Isaiah 13:17-19

Verse 17-18 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.”

In the case of ancient Babylon, the Medes referred to are the Medo-Persians. In the case of the future, what is being referred to are terrorist Muslims, not only from Iran, but from the entire area over there. We have already seen in Revelation that the beast is Islam, the antichrist is the Muslim Mahdi, and the ten horns are the Islamic nations that surround Israel. America, as well as most other countries, now has a huge Muslim population. While at the moment most live in peace with us, when the Mahdi declares jihad, it is the duty of every Muslim to take up arms against the “infidel” and they will. Americans who believe they are safe because the Muslims are currently peacefully living among us, will be taken completely by surprise. The jihadists will do exactly as these Scriptures say they will. They will dash children to their deaths, they will rape women, they will plunder households, they will kill young men and pregnant women with the children in the womb. Parents need not expect their children to be spared. Even though they will plunder, they are not doing this for the gold, silver, and booty. They are doing this for the glory of their god. If anyone questions this, they need only look at the history of their actions toward their "enemies."

Verse 19 “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Now we have more information on the identity of Babylon. She is the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of her people’s arrogance, which is another definition of the Hebrew word that here is translated excellency. This description certainly fits America. She is thought of as the glory of kingdoms in this day and age. Everyone wants to come to America for the American dream of wealth, fame, and supposed happiness. Her people are certainly some of the most arrogant in the world. Even American Christians do not think they will ever suffer, when they should know better, if they were to study their Scriptures. They believe they will be raptured pre-tribulationally. I guess they think they are somehow better than the rest of the suffering Christians around the world. I can't imagine why. They are the Laodiceans that are told they are materially rich, but spiritually poor. The persecuted Christians around the world are dying for their faith while they sit enjoying the good life. They are in for a big surprise, along with the rest of the Americans. (I would include myself in this category of American Christians, as my quality of living standards are quite good by comparison to the rest of the world, however, I will not be taken by surprise, nor do I think I deserve to be let off the hook and not made to suffer.) Our location away from the rest of the world has protected us from much, but it will not in the future. We have sat as a queen saying “who can hurt me,” just as Babylon says in Revelation. God will take away that arrogance. He will overthrow Babylon with fire just as He did Sodom and Gomorrah. Nothing was left of those cities and nothing will be left of Babylon.