“…for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.” (Revelation 16:12-16, NASB)

Here is a good question for you. Are there demonic spirits living among us and actively working in our society? What do you think? Today, people rarely discuss demonic spirits, given our modern, civilized, and scientific society. However, there will come a day when these entities become a significant concern. It says in today’s passage,

“And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east. 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; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.”

John saw the sixth angel pour out the sixth bowl of God’s judgment upon the Euphrates River to dry it up for the gathering of kings and their armies for the great war of Armageddon. In addition, he saw “three unclean spirits like frogs” coming out of the mouths of the dragon (Satan), the beast (Antichrist), and the false prophet, to deceive and gather the kings of the whole world for war. There is no doubt that demonic spirits will be front and center, and visibly active and controlling the minds and behaviors of people during the Great Tribulation.

Today’s passage describes the events leading up to the final confrontation of Satan’s unholy trinity against Christ at the end of the Tribulation period. Most Christians describe this war as the “Armageddon.” During the Tribulation Period, Satan will establish his kingdom on earth through the unholy trinity of himself, the antichrist, and the false prophet. They will hold power for seven years, but toward the end, they will gather to fight Christ at his second coming. The unholy trio will release their demonic spirits to gather the kings and their armies to keep their power. The purpose of releasing these unclean and demonic spirits into the world will be to deceive the people of the world into inciting hatred for God and gathering them for war against Him.

They will gather at the place called the “Har-Magedon.” We get our English word “Armageddon” from this Hebrew word. It is a word consisting of two word “Har” (The) and “Magedon” (Megiddo). It is a valley-like area in Northern Israel where many battles have been fought. God prophesied, “I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land” (Joel 3:2). According to Revelation 19:11-21, it will be a place of battle between the armies of Satan and the armies of Christ.

The releasing of the three frog-like unclean spirits will be in the future, but the Bible also indicates that the spirits of the antichrist are already being released into the world today to deceive many. John writes, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that is coming, and now it is already in the world” (1 Jn.4:2-3). Are there demonic spirits living among us and actively working in our society? Yes. Our world is being divided into two camps by these spirit beings: to obey God or to rebel against Him. Don’t find yourself marching to the beat of the enemy’s drum! Satan and his followers will always be of the unclean spirits. God, on the other hand, is of the Holy Spirit.

Test the spirit in you and the spirits around you, whether they pass the test. We can say that if you are not filled and led by the Holy Spirit, then you are being filled and led by some other spirits. Test the spirits of the music you listen to, movies you watch, books you read, websites you visit, businesses you give your money to, and the celebrities you follow. Do their spirits confess, “Jesus is the Christ?” If so, then they are from God. If not, they are not from God. Every spirit that does not confess Jesus as Christ is not from God! Apostle Paul even warned Christians not to get “drunk with wine,” but “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph.5:18). In other words, Christians can be filled and controlled by things other than God’s Spirit! Remember that the purpose of these frog-like spirits is to incite rebellion against God and to gather an army to fight against Him.

• Why do you think Revelation describes the demonic spirits of Satan, Antichrist, and False Prophet as “unclean frogs?”
• Do you believe that enemy spirits are actively working in our society today?
• What do you think are the best ways to be led by God’s Spirit and not the enemy spirits?