Flashpoint—The Bar Fight that Ends the World

By Craig Ashton Jr., June 10, 2023

Did you know that the Bible describes the world coming to an end in a bar fight? Let me explain. If you are familiar with the story of ancient Babylon’s destruction, you may remember that it came suddenly while a drunken party raged within the city. The last book of the Bible uses symbols to represent the effect of this fallen city’s seductive and intoxicating wine, which is served to the inhabitants of the world, making them angry (Revelation 18:3).

When John contemplated the end of the world, he recognized that the flashpoint would occur when the nations became consumed by anger. Drunkenness can heighten aggression, making one more likely to engage in violence, and John described the inhabitants of the world getting drunk and ending up in a massive fight. The end will include violence and rage incited by intoxicating wine that is a deathly poison of horrible and deceptive untruths about God. In the end times, those who become drunk on the maddening wine of Babylon will implement intense control and revenge. They will force others to conform to their own religious ideas, beliefs, and practices, seeking to injure those who do not live according to their thinking about God. Such drunkenness is the ultimate control tactic.

Jesus said that hatred would increase in the world because love would grow cold (Matthew 24:12). Resentment and hate are on a steady rise, and these slowly heating tensions will eventually erupt into violence and its resulting conflagration. Revelation describes the nations as becoming so drunk on anger that they are unable to let go of their resentment and desire for revenge (Revelation 17:16–18). The world is poised to bring anger to completion. In the end, anger and resentment will be transformed into an ugly, raging inferno.

How are we to respond? How can we sober up and shake free from the drunken spell that will turn into a red-hot conflagration? Only the love of God can save us from the resentment and anger that lead to revenge. His love is the only thing that can endure and survive. How did Jesus respond to the hatred, rage, and envy around Him? How did Jesus treat Judas, His betrayer, and the high priest Caiaphas? How did Jesus treat the Roman soldiers who crucified Him? He poured out heaven’s pure love in the face of cruel hatred, malice, and rage. The love revealed by Jesus is what conquered such evils. That’s the definition of God’s love.

This is why the truth about God’s love is so important for our time. Only love can survive the end times. Don’t get drunk on Babylon’s maddening wine of falsehoods about God, which will provoke a massive fight at the close of human history. Don’t go down the path of resentment and anger that will burst into a flashpoint of fiery indignation, hatred, and revenge. The love of Christ is the only thing that can save us. If we don’t seek to model this love, only hatred will remain to consume our souls. Please don’t be confused by life’s gray areas. There have always been only two motives—love and hate—and only two journeys that proceed from them.

Maybe the state of evil in our world presents an opportunity to showcase God’s love in the face of intense persecution and unfettered hatred. Perhaps both love and hate must reach full maturity to show that selfishness and hatred are self-defeating and that only love can survive.

Craig Ashton Jr.