Why "frogs"?

[visionary]

I know they were one of the plagues of Egypt but what reason does the unclean spirits be like frogs??

Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

No where is scripture are "spirits of devils" represented as "frogs" until Revelation. What is the connection and why "frogs"?

 

[visionary]

To the Egyptians, the frog was a symbol of life and fertility, since millions of them were born after the annual inundation of the Nile, which brought fertility to the otherwise barren lands. Consequently, inEgyptian mythology, there began to be a frog-goddess, who represented fertility, referred to by Egyptologists as Heqet (also Heqat, Hekit, Heket etc., more rarely Hegit, Heget etc.),[1] written with the determinative frog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heqet

 

[visionary]

Egyptians worshipped the frog as a female goddess because frogs were common around the Nile, because they reproduced rapidly, and because being amphibians they are part of two worlds, creatures of both land and water.

So what is it in today's world that is being spouted off by three big leaders that is of the same spirit. Is there a connection with the ancient Egyptian worship in this Revelation "frogs"?

 

[visionary]

During the time of Moses, the Egyptians worshiped many different gods. They did not worship the one true God like Moses and the children of Israel. The Egyptians named different gods that were supposed to be in control of different areas of life. Each plague sent by the true God was designed to show the Egyptians that the gods they worshiped were false gods who could not control nature.

If this follows through to be of the same pattern then it behooves us to know the "spirits of the frog". God is against this false frog god.

 

[visionary]

In my search to find some answers I came across this.
“To let a frog out of your mouth”
Language: Finnish
Translation: Päästää sammakko suusta
Meaning: To say the wrong thing

- See more at: http://www.hotelclub.com/blog/idioms-of-the-world-infographic/#sthash.VQMYJHfL.dpuf

 

[Hoshiyya]

hmm well frogs are amphibian.

The water sometimes represents the depths, the underworld, the home of the dead and/or the prison of the evil spirits (the abyss, tartarus).

The demons come up, out of the abyss.

So maybe their amphibiety, their froglikeness, relates to them coming out of "the waters" and walking on earth.

 

[Lulav]

The dragon is a reptile, frogs are amphibians, both are cold blooded.

Frogs live on both land and in water.

Revelation says they were 'like frogs' however the word translated frog is batrachos and there is no other usage to be found. It is of unknown origin.
It is the word used today for frogs but at that time it ,may have meant something else?

 

[Lulav]

Ha! we were both

hmm well frogs are amphibian.

The water sometimes represents the depths, the underworld, the home of the dead and/or the prison of the evil spirits (the abyss, tartarus).

The demons come up, out of the abyss.

So maybe their amphibiety, their froglikeness, relates to them coming out of "the waters" and walking on earth.

posting at the same time. I see you made the connections too of the land and water.

 

[Lulav]

the passage before mentions the Euphrates and drying up, perhaps the frogs come from there, that area is the origin of rebellion towards G-d, Nimrod, first religion, tower of Babel.

 

[mmksparbud]

Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs

he verse states LIKE frogs--not that they are frogs. Apparently, the writer didn't know what they were, but they look something similar to frogs.

 

[BabylonWeary]

A frog is a creature that hops, like to jump along. Maybe like a telegraph or a digital signal, beep beep beep. Maybe a misuse of an ELS in the interpretation of scriptures. Maybe codes like the Enigma machine the Nazis used in WWII. Maybe propaganda in the news media, some hype to instigate a war.

 

[Hoshiyya]

the verse states LIKE frogs--not that they are frogs.

Yes, but nobody said they are frogs.

If they are compared to frogs, and they are, that means we are supposed to consider that.
John isn't just describing their appearance for fun.

 

[mmksparbud]

Yes, but nobody said they are frogs.

If they are compared to frogs, and they are, that means we are supposed to consider that.
John isn't just describing their appearance for fun.

True---but that doesn't necessarily translate into they represent the Egyptian gods, either. Just need to keep an open mind, I guess.

 

[Hoshiyya]

True---but that doesn't necessarily translate into they represent the Egyptian gods, either. Just need to keep an open mind, I guess.

