(Isaiah 21:1-2) “A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. A dire vision has been shown to me: the traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.”

(Jeremiah 49:20-22) “Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom, what he has purposed against those who live in Teman: the young of the flock will be dragged away; their pasture will be appalled at their fate. At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea. Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labour.”

Shortly after the death of Muhammad in 632 AD the split between Sunnis and Shiites occurred. Down through the centuries the animosity between the two factions has been clearly manifested even to this day. The disagreement over who should lead the Muslim community sparked a lasting divide that shaped religious beliefs, practices, and political landscapes across centuries. Understanding this difference helps explain many historical events and current tensions in the Middle East, and beyond.

The core of the Sunni-Shia split lies in the question of succession after Muhammad’s death. Sunnis believe the leader, or caliph, should be chosen by consensus or election among the Muslim community.

They accepted Abu Bakr, a close companion of Muhammad and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 632 AD until his death in 634AD.

This choice set a precedent for leadership based on community agreement rather than family ties. They were the Sunni faction of Islam. Shiites hold a different view. They believe leadership should stay within the Prophet’s family, specifically through Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law.

According to the Shiites, Ali was the rightful successor and the first imam, a spiritual and political leader appointed by divine will. This belief in leadership through the Prophet’s bloodline is central to Shia identity. This early disagreement was not just about politics but about religious authority and legitimacy. Sunnis focus on the community’s role in leadership, while Shiites focus on the spiritual authority of the Prophet’s descendants.

Currently we see the Iranians and the Houthis sending missiles into Saudi Arabia. Both the IRCG regime and the Houthis in Yemen are Shiite Muslims and the hatred between the two the Sunnis and the Shiites in Islam is well known and documented in history.

According to Islamic teaching in the Quran any departure from Islamic teaching by Muslims or developing a partnership either economically or otherwise outside of Islamic circles with non-Muslims is strictly forbidden.

The Shiite jihadist mindset that drives the Iranian regime see the Arab States on the Saudi Peninsula as apostates and those who have betrayed Islam by seeking trade and even alliances with western governments.

For the IRCG trading with Russia and China is okay because they know that Communism is also against Christianity and the western system of democracy. Shiites will join forces with Communists to achieve a common goal, namely the subjugation of western democracy and Christendom.

In the light of history the Islamic empire would have to be the fourth beast empire mentioned in Daniel chapter seven. Islam cannot assimilate with any culture or philosophy. Everyone and everything not part of Islamic ideology and culture must “crush and devour its victims and trample underfoot whatever is left” (Daniel 7:7).

It was Islam that defeated the last remaining leg of the Ancient Roman Empire with the fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453 when the city was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Mehmed II. This was the end of the Byzantium Empire established on the wider foundation of Christendom.

Even though multitudes of Muslims have migrated either legally or illegally into western democracies they will take advantages of the freedoms of the west while multitudes remain anti-western and if pushed by Islamic pressure revert to a Jihadist mindset.

Already we have seen Islamic inadaptability to western democracy and Christian values manifested in Muslims pushing Islamic ideology in schools, approaching and stirring up students on college campuses against Israel, funding universities, establishing community centres and especially infiltrating western governments. This is all part of “the Hidden War” of Islam against the west.

For further reading see “The Hidden War”

On the 28th February 2026, when the war started between Iran with the United States and Israel, they engaged the Iranian regime militarily the US–Israeli airstrikes killing several Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The strikes were launched amid ongoing US–Iran negotiations, begun in April 2025, regarding Iran’s alleged efforts to build a nuclear weapon. Following a decentralized strategy, Iranian units responded with a series of missile and drone attacks against Israel, US-aligned Arab countries, and US military bases across the region, and by blocking the Strait of Hormuz in late March this year. Now the conflagration is increasing and intensifying.

Now we see the Iranian regime (Shiite) and the Houthi regime (Shiite) going for the Arab kingdoms of the Saudi Peninsula especially Saudi Arabia the heart- beat of the Sunni Islamic world. Sunnis make up 80%-90% of Muslims worldwide whereas Shia Muslims make up about 10–15%.

Saudi Arabia is home to Islam’s two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina. These cities are extremely important for millions of Muslims around the world.

However, because they are situated in Saudi Arabia which is dealing and associating with the western democracies, the Jihadist mindset of the Shiite faction is that they see Saudi Arabia as “the harlot of Islam” that must be destroyed, hence we see the missiles being launched by the IRCG against the Arab kingdoms on the Saudi Peninsula.

Shiite eschatology teaches that chaos and turmoil must precede the Mahdi’s return, who will then establish peace and justice, often associated with the implementation of Sharia Law. This belief is rooted in the idea that the Mahdi will emerge during a time of great conflict to lead a global Islamic kingdom.

This is why no one can do “a deal” with the IRGC regime. Western political leaders including President Donald Trump, seem to be ignorant of this fact? As for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he knows the mindset of the Iranian regime and that their complete destruction is what was required from the beginning of the war concerning this violent demonic death cult.

