The apocalyptic symbol of the three unclean spirits, like frogs, found in Rev. 16:13-15, presents itself at a most significant point in the Book of Revelation. It is directly connected with that time in history when Jesus himself proclaims, “Behold! I come as a thief”. Whatever this symbol represents, it is THE influence which gathers the nations of the world to the Battle of Armageddon.
For this reason, any serious Bible student should want to know what these symbolic demonic spirits represent. If we can identify them, then we will have a pretty good idea when Jesus Christ is about to return.
Some have proposed that the three unclean spirits like frogs refers to the spirit of the French Revolution. Whilst it is true that the French Revolution is a most significant historic phenomenon that has changed the course of world history, we wish to examine the validity of such an assertion.
So What did the French Revolution change? For the first time in European history, the right to rule was no longer exclusively the prerogative of the nobility. Suddenly, the common man became just as entitled to govern as anyone else. It was indeed a great historical upheaval and as such, has been linked with the “great earthquake” of Rev. 11:13.
Biblical Origin of the Symbol of Frogs
Considering the fact that most of The Apocalypse is drawn from Old Testament symbols or concepts, I would be looking there for an answer first. The obvious one is the second plague on Egypt in the days of Moses. The notable thing about the plague of frogs was, that they came “out of the river” and infiltrated into every part of Egyptian life.
They were “everywhere” and in such abundance that they even infested their beds, causing great distress.
The other notable fact about the Egyptian plague of frogs is, that when God decided to remove the plague, we read this: “and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages and out of the fields. And they gathered them together, upon heaps, so that the land stank” (Exod. 8:13-14). The frog spirits will likewise gather the nations to the land of Israel, where they will be slain. Like the Egyptian frogs, there will be so many of them that it will take 7 months to bury the dead (Ezek. 39: 12).
We should therefore, be looking for an influence which is widespread – everywhere – and as such, becomes the driving factor for a general condemnation of the revived nation of Israel, leading to the invasion of Armageddon that Bible prophecy requires.
Frogs and French History
The ancestors of the French were the Franks. In the 6th century, Clovis united the Frankish tribes under one ruler. His was the first royal house to rule the whole of Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The French today, acknowledge their Frankish heritage, so that former president Charles DeGaulle is noted as saying, “the history of France starts with Clovis”.
Clovis is considered the founder of the Merovingian dynasty and was the first king of what would become France. Now it seems significant that at this historical turning point, the founder of the French peoples should carry on his banners, three frogs (see image to the right).
Other connections with France include the fact that, historically speaking, much of French land consisted of marshes and as a consequence, there was an abundance of frogs. In H. Grattan Guinness’s book “History Unveiling Prophecy” he notes that before the 1789 Revolution, the incessant croaking of frogs in the French countryside was so troublesome, that nobles and courtiers forced the local peasants to flog the marshes all night to keep them quiet, whenever they visited. He also notes that medieval French banners consisted of three frogs.
In view of the above, frogs seem to be an apt symbol of a loud, incessant, vociferous spirit that emanates from dark and sordid minds; which are most loquacious when darkness has fallen upon the world.
The Frog-Like Spirits and the United Nations
Throughout the years 2017-2018, countries across the world are engaging in a number of commemorative celebrations of the 70th anniversary of a significant historical document. It is called “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (UDHR). A French lawyer by the name of Rene Cassin has been named “the father of the UDHR”. This man played a decisive role in drawing up the Declaration. On 16th June, 1946, he presented a preliminary draft, which was adopted as a working basis. This preliminary draft included the entire contents of the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, but he added to it political rights, the right to nationality, the protection of foreigners and “social” economic and cultural rights.
This Universal Declaration of Human Rights underpins everything that the United Nations does. So how is this relevant to the prophecy foretelling the frog-like spirits leading the world to Armageddon?
The Three Unclean Spirits Like Frogs and the Great Day of God Almighty
Sometimes, ideals which appear good and noble in themselves, when misused, produce an evil result. Unfortunately, the U.N. is comprised of a number of countries who despise Israel, but in a democratic process, they have a vote.
In 2017, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations declared Israel to be the world’s Number One human rights violator. Ignoring the despotic regimes across the world, the nightmare conditions of oppression under political leaders that rule in some countries, the U.N.’s choice to focus on Israel this way, is nothing short of farcical. So much so, that it caused the United States to withdraw from the UNHRC in 2018.
So why is the UNHRC so obsessed with Israel?
In 1947, following the Second World War and Nazi atrocities against the Jews, the United Nations resolved to partition Palestine between Jews and Arabs, thus creating the modern state of Israel. The U.N. put the map together. It lasted for about 19 years, until in 1967, the combined Arab armies attempted to annihilate Israel in what has become known as the Six Day War.
