22.12 | Out of the Mouth
Revelation 16
‘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.’
Revelation 16:13
The Scriptures place a great emphasis on the power of words.
Words can lead us to wisdom and truth and insight, or destruction and deception and dead ends. They can bring encouragement and healing and liberation, or fear and atrophy and slavery. The words that we hear and the words that we receive have extraordinary power to shape the course of our lives. As proverb goes, ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue’.1
In prophetic writings, the power of words is often illustrated with bold metaphors. A sword comes from the mouth of Jesus,2 fire from the mouth of the two witnesses,3 and waters of destruction from the mouth of the dragon.4 The imagery depicts the impact of the words.
Today gives us maybe the strangest image of them all.
Three unclean spirits like frogs. These frogs come from three different sources: the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
Think back to Revelation 13.
The dragon—who is described as the devil. His words come to the soul, whisperings that deny the goodness of the Father and the love with which we are loved. His work is always to accuse, and to separate the believer from their relationship of loving trust with the Father.
The beast—identified as the Empire (or empires) of the world. Note this, for Empire, this imagery is suggesting, speaks. The values and ideologies and aspirations of the power cultures of our world have narratives. They have doctrines. They have moralities. They have words.
The false prophet—identified as the human ruler (or rulers) of the Empire. Figures of power and influence, who become the figureheads for the cause of the Empire, through their political power, financial power, and the power of their personal charisma. These individuals also come with bold narratives and claims and ideologies.
And yet, the vision also gives us an alternative. It comes in the form of another seven, as yet unmentioned.
Seven blessings. For as we journey the pages of Revelation, we have seven moments when the characteristics of the blessed are named.5
Blessed is the one who stays awake.
Stays awake. For the words of the dragon, the words of the beast, and the words of the false prophet have a power to deaden the vitality of our souls into a spiritual slumber. Absorbing the words of the enemy and Empire are as a kind of gradual numbing, of deadening, of sleepiness—like Dorothy and her friends in the field of flowers in The Wizard of Oz.
Hear the urgency and urging of the prophecy. For the imagery again presents us with a choice. You can absorb the words—the ideologies and ideas and moralities and values—of the devil, the Empire, and of the power voices of our world. You can be lured into spiritual slumber through drinking in their ideas and values. You can allow the world around you to dictate to you your story, your identity, your purpose, your values. You can let your mind and thoughts be more shaped by secular politicians and social media fads and superficial aspirations.
Or, pilgrim child of God, you can stay awake. You can remain clothed in the things of purity and righteousness and truth, and thus stand with the blessed.
Friends, the purpose of these words is not that we hide from the world, fear the world, or harden our hearts from loving those who are in it. Rather, the work of Revelation in the soul is to continually confront us with the urgency of clarity in these times. Of seeing things as they truly are. Of being a people so deeply and consistently and beautifully shaped by the Kingdom of God, that our values and ways and ideas and thoughts are shaped from the only Kingdom that will ever endure, and the only King who has our loyalty. That we formed and aligned to—above and before all else—those words that come from His mouth.
Reflect:
Consider my influences. What words and ideas am I feeding into my soul? Surrender your mind again to Jesus, and consider how you may more deeply root your thoughts in His truth today.
Pray:
Lord Jesus,
Bring clarity to my mind—for I live in a world of many words,
They are loud and forceful; they compete and conflict; they claim to have the way to life;
And they can seep into my soul.
But, Lord, in You alone do I find truth,
And so, teach me a mind of wisdom,
That Your words form this heart and mind,
That I may walk these days with the clarity of
Eternity thoughts,
And eternity ways.
In Your Name, Lord Jesus,
Amen
Old Testament:
Zephaniah 1-3 | Psalm 147:1-11
Proverbs 18:21
Revelation 1:16 and 19:15, see also Hebrews 4:12 and Isaiah 49:2
Revelation 11:5; see also Jeremiah 5:14
Revelation 12:15
The other six are found in Revelation 1:3, 14:13, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7 and 22:14.