It is often assumed that the Bible predicts the fall of Rome. However, the two verses cited to support this idea actually cannot predict the geopolitical fall of Rome without internal contradiction. For example, many people assume that the shattering of the statue of Daniel 2 predicts the fall of Rome. However, in Daniel 2:44 we learn that all four parts of the statue signifying the succession of empires from Babylon to Rome were all shattered “at the same time.” The shattering of the statue cannot represent the fall of Rome since Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece did not also all fall geopolitically when Rome fell.
Daniel 7:11-12 is the other verse often claimed to prove that the Bible predicts the geopolitical fall of Rome: “[T]he beast was slain and destroyed and its body cast into the fire. The other beasts had been stripped of authority [fallen], but LIVED for a time.” Did you catch that? The death of the beast CANNOT predict the fall of Rome either, because the other three empires that preceded Rome had already fallen (i.e. been “stripped of authority”) yet they are specifically said to still be ALIVE. The death of the beast must predict something other than the geopolitical fall of a kingdom. In order to answer the question of what is meant by the death of the beast, Lawless One, Little Horn and False Prophet we need to understand what exactly the sea beast of Revelation is as there is a counterintuitive and surprising fact concerning the lore of this creature that is the key to understanding how it “dies” and what that means for a creature like this.
Utu, the Sumerian Sun god, travelling through Kur.
In ancient Sumer where the earliest chapters of Genesis took place, the realm of death is called Kur. Kur is also the name of the dragon that resides in the realm of death who is death embodied just as Hades is the king of the realm of death and the name for death itself.1 Kur is the Sumerian equivalent of the Hebrew Leviathan and Greek Hydra, all three of these sea dragons are said to inhabit the realm of death in their respective mythologies.2 The Leviathan and Hydra are the Hebrew and Greek equivalents of Kur. The Leviathan, like the Hydra, is a many-headed sea monster just like the sea beast of Revelation. Psalm 74:13-14 proves that the Leviathan is a multi-headed sea monster: “You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. You crushed the heads [plural] of Leviathan [singular].” The Leviathan/Hydra is the many-headed sea beast of Revelation. Like Kur, the Leviathan’s and Hydra’s home or natural habitat is death aka the “place of destruction” aka Abaddon aka the Abyss aka the Lake of Fire aka the sea. How is it that the Leviathan and Hydra could be both a sea monster and a monster believed to occupy the realm of death in Jewish and Greek tradition? How could something be both a sea monster and a mythical monster of the underworld?
Throughout the Bible words like sea, waters, flood, Abyss and other aquatic terms represent foreign nations. Revelation 17:15 is one small example: “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.” There are many other examples in the Bible in which this meaning is clear: Daniel 7; 9:26; 11:10, 40; Psalm 65:7; 144:7, Isaiah 8:7-8; 17:12; 60:5; Jeremiah 46:7-8; 47:1-2; 51:55-56; Ezekiel 26:3; Nahum 1:8; Revelation 17:15 (See In the Bible “Earth” Signifies the Specific Land Addressed While “Sea” Symbolizes Foreign Nations). There is an added layer of meaning to these aquatic terms as well which denotes death or the realm of death: For example, in Isaiah 28:14-18 the leaders of Judah are said to have made a “covenant with death” and an “agreement with Sheol.” Like the Abyss, Sheol is death. This “covenant with death” and “agreement with Sheol” refers to the treaty King Ahaz of Judah made with Assyria. (For other examples see The Poetic Biblical Link Between “Sea” and “Abyss”). The fact that the Leviathan is a sea monster said to reside in the realm of death is another Jewish example of aquatic terms denoting death (See The Poetic Biblical Link Between “Sea” and “Abyss”). The notion that there is dual symbolism concerning foreign nations also representing death also makes sense of Ezekiel 37:1-14. In Ezekiel 37:1-14 the Israelites exiled to Babylon are depicted as dead skeletons and their return to Israel from exile brings these Jews back to life.
