And they had a king over them
Which natural locusts have not, ( Proverbs
30:27 ) ; by whom is meant the false prophet Mahomet, who was
at the head of the Saracens, and led them on to commit the
outrages they did; and is believed in by the Turks to this day,
as the great prophet of God, and by them preferred to all
prophets, not only to Moses, but to Jesus Christ; he is the king
of the eastern locusts, as the pope of Rome is the king of the
western ones; for the Romish antichrist reigns, or at least has
reigned, over the kings of the earth, ( Revelation
17:17 Revelation
17:18 ) ;
[which is] the angel of the bottomless pit;
to whom the key of it was given, ( Revelation
9:1 ) ;
whose name in the Hebrew tongue [is] Abaddon, but in the
Greek tongue
hath [his] name Apollyon;
both which signify a "destroyer"; and are very applicable both to
Mahomet, who by his imposture has been the cause of the
destruction of multitudes of souls, as well as by his wars, and
those of the Saracens and Turks, of the lives of millions, and of
the ruin of many kingdoms, countries, cities, and towns.
Abulpharagius F23, an Arabic writer, relates, that in
the times of the Chalif Al-walid, there was one Hejajus, who had
caused to be slain, of the chief and illustrious men, an hundred
and twenty thousand, besides others of the common people, and
that fell in war; moreover, that there died in his prison fifty
thousand men, and thirty thousand women: and the same writer
reports F24, that the famous Abu Moslem put to
death six hundred thousand men, who were known, besides those
that were unknown, and whom he slew in wars and battles: both
these instances are taken notice of by Mr. Daubuz, who justly
observes, that surely nothing can come near this "Abaddon", but
the beast, the son of perdition, ( 2
Thessalonians 2:3 ) . And to him, the pope of Rome, may the
name be truly applied, who has led thousands into perdition, and
will go into it himself; and both he, and the false prophet, with
the devil, will be east into the lake, which burns with fire and
brimstone, and will be tormented for ever and ever, ( 2
Thessalonians 2:4 ) ( Revelation
17:8 Revelation
17:11 ) ( 20:10 ) .
"Abaddon", with the Jews, is one of the habitations or apartments
of hell F25, because it destroys all;
"Apollyon" is the same with "Apollo", the god of the Heathens,
who has his name from destroying F26.