Arrogance begins at the top of the empire, or rather, the system rewards the arrogant and lines up everyone else in a hierarchy of status. Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett

Those who saw the power and glory and reach of Babylon (=Rome) were stunned—everyone except the dissidents, the oppressed, the slaves, those captured, and the poor. In other words, most everyone! Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett

Dissidents rightly perceive opulence for what it really is: showy disdain for the normal way of life, followed by the rest of the population. It is a showcase of rampant indulgence, with lustful desire and conspicuous consumerism on full display. Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett