One frequent claim against Revelation having already been fulfilled is that Nero as the beast died and therefore could not be the beast that was revived.
We don’t know Roman history very well. Many people make the mistake of assuming that the wounded head of the beast revived. But, the wounded head, though one of the heads of the beast, and a representative of the beast, was not the entire beast.
Beasts were / are oppressor nations / kingdoms that preyed upon the people. The word beast in Rev. 13:1 is “therion” and means a wild beast, a predator that preys upon and devours the young and the weak. God used this symbol of a wild beast (lions, bears, leopards, wolves, etc.) for oppressive, parasitic kingdoms that fed off the people.
Psa 17: 9-12, David’s prayer for relief –
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. 10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; 12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. (KJV)
Ezek. 22:25-27, God’s condemnation of Israel / Jerusalem –
” There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.” (KJV)
Ezek. 34:8-10, God’s prophesy against the shepherds of Israel –
8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.“ (KJV)
The beast of the sea in Revelation was a pagan nation, as the sea symbolized the nations that surrounded the land of Israel (Isa. 17:12; 23:11). Many times in prophetic language, Israel was the “earth” or “land” of God’s people. Therefore, water / sea surrounding land was a metaphor for the pagan nations surrounding Israel, and were many times the “floods” that God brought against them. (See. Deu. 13:7; 28:23; Lev. 26:19; Isa. 5:30; 59:19; Jer. 46:8; and the previous post “Heaven And Earth Have Passed Away.”)
The pagan sea beast had seven heads / kings and ten horns (lesser governors / rulers) (Rev. 13:1; 17:3). Five of these seven kings had already fallen and “one is” (Rev. 17:10). “One is” indicated the present ruler at the time the prophesy was spoken.
The sixth king / head was ruling over the beast nation at the time Revelation was written. That means that the beast nation existed during the lifetime of John, during the first century A.D. The head of the beast that was going to receive the mortal wound (Rev. 13:3) was only indirectly the beast nation. The direct attack was against one of the heads, and the one that was mortally wounded unto death. This mortal wound almost caused the death of the beast, but the beast was healed.
Rev. 17:8, The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit,…” (KJV)
The ruling king / head that received the mortal wound died, but the beast / nation did not die. The deadly wound delivered to the nation at the death of the king was healed by a successor king. As heads of the beast nation, each king took on a beast role.
Rev. 17:11, “ And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” (KJV)
Nero “was and is not”, meaning he had died. He was the last of the Julian line of Caesars. But, he is shown again in the eighth king / ruler. The eighth king / Caesar of Rome was Otho. (Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and then Vespasian)
Tacitus wrote, “Moreover, on certain days the people and soldiers, as if adding thereby to Otho’s nobility and distinction, acclaimed him as Nero Otho.” (Histories 1.78; cf. 1.13 and 1.25). Note:19 ” On the portrayal of Otho in Tacitus, Plutarch and Suetonius, see Perkins 1993 and Braun 1992.” (1)
The Year of Four Emperors
Galba ruled for just 6 months (Rev. 17:10, “… and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”). (2) Otho murdered Galba, and was proclaimed emperor by the army. He then ruled for three months, from Jan to April AD 69. He had been a friend to Nero, but had joined with Galba to overthrow Nero. (3), (4), (5) That Otho was “of the seven” possibly refers to his conspiracy with Galba to overthrow Nero.
Vitellius’ army defeated that of Otho in April of AD 69. He ruled Rome for approx. 7 months until Dec AD 69. He had also been a companion to Nero, and signaled the type of rule he would follow by making funerary offerings to Nero and calling for Nero’s songs. (6). He was a very cruel and gluttonous man, and soon lost support of the armies. His army was defeated by Vespasian’s, and the senate confirmed Vespasian as emperor on Dec. 21, AD 69. (7), (8)
Possibly in an effort to legitimize their rule in the eyes of the people by calling on the Julian line, Otho and Vitellius essentially resurrected Nero in both their accolades of him and their similar behavior.
The point was that the death of the sixth king (Nero) almost caused the beast nation to die, and its death struggle was a wonder to all those who witnessed the civil wars that ensued.
That beast nation was Rome. Nero died in June AD 68, committing suicide with the help of his servant, and the Roman empire was thrown into a year of civil war under the rule of four successive “heads”: Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, followed by Vespasian.
Thus, it became the Year of Four Emperors. (9) The civil wars of the first three Caesars brought Rome into near ruin, and as a result, Vespasian broke off the war in Judea, leaving his son Titus in charge, gathered his army and marched to Rome. He knew that if the capital city of Rome fell, then so would the empire.
