Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, Jacob’s lineage will reclaim the heritage from those who had it before. Judah, representing the house of Jacob, will become a conflagration, while the house of Joseph, encompassing the ten tribes, will radiate as a flame, since Ephraim was born from Joseph, from whose tribe the kingdom of Samaria emerged. In contrast, Esau’s house, the Idumeans, who acted with cruelty toward their brother, will be reduced to nothingness. Just as fire quickly consumes straw, these two kingdoms, united as one vine according to Ezekiel, will devastate Edom and bring about its utter ruin, leaving no one to proclaim the downfall of their enemies.
The term ‘messenger’ indicates those once deemed ‘frumantarii,’ or providers of sustenance, who were historically not slain in battle and thus could relay news of defeat. However, it is more prudent to adhere to the Hebrew text, where ‘sirid’ can signify ‘the remnant,’ as Aquila interprets, ‘the one who fled’ according to Symmachus, or ‘the one who remained’ per Theodotion. All these events will transpire because the Lord has decreed it; His command equates to fulfillment.
Another interpretation suggests that following the destruction of earthly desires and the earthly kingdom, salvation will blossom within the church for those who have remained loyal to their spiritual Mother. The Holy One, as Isaiah attests, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts,’ will dwell there, resonating with the truth that they are set apart as sacred. The house of Jacob will reclaim its rightful inheritance, converting its persecutors to believers, welcoming even the Idumeans into the faith, while Esau’s descendants will be reduced to nothing.
As straw cannot withstand the fire, so Esau’s house will falter against Jacob’s fervent assertions, ignited by the word of the Lord, because ‘the words of the Lord are kindled.’ They will also fail before the house of Joseph, which signifies increase, providing sustenance to the people in Egypt despite being sold by his brothers; yet in the initial strife, their arguments will dissipate entirely. They shall perish for their deliverance, in accordance with Isaac’s blessing on Esau: ‘I have made him lord over thee, and made all thy brethren his servants.’ There will be no remnant of Esau’s house when, before Christ, ‘every knee shall bow’ and when everything shall acknowledge that ‘God is all in all.’
Because Esau, through his own actions, built his foundation upon Christ using ephemeral materials, Jacob’s and Joseph’s houses will burn bright like fire and flame, as the Lord proclaimed: ‘I am a consuming fire,’ so that, after the sin-laden straw is consumed, the pure wheat can be gathered into the granaries. What we have articulated and will further articulate is anticipated by the Jews for the future when they might accept the Antichrist instead of Christ, in light of the Savior’s prophecy: ‘I am come in my Father's name, and ye shall not receive me: but if any man come in his own name, him ye shall receive.’ They misinterpret our insights regarding Edom as referring to the Roman Empire, yet we argue that it has either been already fulfilled in history with Zerubbabel, or, in the nature of prophecy, is being continually realized within the church and within every individual in the spiritual kingdom in contrast to the flesh.
In terms of the ‘provider of bread,’ allegorically, the heretics will find themselves devoid of anyone to claim the true wheat that fell to the earth and the bread from heaven. Some might propose that the LXX intended not ‘provider of bread,’ but ‘he who can sow the spark.’ Thus, considering varying interpretations, we can state that heretics will lack not only providers of bread but also any who might feign possessing the light of Christ. For it is true that ‘Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.’
THEOSIS