In order to address the question of how the beast dies we need to start by addressing what is meant when the beasts “rise out of the earth” or “rise out of the sea” as the four beasts of Daniel come into existence at this time. Daniel 7:2-3 introduces the four beasts by saying, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.” In Daniel 7:17 an angel interprets Daniel’s vision of these beasts rising out of the sea by saying they are kings that will “rise out of the earth”: “The four great beasts are four kings that will rise out of the earth.” (Daniel 7:17.) According to the angel of Daniel 7:17 to “rise out of the sea” and to “rise out of the earth” seem to mean the same thing. Daniel 7:23 suggests that these two phrases mean that the beast will, of course, somehow be present on the earth or land: “The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will be on the earth.”3
If to rise out of the sea is equivalent to rising out of the earth as implied in Daniel 7:2-3, 17 and 23 this would suggest that the sea beast arises out of the earth or sea to spawn, create or become, in part, a land creature. We see this occur in Revelation 13:1 where the sea beast rises out of the sea prior to our introduction to the land beast in Revelation 13:11. Daniel 7 paints the same picture. Here we see four beasts rising out of the sea which are all different from each other but the first three are clearly mythologically-modified land creatures; a lion, bear, and leopard. The beast that rises out of the earth in Revelation 13:11 may be another one of these land creatures of Daniel 7 that appears on land after the sea beast rises out of the sea to spawn or create it.
Because aquatic terms in the Bible often symbolize foreign nations and death in the Bible, the Leviathan/sea beast of Revelation is a symbol of Rome under the Caesar and Flavian Dynasties (See Revelation 13: A Preterist Commentary). Each head of the Leviathan/sea beast is a king of the Caesar and Flavian Dynasties as suggested in Revelation 17:9-10: “The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings.” Each head of the beast is an autocrat of the Caesar and Flavian Dynasties. If this is true, then whatever the ruling head of the beast does is what the beast does since Revelation describes the actions of the beast both in the actions of the Roman Empire and its king. Therefore, if a head/king of the beast goes to Israel, the earth, or departs back to the sea, foreign nations, then the beast itself also does this. Revelation 9 illustrates well the notion that the heads of the beast are the rulers of the Caesar and Flavian Dynasties as well as the idea that the death and resurrection of the beast seems related to the beast’s presence or absence from nations foreign to Israel (i.e. the sea/death/lake of fire/Abyss).
The two horns of this beast are these 2 generals/Caesars (Titus and Vespasian) who led the Roman army in Israel and used this victory to legitimize their reign.
Apollyon is a play-on-words for Apollo and destroy. Apollyon is Caesar Titus, the general of Legio XV Apollinaris, who destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in AD 70 (See Revelation 9: A Preterist Commentary). Prior to destroying Jerusalem in AD 70 as predicted in Revelation 9, Apollyon rose out of the Abyss. Recall that the term Abyss, like other aquatic terms in the Bible, denotes death and foreign nations often concurrently. Prior to the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70, Caesar Titus was in Egypt. This implies that Egypt is the Abyss mentioned in Revelation 9 that Titus came from before his arrival in Jerusalem in AD 70 as Apollyon and his army of locusts. In Revelation 9:2 the Abyss is a smoke-filled, fiery realm described as a “gigantic furnace.” Interestingly, Egypt is also called an “iron-smelting furnace” in 1 Kings 8:51.
If Titus as Apollyon is said to be in the Abyss—i.e. death/lake of fire—immediately prior to the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 when Titus was in Egypt and not physically dead, what does this fact imply about the death of the beast, Lawless One, Little Horn and False Prophet in Revelation 19:20, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, and Daniel 7:11-12? Must the rulers who represent the heads of the beast physically die in AD 70 when the beast is cast into the Abyss again if Titus as Apollyon appears to have been physically alive while the beast was in the Abyss/death immediately prior to his arrival in Judaea to besiege Jerusalem in AD 70?4 Let’s look at this point carefully. In Revelation 9, Titus aka Apollyon seems to rise out of the Abyss/death/lake of fire when he arrives in Jerusalem to besiege the city in AD 70. This implies that Titus was alive while he was in the Abyss/death/lake of fire. If Titus was physically alive when he was previously in the Abyss/lake of fire/death, one would expect Titus to still be physically alive when cast back into the Abyss in AD 70, correct?5
In Revelation 19:20 the beast and false prophet are cast or thrown into the lake of fire. Recall that the Abyss aka sea is the lake of fire as the Abyss aka sea is a realm of fire, smoke and sulfur just like the lake of fire according to Revelation 9. How is a creature whose home is the Abyss/lake of fire cast or thrown into the lake of fire if, as stated above, the sea beast of Revelation never truly left the lake of fire? I believe the casting of the beast and false prophet into the lake of fire in Revelation 19:20 would seem to, therefore, refer to the death of the land beast in AD 70, not the sea beast. The land beast with its two horns symbolizes the Roman army in Israel under Vespasian and Titus, the two generals of this army (see the commentary on Revelation 13). After the fall of Jerusalem, Vespasian and Titus, returned to Rome and became the next two Roman Emperors. Once both Vespasian and Titus left Israel, the land, for Rome, the sea, by the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, the land beast ceased to exist and was thus destroyed. Thus, the “death” or casting of the land beast into the Abyss/lake of fire through the departure of Vespasian and Titus echoes in reverse the land beast’s coming to life by rising out of the Abyss in Revelation 9 at the arrival of Titus, Apollyon, to besiege Jerusalem in AD 70. The land beast’s death and destruction is depicted in Revelation 19:20. Here the beast, Vespasian, and false prophet, Titus, are cast “alive” into the lake of fire, aka death/sea/Abyss/foreign nations. Recall that the Abyss, death, sea, foreign nations and lake of fire are all different terms for the mythological habitat of the Leviathan.
