Polytheism was the universalism of the ANE. All gods are equally good at getting whatever you want from your god.

Israel was told to reject the gods of the nations because they had no power and could not bring about human flourishing. Only Yahweh, and Yahweh alone, could make the rain fall and plants grow.

Polytheism is cosmic anarchy – each one of us doing what is right in our own eyes.

It is the way of oppression. When there is no right and wrong, there is only wrong.

In the ANE, there was child sacrifice, temple prostitution and kings who claimed divinity, killing whom they desired.

In the modern world, Babylon is a conspiracy of self-interest, with each person of ambition grabbing what they can for themselves with little regard for who starves, who is abused, who dies too soon, who can’t get enough to eat or who is poisoned by foul water or dirty air.

And universalism wants to bless this mess, to bless injustice and the oppressors.

Universalism says the creator has no power over his creation. Rather than a God of love who loves his creation so that he wants to put it back to good order, he holds out no promise, no hope for the victims of disorder. The oppressors will ultimately win by receiving the same crowns in heaven as the sat upon, and the spat upon. For the universalist, the meek don’t inherit the earth. Their kingdom never comes. God’s will is never done. He has no power to wipe away every tear.

God tried to turn Israel away from polytheism. The universalists embrace it.