9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

11. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

We have here a prediction of the rise and progress of the Mohammedan delusion, propagated by armies of Saracens. A falling star, when the event is a religious concern, is an emblem of some religious impostor. Such an impostor has here a key of the bottomless pit; which imports that he is permitted to introduce a fatal delusion from the world of darkness. His opening the door of the bottomless pit, and a smoke ascending from it, darkening the world around, denote the rise of a fatal delusion from hell. And that smoke's pouring forth locusts of a terrible description, denotes the agents and armies by whom this delusion is propagated. And all the remaining parts of the figurative description are most natural, to give the rise and progress of this delusion.

This falling star was Mohammed; or Sargius, a Jewish apostate monk, a man of literature, who was prime agent to Mohammed in the formation of his Koran, and false scheme. The falling star denotes Mohammed, with this monk included, and whatever aid he found in his infernal plans. This grand impostor had travelled as a merchant in the Arabian caravans, and had noticed, in the regions where he passed, what parts of their religions were most pleasing; and what displeasing, to the multitude. And Satan, and his own ambitious heart, induced him to determine on forming a new system of religion, which should imbody the things most pleasing to the human heart; and avoid all the points most displeasing; and to present this system to the world, as a new revelation from Heaven. To effect this object to the best advantage, Mohammed, with Sarguis his aid, retired, in the year 606, to a cave in

Mecca, in Arabia, where he lived, and there formed his Alcoran, or his new bible. This he fondly imagined would be most readily embraced by all men. Men are apt to imagine that what they furnish and highly esteem, will be by others readily received. But Mohammed seemed not to have been aware that a prophet is not likely to be honoured in his own country, and among his own people. In this case, they knew the man too well, to believe that he had been blessed with any new revelation from God. After labouring a course of years, to induce the people of his region to receive his new religion; they became indignant at his mad presumption, and expelled him from their community. He now fled to Medina, another noted place in Arabia, in the year 622; which time is called in his system the Hegira, or the flight; and it commences their reckoning of time, as the birth of Christ does the Christian era. This man now formed his daring design to propagate his new religion by force and arms. In 629, he raised an army of 10,000 men for this purpose; and in 631, all Arabia was prostrate before him. In about 30 years more, he had overrun the dominions of the Greek emperor, as far as Persia. There was then a cessation of this horrid contest, for about 50 years, in contentions relative to the Mohammedan succession in government.

Upon the settlement of this point of altercation, the plan of propagating their religion with fire and sword, was resumed; and, soon after, the western kingdoms of Europe were violently beset by these devouring locusts. And, in about 120 years from the origin of this delusion, it was thus forcibly extended over the following nations-Arabia, Palestine, Syria, both the Armenias, most of Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, Numidia, the States of Barbary, Portugal, Spain, part of Italy, Sicilia, Candia, and Cyprus. And their ambitious rage still glowing, they entered France with an army of 400,000 men. But Charles Martel met them, defeated their armies, and drove them from Europe, with the loss of seven-eighths of their hosts. This checked their mighty conquests.

The Arabian armies, by which this delusion was propagated, were denoted by the locusts in our text, coming from the smoke which arose from the bottomless pit. And the figure to denote them, locusts, is striking, on account of their origin, their multitudes, their swift marches, speedy

conquests, and their ravages. Arabia, where these armies were collected, was a noted region for locusts, in large devouring swarms. Locusts too, have, by some naturalists, been said to originate in pits and caverns. And Mohammedism was formed in an Arabian cave. These mystical locusts are said, in the text, to have power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Scorpions are powerful, considering their size; and they have a deadly sting; and deadly venom; and are most hateful to man. And in like manner, the Mohammedan armies were most hateful to those whom they subdued, both in their religion, manners, and cruelties. And they were vastly powerful and deadly, till Martel checked them. In one battle (that of Yermauk), their general reported, that he slew 150,000 men. Their armies were composed of cavalry, and were thus very swift. Green grass, the text informs, they should not destroy; nor trees, nor any green thing. They thus differed from natural locusts. And the Mohammedan armies had their orders, from their leaders, not to injure fruit trees; nor needlessly to injure animals, nor vegeta bles. The commission divinely given them in our text, was against the men, who had not the seal of God in their foreheads. And these, they should not slay; but they should torment them five months; meaning, probably, five months in a year; which is about the time of the ravages of natural locusts; and was about the time the Mohammedan armies did yearly push their conquests.

