Often pictured as an immoral city or a world of evil, it is regarded as corrupt and godless, hostile to true faith and therefore destined for judgment.
The city as a symbol of corrupt society
Revelation 18:2–3 Babylon stands for the corrupt Roman state and also for godless society in general. See also Genesis 11:1–9, Genesis 19:1–13; Ezekiel 22:1–5; Matthew 23:37–39 parallel Luke 13:34–35; Revelation 14:8
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast. All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”
``The world'' as a description of society alienated from, and hostile to, both God and his people
Galatians 3:22 The Greek word translated “world” often means not the physical world, but the world of human life. See also John 15:18; Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
Fallen society becomes pluralistic
Israel was continually threatened by the pluralism of the surrounding societies
Joshua 23:6–8 See also Exodus 23:32–33; Joshua 24:14–23; 1 Kings 11:1–6, 1 Kings 18:16–40 Baal was a name used for a variety of local Canaanite deities; Ezra 9:1–2; Isaiah 2:6–8; Daniel 3:1–12
Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the left. So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them. Instead, you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
Pluralism was also a feature of the societies of the NT
Acts 17:16–23 See also 1 Corinthians 8:4–6; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; 1 John 5:21
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day. Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, where they asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas. Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.
Pluralism is to be resisted and faith in one God and Saviour maintained
1 Timothy 2:5 See also Isaiah 43:10–11; John 14:6; Acts 4:12
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Fallen society becomes secular
Life in a godless society becomes spiritually futile and morally depraved
Romans 1:21 See also Romans 1:18–32; 2 Timothy 3:1–5; Revelation 18:1–3
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
Israel ignores warnings about becoming a society which has forgotten God
Psalm 81:11–12 See also Jeremiah 3:19–21; Hebrews 3:7–11
But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me. So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
Israel became an example of a society which, though outwardly religious, lived without reference to God
Amos 5:21–24 Amos here summarises, and rejects, current religious practices in Israel in the 8th century B.C. See also Amos 2:6–7, Amos 5:4–15 Bethel and Gilgal were popular national shrines, where religion had taken the place of righteousness and relationship; Amos 8:4–10
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard. Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.