Revelation 16:12-16 – The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.13 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. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. 15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” 16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
“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.” John describes what he saw as “impure.” He is describing three spirits that are not cleansed, that are ceremonially and morally dirty. We know that such things the Jews were not to touch, not to be around, and to just stay away from (Isaiah 52:11). They eschewed such things or people, giving them a wide berth. As a person would circle way around a mean dog to avoid danger and possible harm, or as a person with leprosy must not be allowed in the common camp lest others be infected, the impure must be avoided at all costs.
The evil of the world does not rise from an inanimate world but from evil spirits. Of course 1 John 2:16 is truth as the three sins noted there are within this same subject. All people are born with original sin (John 3:18) and that will not be what is being referred to. People become what even most unredeemed can recognize as “evil” because they have evil spirits influencing them, or they have aligned and attached themselves to the practices that originate from evil spirits and, doing that, they are enslaved to such evil. Like those around pagan campfires dancing and worshipping that which cannot give life and in fact kills by the worship of it, they are drawn from Truth and worship what is not what they defend it to be. They will fight, hate and kill for the evil that they cling to, and that is what the evil spirits call forth. Overwhelmingly most of the people living during this time have taken the mark of the beast. They have crossed the line of no return. That mark is a mark of the devil and is a tattoo of ownership. This stamp simultaneously tattoos the skin and the soul. Regardless of what man may think is possible, after having received the mark, there is no coming back, no outsmarting the devil, thinking themselves smart they have outsmarted themselves. So Family we see that what is seen, the Antichrist and the False Prophet are not merely physical beings but have specific evil spirits behind and within them. These three evil spirits are vulgar and hateful, that they are causes of evil acts is revealed. John is noting that what is behind the evil men, and the devil, is revealed. Obviously the devil is not occupied by an evil spirit, he is the evil spirit. What is within the Beast and the False Prophet is the same spirit, it is the devil because the devil is their god. That is what is being shown.
“They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” Power from the devil, pure evil, his hate and wrath, is unleashed on the world. What is beneath his hatred of men is revealed. Men are hated because they were created by and loved by God. The enemy can see, even if men cannot, that their common original father (Adam) were created in the image of God. Though man sinned, though the image was dirtied up, he still bore image of God. Even unredeemed man still bears the image of God, though very sullied and malformed. The devil hates these images of God. Yes, he hates and hurts man (as he is able) but his unwavering focus of hate remains on God and God is who He desires most to hurt. He would kill God if he could, but of course he cannot. When he sees mankind he wants to utterly destroy anything that bears the image of God, even if defiled, and more so if the image of God is being restored to represent in ever greater measure (through the shed blood of Jesus and His resurrection) the beauty of God (John 10:10, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 12:2).
The evil spirits leap upon the earth and bring tremendous and overwhelming signs to draw men to fight Jesus upon His return. Yes, the devil knows Jesus is coming. He knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12). The miraculous signs, perhaps even miracles of false compassion, are all meant to convince mankind that the he, the devil, is god and that Jesus is not the Holy Son. He must pull out all the stops to convince the nations of the world to join him to fight God. Unless the nations believe that he is god, or a more powerful god, than it would be insanity fight against God! Who would do such an inane thing? So the devil and his progeny the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be doing mighty miracles (allowed by God) that will fool those who want to be fooled because they do not want to worship God (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).
We are left aghast at what is coming and, also, we look with great anticipation for the victorious return of Savior and Lord. You may have noticed that, with rare exception, I always put the title of Jesus as Savior before His title of Lord. The reason for that is if He is not our Savior first, then He is not the Lord of our lives. Though every knee, even the unredeemed, will bow before Him and confess what we all know (Yes all!), that He alone is King and Master of all. Yet, only the redeemed in Christ shall know Him as the Loving Lord that He is. Those who reject Him will know Him as the righteous and just Judge who will be the adjudicator who gave them what they lived for, separation from Him. Those who live for eternity separated from God will not be able to contest that they lived a life desiring to be separate from Him and that they knew that they life they lived would lead to a life of eternal torment. For the redeemed of the Lord, they live forever in the completion of being saved from an eternal life of being separate from God. All who love and serve God through Jesus our Savior and Lord will live with Him in peace and joy forever
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.