Many of the people, where the ravages of these mystical locusts took place, had been blessed with the preaching of the Christian salvation by the apostles and early preachers of the gospel; but this blessing had been, by the great mass of the people in those places, rejected. And these furious armies now had their commission against these rejecters of Christ; not indeed to make of them a promiscuous slaughter; but to torment them with their attacks, their exactions, and various kinds of tyranny. The despisers of gospel salvation, in those regions, found that God had plenty of judgments for his gospel enemies! That they, having rejected the gracious mission of Christ from heaven, should now be tormented with the pretended mission of the grand impostor Mohammed! Such is the vindictive economy of heaven. The Jews rejected their true Messiah; and were afterward cursed with false preL

tended Messiahs! When people reject true gospel minis. ters, it would not be strange should they be destroyed with false teachers, and given up to fatal delusions!

Relative to those mystic locusts tormenting the people, destitute of the seal of God; it is a well-known fact, that those armies of Saracens did usually make their incursions upon the regions which they invaded during only the warm months, each season. They would then retire for winter-quarters; and would be ready to enter on new invasions on the opening of the next summer months. the two first and two last months of each year, their military laws forbade their making any new incursions upon any region. They generally spent more than half the year at home, in their own families and business. So fully did they accord with this part of the description in the text.

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Among the torments inflicted by these Mohammedan powers upon the conquered, were the following:-infidels who rejected the Christian religion, and also all idolaters, they forced to receive the Mohammedan religion, upon pain of death. But Jews and Christians, having their Bibles, and their religion, they left to the enjoyment of them, upon their paying large sums, which they exacted. Where the payment of such sums was refused; they should embrace the new religion, or die. And the heathen were obliged to embrace their religion, or die. They thus had provision not to have the conquered inevitably put to death; but they must be tormented.

These locusts were said to have stings. Various and most stinging indeed were the calamities which fell upon the conquered from their new masters. A noted author says: "Their military laws adjudged such a portion of their captives to bondage. And the condition of these, particularly of the women, was so deplorable (being in the power of men of the greatest licentiousness), that many would prefer death to their condition!"

As to the heads of these locusts being like the heads of horses, having crowns, faces of men, hair of women, teeth of lions, and wings sounding as chariots rushing to battle; parts of these figures seem borrowed from the natural locusts, and parts from the actual uniform of Arabian soldiers. The heads of the mounted cavalry might well be said to be heads of horses. And, as to

their crowns, the soldier wore a turban something like a crown. His face was masculine, as he wore a part of his beard on his upper lip; and had the strong and fierce countenance of the warrior. But these soldiers wore their hair dressed and twisted in a delicate manner, like women. And different twists and dresses of their hair were used to distinguish different bands of the soldiery. Their armour was such as might well be denoted by teeth of lions, and iron breast-plates. And their speed and fury in rushing to battle, were well denoted by sounds of furious wings, and the thundering of chariots. The king of these armies of locusts was said to be an angel of the bottomless pit. His Hebrew name was Abaddon; and his Greek name Apollyon; each of which imports a destroyer.

This their king was first, Mohammed, and afterward his successors the caliphs. Each of these was, at once, their high-priest, and a leader of their armies. These men were indeed destroyers; and were well called angels of the bottomless pit. All these descriptions were manifestly fulfilled in the armies of Saracens, propagating the Mohammedan delusion.

The two antichristian powers, the papal and Mohammedan, were the two colossean pillars of the kingdom of Satan on earth. They were planted, as it were, side by side; and erected in bold defiance of heaven, to destroy, if possible, the cause of the Redeemer. But very different was the purpose of the Almighty Ruler of the world, in the same events. God designed the Mohammedan imposture as a means of executing his righteous judgments on those sections of the earth where the gospel had been preached in its purity, but had been rejected or corrupted. He designed it as a wo trumpet, thundered on that section of his enemies, to exhibit to all people and ages the danger of rejecting his gospel. If men will not receive the love of the truth that they may be saved, it may be expected that God will send them strong delusion, that they shall believe a lie, that they all may be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.

This wo trumpet was tremendous in its nature, and in its long duration. It was to rise with the papal delusion, and to continue about the same length of time, as may be