705. 16:15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and preserves his garments." This symbolizes the Lord's advent and heaven then for people who look to Him and remain steadfast in a life in accordance with His precepts, which are the Word's truths.

To come as a thief, when said of the Lord, symbolizes His advent, and heaven then for people who have lived a good life, but hell for those who have lived an evil life, as may be seen in no. 164 above. That person is called blessed who receives eternal life (no. 639). To watch means, symbolically, to live spiritually, that is, to possess truths and live in accordance with them and look to the Lord (no. 158). And to preserve one's garments means, symbolically, to remain steadfast in those truths to the end of one's life. For garments symbolize truths that clothe (nos. 166, 212, 328), thus the Lord's precepts in the Word, because these are truths.

This meaning now follows in sequence from the preceding ones, for the subject before was the Lord's advent and a new church, and then an attack on that church by people of the former church; and because the conflict is at hand, those people who possess truths from the Word are admonished to remain steadfast in them, lest they succumb in the battle that is the subject of the following verse.

702. Three unclean spirits like frogs. This symbolically means that there arose nothing but reasonings and lusts to falsify truths.

Spirits here have the same symbolism as demons, since we are shortly told that they were spirits of demons, and demons symbolize lusts to falsify truths (no. 458). The number three symbolizes all (nos. 400, 505), here nothing but. Frogs symbolize reasonings prompted by lusts, because they croak and are lascivious.

It is apparent from this that three unclean spirits like frogs symbolize nothing but reasonings and lusts to falsify truths.

Frogs here have the same symbolic meaning as the frogs in Egypt, because the destruction of the church among the Egyptians is likewise described by the miracles done, regarding which we are thus told in Exodus:

Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land... (Exodus 8:5-14, cf. Psalms 78:45; 105:30)

And later the frogs were removed, remaining only in the river (Exodus 8:11-13).

Frogs were produced from the waters of Egypt and remained in the river because the waters in Egypt, and especially those in the river there, symbolized doctrinal falsities on which the people based their reasoning.