Vespasian and his army took control of the empire in AD 69 and restored order to Rome. Thus, the Roman beast empire received a mortal wound, nearly dying at the death of Nero, but was healed and revived under Vespasian.
The prophesy never said that the head / king that was mortally wounded would revive. Nero, one head of the empire, was not the entire beastly empire. But, two of his successors, Otho and Vitellius both honored and ruled in Nero’s memory, in essence making a reappearance of Nero and “ascending out of the bottomless pit” (Rev. 17:8)
Sources:
(1) Nero, the Beast Study Archive here
(2) Servius Sulpicius Galba from Roman-Empire.net here
(3) “Otho” from Encyclopedia Britannica here
(4) Otho from Ancient History Encyclopedia here
(5) Marcus Salvius Otho from Roman-Empire.net: here
(6) The Life of Vitellius by Seutonius here
(7) Vitellius from Ancient History here
(8) Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus from Roman-Empire.net here
(9) AD 69 Or The Year of Four Emperors https://www.thecollector.com/year-of-the-four-emperors-overview/
See the previous posts “The Beast of Revelation” and “The Whore of Babylon” at the right margin.
(All bold emphasis is mine.)
Shredding The Veil 
It seems to be a common preterist view that the wounded head represented the death of Nero. I’ve read one preterist interpretation that the head of the beast was “wounded” when Caiaphas and Pilate were removed from their offices by Syrian governor Vitellius. The wound was healed when Nero became Emperor and the persecution of the church was in full vigor.
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Nero’s deadly wound was apparently self-inflicted by a sword being thrust through his head. Titus Vespasian, who followed him, was apparently the spittin’ image of Nero. So there’s that, which I think is very significant.
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Hello, friend. There are many views about whether Vespasian was the 8th, or of the 8th, and he certainly put a stop to the fall of Rome, reviving the sea beast and bringing it out of the abyss / grave (Rev. 17:8). But I think the eighth has to be before Vespasian’s time. I believe Rev. 17:10-11 is about Vespasian. I didn’t know about Vespasian looking like Nero, but I can’t associate him with the 8th ruler. I do think he was the one speaking great blasphemies against God (Rev. 13:5,6) as he vowed to hunt down every “Jew” who followed after any other “god” than Caesar. It occurs to me tho that some of Rev. 17 maybe overlapping. IN fact there are many overlapping parts of Rev.
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There were 2 beasts discussed in Rev – the sea beast, and the land beast. The sea beast was Rome, as the sea often represented the pagan nations that surrounded Israel. In prophesy, they would come as floods against israel. The land beast was of the “earth” of Israel, or Judea / Jerusalem and was the Sanhedrin who persecuted those who followed Christ. Rev. 13 begins speaking of the sea beast, and the wounded head is of the sea beast. So, this particular verse is not about Caiaphas who held that illegal trial and accused Jesus of blasphemy.
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I have a question about the historical development of the today’s widely accepted orthodox view that Christ will return to Earth in our current time or beyond. It’s clear that the christians in the 1st Century recognized the destruction of Jerusalem as Christ’s return that he promised in that generation. But is there a specific moment or event in church history where that view shifted to the current futurist view? From what I can tell, the majority of church history upholds the futurist view that we hold today. When did this shift happen? The year 100 AD? The year 200 AD? 300 AD? Etc…….
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I detail some of this history in Part VI of It’s Not The End of the World – The Zionist & Jesuit Deceit. Confusion set in about 300 AD when many took Irenaeus’ comment on the date of the apocalypse as being under “Domitian”. It was the Greek version of Nero’s name. Augustine knew that Revelation had been written during Nero’s reign & had already happened at the fall of Jerusalem. Other “church fathers” began confusing the date of the book of Revelation, and then the Counter Reformation hit where the “Pope” enlisted 2 Jesuit priests to write a different interpretation in the late 1500’s that countered Martin Luther’s claims that the “Pope” was the “Anti-Christ” of Revelation. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic & blasphemous. Bruce Gore does a credible job in his Apocalypse in Space & Time for the background of the teaching & date of Revelation in his youtube series, beginning here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTqxCTu2OjM&list=PLYFBLkHop2anlJ9wrDXdhugr95AJ3dMKA
Diclaimer: Bruce is a partial preterist, still preaching there is a future 2nd coming of Christ & a future day of judgment to raise everyone from the grave. He doesn’t get the link between Daniel 12, & Matt. 25 & the fall feast days yet. I think partial preterists are thinking that full preterists believe Christ’s role as our High Priest is over. They are confused, as full preterists know that Christ is ruling and judging every day & is here with us now. No need to return, as He is already here.
