Page:Mahometanism in its relation to prophecy - or, an inquiry into the prophecies concerning antichrist, with some reference to their bearing on the events of the present day (IA mahometanisminit00philrich).pdf/280

 Christendom under its feet for nearly 1260 years, and upheld the most blasphemous and obscene system of religion that ever existed upon earth. Now if a hundred years ago any one had predicted that in the year 1855 all the most enlightened and civilized nations of Christian Europe would have been leagued together to uphold the integrity of the Mahometan empire, such a prophet would have been looked upon as a doating visionary; or if, for any antecedent reasons, he were considered as at all worthy of credit, it would at least have been said that such a prediction could only be credible upon one hypothesis, namely, that the sense of Christian faith should have been nearly rooted out from the minds of Christian rulers by a prevalent spirit of infidelity on the one hand, and of an overwhelming spirit of worldly policy on the other. Now it is precisely these two spirits to which we believe that St. John refers. The other spirit, namely, "the spirit that proceeds from the mouth of the False Prophet," which Dr. Cumming explains of Tractarianism, we believe to be the evil spirit of Mahometanism; we believe it to be that most powerful devil which originally inspired Mahomet, the False Prophet, and which now combining with the spirit of worldly policy, and the spirit of infidelity, that is, with two other very powerful devils, that direct the workings of fallen men, has, alas! succeeded in gathering together the kings of the earth in the unholy confederation, which the intelligence of each successive day more and more sadly