Revelation 16:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And I saw, 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, three unclean spirits like frogs.

NIV: Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

NASB: And I saw 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, three unclean spirits like frogs;

CSB: Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon’s mouth, from the beast’s mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet.

NLT: And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

KJV: And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

NKJV: And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

John reports in this verse that he saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, who is the Devil (Revelation 20:2), out of the mouth of the beast (Revelation 13:1–2), and out of the mouth of the false prophet (Revelation 13:11–14). Ephesians 2:2 describes the Devil as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience." Since the dawn of human history, the Devil has been exerting his influence over unbelievers. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul calls him "the god of this world." In other words, the Devil rules the world, the evil world system. Near the end of the tribulation, he holds unbridled sway over his two evil henchmen.

John compares the unclean spirits that come out of mouths of the trinity of evil to frogs. Frogs were an appropriate comparison for this era, since they were seen as unclean and slimy. The second plague that God sent upon Egypt was that of frogs. The Egyptians found the frogs to be so obnoxious that Pharaoh entreated Moses to remove all the frogs. He promised to let the Hebrews leave Egypt if the Lord would remove the pests. Then the Lord caused the frogs to die, and when the Egyptians gathered them into piles, "the land stank" (Exodus 8:14).

Upcoming verses will give more details on these "unclean spirits," and their role in the end times.

Revelation 16:8–16 reports what happens when the fourth, fifth, and sixth angels emptied their bowls of God's wrath. It continues the apostle John's description of the bowl judgments which began in Revelation 16:1–7. The fourth and fifth bowl judgments resemble some of the events of the trumpet judgments, but are much more intense. These events occur just prior to the return of Christ to subdue His enemies and establish His kingdom on earth (Revelation 17—19).

This chapter explains the bowl judgments, which are the last and most severe of God's outpouring of wrath on earth. The first three bowls bring sores, seas of blood, and rivers of blood. After a declaration of God's justice come the next three bowl judgments, involving scorching sunlight, darkness, and a drying of the Euphrates to clear the way for an invading army. In the final, seventh bowl judgment, an earthquake tears Jerusalem into three parts, levels cities worldwide, and displaces islands and mountains. Hundred-pound hailstones fall, but unbelievers refuse to repent and instead continue to curse God.

Revelation 16 resumes the account of God's judgments on the wicked. It describes the bowl judgments, the third and final series of judgments. The seven seal judgments of Revelation 6:1–17 and 8:1 are the first series of judgments. The trumpet judgments of Revelation 8:1—9:21 and 11:15 are next. All of these judgments vent God's wrath and are recognized as the day of his wrath and the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:17). Chapters 17 and 18 further describe the destruction caused by the judgments. Revelation 19 and 20 will describe the culmination of God's wrath and the final events of the end times.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''