Furthermore, all her statues and treasures amassed by various kings will be annihilated and erased from existence. Even the wealth and items believed to have been gathered through her idolatrous practices will be offered up to another entity of debauchery, specifically Nineveh. As they had previously engaged in idolatry within their own land, they shall now find themselves in a land of idolatry and sin, namely Assyria. Thus far, the focus is on Samaria.
Since the affliction befalling Samaria will extend to Jerusalem, which similarly has strayed from God by turning to idols, the prophet, embodying God’s sorrow, laments profoundly, saying, ‘about this I will weep and wail, I will walk as robbed and naked’ (for I have lost ten tribes), I will howl like jackals and cry like ostriches. Just as dragons emit sorrowful hisses when an elephant overcomes them, and as ostriches abandon their eggs to be trampled in the desolate sands, I, too, will move forward childless, stripped and desolate. This will occur because the plague of Samaria is in despair. The same sins or consequences of sin that devastated Samaria will reach Judah, even to the gates of my city Jerusalem. Just as Samaria was raided and ruined by the Assyrians, so will Judah and Jerusalem fall under the dominion of the Chaldeans.
In considering Samaria, we see a precursor to a church of heretics, severed from God and becoming a disordered multitude. The Lord Himself warns it will become a barren field, suitable only for a store of produce. It is far preferable for this worthless city to be destroyed, with its structures reduced to the depths, and its former ground converted into a place of fruitful harvest, than for the most grievous sins to be allowed to persist within its walls. When its destruction comes and its hidden foundations are revealed—foundations that appeared to conceal solid doctrines, where beautiful and eloquent idol images once stood—they will be vanquished by God’s servants, the pillars of the church. In the place of such a wicked structure, the diverse fruits of the Church will arise, flourishing and fruitful. The vineyard of Sorek will be cultivated, producing wine that the Lord declared He would savor in the Father’s kingdom (Mark 14:25). Not only will the foundations, once hidden beneath the earth, be laid bare, but the false idols created by its inhabitants will also be eradicated. The wealth that seemed amassed through their spiritual infidelity and misguided pursuits will face divine fire, of which I spoke in the Gospel: ‘I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it ... be kindled’ (Luke 12:49). This wealth will be obliterated and reverted to nothingness because it did not stem from the truth of sound doctrine but arose from the soul’s wanderings and fantasies. Indeed, heretics do not inherit riches from the legacy of their forebears; instead, they incessantly find new objects for veneration, crafting idols born of their own imaginations. Thus, when their fields become a storeroom of fruit and cultivated as a vineyard; when the stones of the city are cast into the abyss, and their foundations bared; when all the images are eradicated and consumed in flames, the alluring rewards of their idolatrous betrayals shall be rendered to nothing—since all their treasures arise from spiritual unfaithfulness—they will, in the awareness of their past deceptions, weep over what once brought them joy, and regret what was, during their dalliance, a source of pleasure.
They will cast off all remnants of death from their feet, walking barefoot upon holy ground, shedding the garments of their former infidelity, and standing naked to don the attire of Christ, howling as serpents do. Indeed, when the greatest of dragons is captured and left hanging on a fisherman’s line, the very land will lament. They will mourn like the daughters of sirens, lured by the sweet sounds of heretical rhetoric. Only those with closed ears, pretending indifference, will remain oblivious to their seductive melodies. Yet, Samaria will cry out in anguish, struck by the arrow and wounded by His word, recognizing her faults. She did not sin alone, but sought to impart her contamination and errors to the gates of Judah. Therefore, it is declared: ‘It has reached even to Judah, it has touched even the gates of My people, even Jerusalem.’ The mention of ‘touched the gates’ refers to the ears; however, it did not penetrate deep into the city, for had it infiltrated, Jerusalem would have become as Samaria. When we observe members of the Church reacting against the rhetoric of heretics and striving to counter their inquiries while remaining steadfast in the faith, we understand, ‘Samaria has come,’ or the affliction of Samaria has reached the awareness of the people, entering the ears of the faithful in Jerusalem. Hence, the phrase ‘touched the gates of My people’ can be interpreted broadly to mean: it has impacted even the gates of Jerusalem. Up to this point, we have spoken against Samaria and Jerusalem; we shall now delve into what is to follow.
THEOSIS