The outcome of this war saw Israel in possession of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. They claimed these territories as their own. In the Old Testament, the “West Bank” territory specifically, is called by Ezekiel “the mountains of Israel”. Ezekiel foretold that these mountains would again be inhabited by Jews after many years of desolation (Ezek. 36:8-12; 38:8), and that this would precede a great invasion from the north – which Revelation 16 calls “Armageddon”. So God says the land would belong to Israel.
The United Nations disagrees! It needs to be right.
Israel’s “occupation” of the land that the U.N. allocated to the Palestinians in 1947, is being construed as “systematic human rights violations” against Palestinians. Between 1980 and 2010 the Jewish population of the West Bank increased from less than 50,000 to 350,000. The United Nations considers this a personal affront and for years, has attempted to pass resolutions condemning Israel’s occupation of the territories. But they were unsuccessful because the United States, as a member of the Security Council, would not allow it . . . . until . . . . the final act of President Barak Obama before he left office in 2016, was to allow “Resolution 2334” to be passed.
U.N. Resolution 2334 declares that Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has “no legal validity” and constitutes a “flagrant violation under International Law” of the “human rights” of the occupied peoples.
But with Barak Obama gone, along comes President Donald Trump. Only a character like this is going to go against the whole of world opinion. He moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and supports Israel in the face of U.N. opposition – and Israel says “thank you very much” and keeps building settlements there, in fulfilment of Bible prophecy.
Meanwhile in France
For decades, the primary nation behind European unity has been Germany. But then a young Frenchman is voted into office, by the name of Emmanuel Macron. He comes with a human rights agenda. Macron is now Europe’s most powerful leader. Some have even called him “the new Napoleon” and “a Napoleon for the 21st century”. Macron goes to the European Court with a speech about human rights, referring to the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen as the core of the European identity. “It is not insignificant” says Macron, “that the UDHR was adopted in Paris in 1948 . . . . rest assured that for us, the French, this is of the utmost significance”. In 2018, Emmanuel Macron was awarded “The Charlemagne Prize” for his contribution to European Unity.
“And He Gathered Them to a Place Called in the Hebrew Tongue”
We are told that the three frog-like spirits go forth to the “kings of the earth and the whole world, to gather them to the war of the Great Day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14-16).
The prophet Joel used similar words: “For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.” (Joel 3:1-2)
The prophet Zechariah agrees: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” (Zech 12:2-3)
The world’s eyes are now centered on Jerusalem, following President Trump’s 2018 Jerusalem embassy move. This brought about a reaction from Russian president Vladimir Putin. He criticized U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and added, that “Moscow believes that the status of Jerusalem should be settled through talks between the Palestinians and Israel in line with United Nations resolutions.”
Now considering Russia’s record of occupation, this would have to be height of hypocrisy. But Russia, is the modern day “Dragon” of the Book of Revelation. We explain our reasons for this conclusion here, under the heading “The Dragon, Beast and False Prophet”.
The “Beast” of Revelation, is the European Union. The “Dragon” is Russia. So now, the frog-like spirits are coming out of the mouth of the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet, or Papacy, as predicted.
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“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”?
Some have suggested that the three frog-like spirits are “liberty, equality and fraternity”. Whilst on face value this may appear to be a plausible explanation, as a standalone answer, it seems to lack support from the context. The Apocalypse speaks of three spirits from the perspective of their origins, not from their identification with three ideologies. There was only one kind of spirit – “like to frogs”, not three – and it comes from three mouths. It is the same kind of demon, not three different kinds, that has possessed all three symbolic entities. The idea behind the language, is of a unifying force, i.e. a common spirit coming from three different sources.
Nevertheless, the mantra of the 1789 French Revolution was “liberty, equality, fraternity”. The “liberty” spoke of freedom from tyranny and oppression; “equality” was about the rights of the common man being equal to the nobility; and “fraternity” spoke of the ‘brotherhood of man’ and the right to national identity. These concepts formed the basis for the 1789 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.
A Spirit That Unites
It speaks of ‘something’ that will unite the Dragon (Russia), the Beast (secular Europe) and the False Prophet (the Papacy) to the extent that they will all be “possessed” by a common policy. This in turn will influence the nations to such an extent that they will go to war against Israel.
If we are to accept the well documented evidence for the “frogs” being representative of the French and if our conclusions in the above paragraph were the limit of our evidence, we could be tempted to suggest that this unifying spirit could be the “restless, revolutionary, progressive spirit of French Democracy”. However, before we do so, we need to further examine the following:
- What concept is the Lord trying to convey by his use of the term “unclean spirits … the spirits of demons”? In light of the Scriptural use of this terminology, is it a fitting description of political unrest and the democratic spirit?
