need, a time of darkness and gloom, a day filled with clouds and ambiguity.
Thus, before the day of judgment arrives, and we stumble upon the dark mountains—the forces aligned for suffering—let us repent so we do not find ourselves engulfed in night’s shadows while we await the light. We should recognize that failure to do so will lead either God or the prophet to mourn for our pride, should we refuse to heed His words. The prophet laments, saying, “Jerusalem shall weep,” as the flock of the Lord has been captured. The root of our suffering lies in the captivity of God’s flock. Let us admonish the Jews, along with our own who cling to simple and harmful tales, that if they fail to consider the deeper truths hidden within God’s creation and do not comprehend the wisdom found in parables, the soul of the prophet—or even their own—will grieve in the shadow of pride when they resist divine counsel. Thus, there will be ceaseless lamentation, as the flock of the Lord is taken captive and destroyed by the true Nebuchadnezzar.
THEOSIS