rs later that he began to
teach his doctrines publicly and to gain followers outside of the circle
of his own family and personal friends. Gibbon, Vol. V., p. 121.

The next object in the vision is the locusts that came out of the smoke,
to which was given power like scorpions, or power to inflict a deadly
sting like scorpions. To what living agents, then, did the delusion of
Mohammedanism give birth--agents of a destructive nature like scorpion
locust? Evidently, the Saracens,[6] those warrior followers of Mohammed
who flocked to his standard. These locusts received the express command
that "they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green
thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of
God in their foreheads." The successor of Mohammed, Abubeker, gave the
Saracens a command that they should "destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any
fields of grain; cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle,
only such as you kill to eat." This command was singular, yet it
doubtless is not the fulfilment of the command to the locusts; for that
would be adopting a literal meaning instead of a symbolic one, and to
complete the picture we should have had literal Saracens instead of
locusts. We can not consistently make a part literal and the remainder
symbolical. In the explanation of the first trumpet (chap. 8:6, 7), we
showed that grass and trees symbolized the inhabitants of a kingdom,
grass representing the feebler and trees the stronger portions of
society. The fact, then, that these locusts were not to destroy the
green grass and trees show that they were not sent as a scourge upon the
political empire only, as was the storm of hail and fire under the first
trumpet. Had their mission been like that of natural locusts, to destroy
every green thing, we should then conclude that they were sent as a
scourge upon the empire alone, having nothing whatever to do with a
system of religion. These locusts, however, were commanded not to do
what natural locusts always do--eat green grass and trees--and were
commissioned to do what locusts never do--"hurt men," but only those who
have not the seal of God in their foreheads; that is, the worshipers of
a false, idolatrous church, who are not known unto God as his true
people. This is positive proof that the design of this vision is to set
forth some awful religious imposture; for the "men" that they were to
hurt are found in the department which by analo