Frogs

The trinity of dragon, beast, and false prophet “breath” out three demon spirits that look like frogs (Revelation 16:13). Why frogs?

Frogs are an Egyptian plague (Exodus 7-8; Psalm 78:45; 105:30). So a plague of frogs keeps us in the exodus-Egypt framework.

Frogs are unclean creatures. This is somewhat tricky to determine. They do not meet the requirements for clean land animals, which are typically requirements for mammals. They do not meet the requirements for sea creatures either, since they do not have fins or scales. But they are also not really either land nor sea creatures, and this amphibious character means that they belong with creeping things that cross boundaries. They do not stay in one environment or another. 

At the very least, we can connect the uncleanness of the frogs with the “unclean spirits” of the gospels. Perhaps we can play out the connections within the passage. The kings from the east are linked with Jesus the Thief who comes suddenly in the night. The kings from the oikoumene are inspired by the three frogs who come from the mouths of the dragon and the beasts. They are to the kings of the oikoumene what Jesus is the kings from the sunrising. Perhaps we should think of the frogs as barrier-breaking thieves. And as thieves come at night, perhaps the frog demons are also to be associated with night.

James Jordan has drawn attention to the fact that the Hebrew words for both “bird” and “frog” appear to be onomatopoetic, both suggesting a sound like “chirper.” Birds announce the coming of dawn; they are land and sky creatures who sing the day. Frogs chirp at night, and their chirping is a sign of the end of the day. They are appropriate in the passage: They are leading the army that is fighting the kings from the sunrising, and they are the ones who announce the sunset and the coming of darkness. They are appropriate symbols of the spirits of the beasts, who quench the light and spread the darkness.