Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 7/11/2008

Question
Hello,
In revelations it talks about three unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet and that they are to perform miracles. Does this mean the spirits will perform miracles FOR the dragon, beast and false prophet or does it just mean the dragon, beast and false prophet will perform the miralces themselves?
Also in zechariah 13:2 it mentions unclean spirits being removed from the land when Jesus was crucified. Does this mean the unclean spirits were no longer allowed to perform miracles until the time of revelation, like it says in revelations 16:13?

Thankou for your time and help,
Alice

Answer
Dear Alice,

Thank you for your question about the frogs, spirits and the beast, dragon, and false prophet—re: the miracles that take place.

Lets talk about Zechariah 13 first.

Zec 13:2  "On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.

In Zechariah 13, the Scriptures speak of the removing of all idols and false prophets out of the land in preparation for the arrival of Messiah.

Of course the Christian church has been plagued with false prophets throughout its existence. This evil will continue to the end, when Jesus will destroy all falsehood by the glory of His Second Coming.

The evil spirits of Revelation 16.13 operate during the time of the 6th plague, just before the coming of Jesus (who descends during the 7th plague).

Rev 16:12  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.
Rev 16:13  Then I saw three evil 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.
Rev 16:14  They are spirits of demons performing miraculous 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.
Rev 16:15  "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."
Rev 16:16  Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

The sixth plague opens with the drying up of the river Euphrates. In Rev. 17:15 we find that waters are symbolic of peoples and nations and tongues, so this drying up of the waters upon whom the great whore of Rev. 17 sits, represents the loss of support upon which she was depending—the literal people who have supported her.

Under the 6th plague John mentions the kings of the earth. Notice what he says in Rev. 17:

Rev 17:12  "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.
Rev 17:13  They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.

These kings are world powers who support the whore. Careful study reveals that the beast and the whore represent the Papacy allied with all the Protestant churches who support her. This is a study that is too lengthy to discuss here, but you can read about it in the book "The Great Controversy", that I’ve placed on my web site www.PettyPress.com/books .

The beast, is that of Rev. 13, the Papacy (see the GC), the false prophet would represent those churches which continue to be called “Protestant” but which no longer maintain their protest against the evils of the Papacy. (“Protestant” derives from the word “protest” which describes those churches which protested against the false doctrines and the excess of the Papacy. GC explains how this took place). The dragon represents all those who have no Christian values at all—pagans, spiritism, devil worship, etc.

It is actually these entities that work the miracles. The spirits of devils that come out of their mouths (words, commands) merely give them the ability to work the miracles.

As I say, "The Great Controversy", will give a full description of these things. It starts with Christ and His explanation of future events as revealed in Matt. 24, and carries on through history showing the development of apostasy in Christianity and the evils that result. The book continues down to this time, and presents the future as represented in Revelation, down to the coming of Christ. You’ll find it exciting reading—and informative in the extreme.

Always be ready for Jesus to come.

Thurman C. Petty, Jr.
Thurman@PettyPress.com