Why must the land beast be cast into the mythological home of the sea beast aka Leviathan in AD 70? As explained in the commentary on Revelation 13, the land beast is or becomes the sea beast resurrected. When the beast rises out of the earth in Revelation 13:11 it comes to life. Recall that the resurrection is described as a rising of the dead out of the earth—just like the beast that rises out of the earth in Revelation 13:11. The two horns of the land beast, Titus and Vespasian, become the next two heads of the sea beast shortly after the sea beast received its fatal wound denoting Nero in Revelation 13:3.6 Remember according to the Greek myths whenever one head of the Hydra was fatally wounded two-new heads grew from the stump of each severed head. Vespasian and Titus are those two heads which healed the severed head symbolizing Nero. The land beast cannot become two heads of the sea beast unless the land beast is first destroyed. The land beast is the Roman army in Israel under Vespasian and Titus. Once Vespasian and Titus left Israel, the land, the land beast, by definition, no longer existed. In order for the land beast to become the sea beast risen from the dead, the land beast must also enter the sea/Abyss/lake of fire, the home of the sea beast aka Leviathan. This occurred when Vespasian and Titus left Israel, the land, to go to Rome, the sea. Of course, after the fall of Jerusalem, Vespasian and Titus entered Rome for the first time to make their claim as emperor official. As emperor, Vespasian then naturally became the next head of the sea beast as each head of the sea beast is an autocrat of the Caesar and Flavian Dynasties. I believe this is what is pictured in Revelation 19:20. Here we see the two horns of the land beast, Vespasian and Titus, cast “alive” into the Abyss/sea/lake of fire so that the former land beast can become the sea beast resurrected from the dead.7
The beast (Rome and its emperor) who rises out of the earth (Israel) is the Flavian Dynasty (Titus and Vespasian) who rose out of Israel (the earth) to become emperors of Rome (and thus becoming the last heads of the sea beast).
The departure of Titus to Rome in Revelation 19:20 seems also to be predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. In my commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2, I show how 2 Thessalonians 2:8 most literally reads, “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will take away with the breath of his mouth and take or do away with [and thus reduce to inactivity] by the splendor of his coming.” The Lawless One, Titus, is “taken away” and “done away with” by his departure from Israel in AD 70.
Most translations of 2 Thessalonians 2:8 predict the death and destruction of the Lawless One. For example, the NLV reads, “Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.” I do not think it is entirely wrong to translate 2 Thessalonians 2:8 in this way. Biblically speaking the land beast embodied by one of its heads, the Lawless One, “dies” or ceases to exist when it is cast into the Abyss/lake of fire/death/foreign nations/sea although this does not mean that the king who embodies this beast must physically die as we have shown with Apollyon/Caesar Titus in Revelation 9. Having addressed the death of the land beast in AD 70, how and when does the sea beast die?
Daniel 7:17 tells us that the four beasts of this vision are most specifically kings: “The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth [emphasis mine].” In Daniel 7 we see a succession of four beasts where the bear appears to arise after the lion and the leopard, after the bear etc. During his reign as dictator, Julius Caesar consolidated his power in various ways that shifted Rome toward autocracy. Then Caesar declared himself dictator for life and was immediately assassinated in 44 B.C. I believe the fourth beast begins its existence around this time as the fourth beast represents a return of Rome to autocracy8 as the seven-heads of the beast is a reference to the seven-founding kings of Rome, the city of seven hills, prior to Rome becoming a Republic (Revelation 17:9). (See Revelation 17: A Preterist Commentary.)