The context of these two passages of scripture relate to the fall of Babylon from the prophetic perspective concerning the last days. As we look at our texts in Isaiah 21:1-2 and in Jeremiah 49:20-21 we notice several things.

Isaiah 21:1-2

The oracle relates to a desert or wilderness by the Sea (The Red Sea). Prophetically it concerns “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.”

Ancient Babylon was the source of all false religions from the time of Nimrod, the first major type of the man of sin. In our English translations of the Bible we read where “Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the LORD” (Genesis 10:9). However, in the Hebrew text we are told that he was “a mighty hunter in the face of God” or we could say “in God’s face.” He was in fact an arch rebel!

It was Nimrod that founded the cities of Babylon and Assyria (Genesis 10:10-12). In scripture the kings of Babylon and Assyria are types of the final man of sin to appear at the end of this present age.

The Apostle John writes about the same desert and tells us that there is the great prostitute who sits over many nations whose kings have becoming intoxicated with the wine (the oil) of her adulteries. It is a religious and secular empire combined. There is a religious and military component to this empire.

This prostitute, who is the source of all false religion inherited from Nimrod, does oil deals with the western democracies especially those that have a Judeo-Biblical heritage such as the United States, Britain, the European Continent and other democracies. Islam is still at war with the west!

John is carried away in the Spirit to a desert and there saw the woman or the harlot. It is then a city in the desert where religion is a component and connected to the last Beast Empire which today is the resurrected empire of Islam, the first beast empire that received a seemingly mortal wound and is resurrected in the second beast empire. Both are the one and the same empire (Revelation 17:1-5) (Revelation Chapter 13).

The city that John sees is located in a desert by the Sea which would be the Red Sea. The City that is located there is Mecca, the very heart of the Islamic world. Saudi Arabia (Sunni) is the main source of oil for the nations.  Rome and New York are not located in a desert by the Red Sea.

Also we are told by John that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints (Revelation 17:6). Today faithful believers in the Body of Messiah are being killed for their faith in Saudi Arabia especially in Mecca!

We are also told that like a whirlwind an invader comes from the desert from a land of terror which would have to be Iran today (Shiite). It was a dire vision that Isaiah saw where the traitor betrays, the looter takes loot.

There is no real peace between Sunnis and Shiites. Only when they face a common enemy will they join forces. When it is over they go back to fighting each other. As we read in Genesis concerning Ishmael; “He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Genesis 16:12).

Now Saudi Arabia is attacked by Elam, historically located within the Ancient Persian Empire (today located in modern day Iran). There is also the Medes mentioned (Kurds today aligned with Islam). This would have to be part of the entire beast empire of radical Jihadist Islam that burns the harlot of Islam with fire, A Judgement on the harlot directed by the LORD (Revelation 17:15-18).

Today we see missiles being sent to the Sunni Arab nations on the Saudi Peninsula by the Iranian regime being Shiites. The Saudis are the main Arab kingdom on the Saudi Peninsula.

While Saudi Arabia has very effective weapons to take out incoming missiles, it would not be able to withstand a nuclear detonation if Iran goes nuclear.

We are also told in God’s Word that The LORD has a day of vengeance and recompense for the cause of Zion (Persecuted Jews and Christians) and that Edom’s streams will be turned to pitch (oil) and her soil to sulphur, her land becoming blazing pitch that cannot be quenched.

Edom sweeps down into Saudi Arabia and it would seem that Isaiah is telling us that the oil reserves under the desert of Saudi Arabia will burn out of control making the whole land uninhabitable for humans (Isaiah 34:8-10). This has never happened as yet in Saudi Arabia (Revelation Chapter 18).

For further reading see “My Sword has drunk its fill in the heavens”

Jeremiah 49:20-22

In these verses we are told that the LORD has planned judgement against those living in Edom (Saudi Arabia) and against those who live in Teman (Located in Saudi Arabia). The whole land will be dragged away and their pasture will be completely destroyed. The whole land will not be suitable for even the livestock in Saudi Arabia.

We are also told that at the sound of their fall (The harlot of Islam) the earth will tremble (possibly a nuclear detonation or very powerful ballistic missiles from Iran?) Mecca will cease to be a city having been burned with fire (Revelation 17:15-18). We are also told that their cry will resound to the Red Sea. Mecca of course is located in the desert of Arabia near the Red Sea.

The eagle swooping represents the swiftness of God’s judgement spreading over Bozrah located in Southern Jordan and the gateway to Saudi Arabia. In that day the armies of Islam will tremble in anguish as a woman in labour! In that Day Islam will know the there is only One Triune God in Israel!

After this happens the end will begin to come to its conclusion as the armies of the beast empire of Islam along with the armies of the nations pitted against Israel, make war with the Lamb of God, the Messiah our Lord Jesus. But the Lamb will overcome this last empire because He is Lord of Lords and king of kings- and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers (Revelation 17:12-14) (Revelation 19:11-21). Selah.

For further reading see “Fallen, Fallen is Babylon”