- How do we reconcile such a conclusion with Revelation 11:11 which, if you follow the “continuous historical” interpretation of The Apocalypse, tells us that the French Revolution was the “spirit of life from God” which gave life to the witnesses against tyranny? Was “the spirit of life from God” an “unclean spirit”?
Three Unclean Spirits Like Frogs – and Demons
The Scriptural use of the pagan mythological concept of demons is a fascinating thing to explore. Once understood, it is quite clear that it has nothing to do with “doctrines of devils” but rather is a very intelligent use of a well-known ancient concept to make a very clear point without giving any credence to it.
A study of the Biblical use of demon possession is large enough for an article, or series of articles, in itself. Suffice it for now to summarize what we would find by the following points:
- The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that demons were intermediary gods between mortals and the heavenly gods inhabiting Olympus, whose chief was Zeus. As such they were far more intelligent and noble than mortals and served as messengers between the two.
- Because of their superior intelligence, many of the things they spoke were difficult to understand by mortals. Thus, when a person whom we today would describe as “insane” raved irrationally, their superstitious contemporaries believed that they were possessed by a demon and conveying messages from the gods which were difficult to understand. As such, many insane people were revered and even feared in ancient times.
- This well-known concept of demon possession was skillfully used by New Testament writers to describe the influence of Greek and Roman idolatry which had “possessed” Israel after occupation. The Lord Jesus by his use of language such as “come out of him” was demonstrating that his Father was not only more powerful than all the Greek and Roman gods but also that he had come to “cast out” the idolatrous influences that Israel had been “possessed” with. If they had only been converted, then God would also have “cast out” the Roman invaders themselves. But in the prophetic scheme of things this was not to be.
- The Bible uses the Greek word daimonon to describe idols. Examples are:- Matt. 12:24 “Beelzebub (Philistine god of Ekron) Prince of the Demons” … 1 Cor. 10:20 “they sacrificed to demons and not to God” – referring to those frequenting the temple of the Aphrodite and quoting from Deut. 32:17 where the context is clearly a reference to the idols of Canaan. The Apocalypse itself uses the expression this way in 9:20 “that they should worship demons and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and of wood, which neither can see nor hear nor walk” (taken from Psa. 115:4-7 a reference to idols).
From the above then, we can see that the Biblical use of “daimonon” is related to false religious or philosophical notions (idolatry) which “possess” the people, usually as a result of oppression following conquest. Observers revere the messages which come from the possessed, as if the policies and statements were from heaven itself.
Isn’t that the world we live in today? “Human Rights” is something that everyone assents to, as if it were a statement from heaven itself.
What then is the Scripture trying to convey to us when it speaks of “three unclean spirits, like to frogs, coming out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet”? Our conclusion is that it predicts the establishment of a collective political mindset orchestrated by the mass promotion of a popular ideology, a Russo-European alliance, following the “drying up” of the Ottoman Empire (symbolized by the river Euphrates) which historically, paved the way for the revival of the nation of Israel – and that this common agreement would turn the hearts of the nations against Israel and lead them on to war.
The inspiration behind this seems to come from the French nation. To this point, at least as far as Europe is concerned, we have seen exactly that. We have also seen the “false prophet” crying out to Europeans “with a heart full of love, discover your roots”. The inspiration for a Unified European superstate has its roots in the Holy Roman Empire of the past, which although Germanic, really began with the Franks (French).
The three unclean spirits like frogs then, is a French inspired movement in Europe that will ultimately result in a unifying influence, a common spirit, first possessing and then preached as official foreign policy from three “mouths” – Europe, the Papacy and ultimately (probably more for reasons of expedience than conscience) Russia. The object is political unity so that Europe will never go to war with itself again. The influence behind it includes religious reconciliation and a form of unity for the sake of financial prosperity. The generator that keeps it moving, is France.
Once this has been achieved, the “kings of the earth and the whole habitable” will be like the ancients of old. They will revere and fear the irrational ravings of statesmen, politicians and religious leaders as if they were “messages from the gods”. Putting it another way, they will be sucked in by the politically correct propaganda put forth by their leaders via the media to such an extent, that even though their policies are in defiance of all that the God of the Bible stands for, most will follow them as if these values came from heaven itself!
The croaking of these ‘frogs’ will drown out all opposition and will prevail. Though individually they may not act alone, yet collectively their allegiance to the cause will ignite them into warlike preparations against a revived Israel and lead them on to the war of that great day of God Almighty.