... the Egyptians gods ?

Don't know what to make of that, but maybe this is interesting to you:

There is such a thing as the principle or law of Biblical symbols being defined by the Bible itself.
There is a closely related cognitive law or principle called "the law of first mention", which holds that a symbol is defined by its first usage.

In short I don't think every possible perspective on frogs is valid to interpreting the Biblical frogs as symbols.

I think we are supposed to be aware of a specific cultural interpretation of frogs as symbols in order to interpret these symbols. To get that understanding we have to read through the Bible. So if we want to know what mountains represent, or lions, or the eye, or the right hand, we have to look at how those subjects are treated throughout the Bible.

You brought up Egypt. In the Egyptian culture, and in the texts produced by this culture, the Scarab-beetle holds a special significance, which significance it may not have held to the other people in the region. It represents the heart (identical to the mind) but also more specifically represents one of the 5 souls a human was believed to have.

Incidentally Chances are the heart symbol we have today - - is ultimately derived from a stylized Scarab.

In Portugal, the rooster holds a special significance as a national animal. If the Portuguese had written the Bible, it might have said Rooster of Judah rather than Lion of Judah, for example.

Let's say that was the case. In order to understand what the rooster symbol means - to the Portuguese - we have to go to the Portuguese. There is no point correlating the Chinese cultural understanding of the rooster, and the Chinese year of the rooster, and so on, with the Portuguese definition of the rooster as a symbol.

 

[visionary]

IN this case, I believe that it is "symbolism"... and if we understand what it means in Jewish understanding, we might understand why this particular "symbolism" is used.

 

[visionary]

Basilica OF St John Lateran; [ Lateran ] means “Hidden Frogs” https://books.google.com/books?id=6...=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=lateran frog&f=false

 

[Hoshiyya]

Basilica OF St John Lateran; [ Lateran ] means “Hidden Frogs” https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZC3AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=lateran+frog&source=bl&ots=9GJnQkfKs6&sig=FpuPs79ynfn3kNjUFDN9sNKKSSo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=u76FVbrrO473yQTB2YCIAQ&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=lateran frog&f=false

Interesting !

I found basically the same info on another page, thought I'd add it to the thread:

The ancient palace of the Laterani, given by the Emperor Constantine to the popes. Lateran, from lateo, to hide, and rana, a frog. It is said that Nero ... on one occasion vomited a frog covered with blood, which he believed to be his own progeny, and had it hidden in a vault. The palace which was built on the site of this vault was called the “Lateran,” or the palace of the hidden frog. (Buckle: History of Civilisation.)

It is interesting that per the legend the frog came out of the mouth of Nero, as scripture says "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."

I am not equating Nero himself to the dragon, beast or false prophet, just pointing out the similarities.

 

[mmksparbud]

IN this case, I believe that it is "symbolism"... and if we understand what it means in Jewish understanding, we might understand why this particular "symbolism" is used.

Tha'st right--in Jewish symbolism.

 

[BabylonWeary]

A frog is a creature that hops, like to jump along. Maybe like a telegraph or a digital signal, beep beep beep. Maybe a misuse of an ELS in the interpretation of scriptures. Maybe codes like the Enigma machine the Nazis used in WWII. Maybe propaganda in the news media, some hype to instigate a war.

Hidden frogs. Some city-slickers in this thread? Maybe spend some time around a pond in the evening during the warm season, the frogs creep creep to find each other, it's a very call/response way about them. They're also rather camouflaged, and they peek out of the water just on the edge of the shoreline. Hunt them with a gig. It has three prongs, like a trident. They're not kosher.

 

[Lulav]

I've noticed long ago that the bible uses reptilian things to represent unclean or 'evil' things.

In the Garden we have a serpent that tricks man from finding the tree of life
In the show down in Egypt we have Crocodiles and frogs
In the wilderness we have vipers, snakes
Unclean animals listed include tortoise, chameleon, lizards
Moses puts one on a pole to represent death
Job speaks of Leviathan who will someday be the 'guest' at the great banquet
Yeshua uses a parable including a viper
Revelation speaks of a hateful dragon