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I agree with you on so much here. One verse that troubles me is Acts 1:11. Maybe you have covered it. Admittedly I haven’t read all your posts. Is Jesus’ coming in Acts 1:11 basically to be understood as coming in Judgement on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. ? It just seems different than Matthew 24.
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Yes. Coming in the clouds is from the OT judgement language (Jer. 4:13; Dan. 7:13; Joel 2:2; Zeph. 1:15). Acts 1:9 – “and a cloud received him out of their site.” God traveled in the clouds. The clouds are his covering (Job 22:14). His strength is in the clouds (Psa. 68:34). They are His chariot (Psa. 104:3). They are the dust of His feet (Nah. 1:3) So, as Jesus was rec’d into the clouds, the angel (messenger) told the disciples in the same language they were familiar with from the OT that He was coming back in judgment – IOW in the clouds. That agrees perfectly with Matt. 24:30 – judgment language – in the discussion of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem. That pin points that specific judgment to AD 70 and the Roman army under Vespasian & Titus.
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Thank you for the response on Acts 1:11. That one had me puzzled. I’m definitely on board with Matthew 24 being judgement language. Acts 1:11 gave me a different vibe but I believe you are correct. You appear very knowledgeable on this.
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What is “IOW” ??
You cannot be serious about this article. Is this your theory? From what studies do you get this? You actually think the 70th week has been completed? You don’t think a Third Temple will come to fruition? What of the Anti-Messiah? Gog and Magog?
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Your indoctrination is showing. “IOW”… shorthand for in other words. You are reading and seeing through a filter that has been put over your eyes. Don’t jump in the middle. Go back to the top menu, and read Perspective, and then go to the Part I of It’s Not The End of The World at the bottom right margin. This is not a theory. It is proven scripture. The “churches” have all been teaching Catholic dogma for centuries, and it is not what the Bible says.
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You might like to read Parts III & IV of “It’s Not The End of The World” – bottom right margin – as they deal with the judgment language from the OT that carried forward into the NT prophesies.
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Is there good evidence that Revelation was written before 70 A.D. other than the writer stating that the 6th head was currently reigning? How do you combat secular scholars, who may agree with your interpretation of Revelation, but disagree with the date of the text? For example, a secular scholar will argue that Revelation is a fictional work written after 70 A.D. making it not very impressive as a prophecy since the writer has already seen the events unfold after Nero. The secular scholar is not just going to take the writer’s word that Nero was currently reigning during the writing. So my question is do we have good evidence it was written prior to 70 A.D. or is this just a matter of faith?
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Yes, please read the Signs of Revelation – Part I: The Time of His Coming. Good internal and external evidences that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of the temple, probably around AD 66 -68.
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This is really helpful! Thank you, Gina!
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Actually, Hillel was a little early and irrelevant.
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I’m a little ADHD so forgive me but are you saying that Titus is the second beast? It seems to me that the verses you cite primarily refer to Jewish leaders, not foreign nations. Are you familiar with Hillel the Elder? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillel_the_Elder
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No, the second beast was the land beast – Rev. 13:11. The land beast coming up out of the earth was a different ruling authority that threatened and terrorized the people. The earth of the prophesy is always the land the prophet was sent to warn of coming judgment. The land of the prophesy of Rev was Judea & Jerusalem. Therefore the land beast was the ruling authority that had power over that land, & was specifically the Sanhedrin. As Judea was a province of Rome at that time, the Sanhedrin was subject to the sea beast – the Roman empire.
The sea beast had kings (Caesars) which ruled over the empire. One of those heads / kings was wounded to death, which almost destroyed the entire empire beast. That was Nero. Each Caesar represented the empire / sea beast when they ruled it. So, the next two Caesars – Galba & Otho mimicked Nero in many ways in order to gain support from the people for their reign. The 3rd to rule during that year of 4 emperors was Vitelius, a glutonous evil man who had no wide support. When Vespasian learned of the civil wars going on in Rome, he garnered support from the armies who declared him to be Caesar, and he marched to Rome to overthrow Vitelius and regain control of the empire. Thus the sea beast – Rome – was revived under Vespasian, in essence rising back up out of the bottomless pit.
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I also think thus, perfectly pent post! .
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