If the Roman sea beast rises out of the Abyss/sea/death at the start of the reign of its first king, this would then logically imply that the sea beast sinks back down into the Abyss/sea/death at the end of the reign of its last king.9 I believe the fourth beast/sea beast is Rome under the Caesar and Flavian Dynasties. If this is true, then the sea beast would come to be at the start of the reign of the first Ceasar, Julius Caesar. The sea beast would then cease to be at the end of the reign of the last of the Caesar Family Dynasty, Nero Caesar. The death of Nero and the civil war that resulted from it was the time in which the beast was in the Abyss or dead. But because the beast is a Hydra or Leviathan/Kur it did not stay dead at the wounding of its head (Revelation 13:3), the beast grew two new heads while coming back to life at the start of the Flavian Dynasty with Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. The beast then ceased to exist again at the end of the Flavian Dynasty at the death of Domitian in A.D. 96.
At the end of the Flavian Dynasty in AD 96 the kingdom of the beast appears to have been conquered by/handed over to the saints and grows quickly like yeast through dough into the Kingdom of God by way of the conversion of the Roman Empire into Christianity. The fact that the death of the beast is a consequence of the handing over of its kingdom or territory to the saints seems implied in the following verses:
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’(Daniel 7:26-27.) [Emphasis mine.]
11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:11-14.)
35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. . . . 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. (Daniel 2:35-45.)
The shattering of the statue of Daniel 2 is equivalent of the death of the beast. Both the shattering of the statue and the death of the beast denote the conquest of the kingdom of the beast by the saints which fully and officially begins at the death of Domitian. (Although the kingdom of God in Israel, in a sense, begins even sooner in AD 70 when Titus, the second horn of the land beast, departed Israel in AD 70 as a sign that the spiritual kingdom of God was beginning to take hold. Also, of course, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 which acted as another sign that the new Temple of God, the Church/kingdom of God/Messianic Kingdom, had begun to take root.) The conquest of the kingdom of the beast is described in Matthew 13:33: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Here we see the kingdom of God spreads through conversion throughout the corpse of the kingdom of beast, the Roman Empire. This rapid conversion of the Roman Empire before and after the death of Domitian seems to have been made possible by the conquest of the Devil’s kingdom by Christ and His saints (Revelation 12:7-12) and the fulfillment of the Law/spiritual death of the beast in AD 70.
As stated above, the beasts of Daniel 7 do not die at the geopolitical fall of any of its four constituent empires (Daniel 7:11-12). And we see in Daniel 2:44 that all four empires shatter at the same time at the end of the age. Daniel 2:44 and 7:11-12 imply that the statue of Daniel 2 and the four beasts of Daniel 7 are a cohesive unit. This cohesion is also implied by the Babylon epithet in Revelation. In Revelation the fourth beast of Daniel 7, Rome, is called Babylon, the name of the first empire of the four-empire series. The fact that the last empire is given the name of the first empire implies a fusion of these four kingdoms. This cohesion is also implied by the fact that the fourth beast of Daniel 7, the beast of Revelation, “resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.” (Revelation 13:2.) Here we see that the beast of Revelation is called by the name of the first empire in the four-empire series of Daniel 7 as well as being an amalgamation of all the previous beasts of Daniel 7 in one chimeric form. This implies, as stated in Daniel 7:17 that “the four great beasts are four kings[.]” Once the last king in this series dies, the whole unit dies with it.
If what has been stated above is true, there would appear to be two different years for the “final” death of the beast—AD 70 and AD 96. Which is right? I believe both are correct! The land beast dies in AD 70 at the fall of Jerusalem and the sea beast dies or ceases to exist in AD 96 at the death of Domitian.
Since the land beast is a living creature, it can be destroyed or “killed” by being cast into the Abyss/lake of fire/death as is predicted in Revelation 19:20. The sea beast, however, is not as easily eliminated. Recall that the sea beast is the Leviathan. The Leviathan is a mythological sea monster that naturally resides in death and is thus “dead” in its natural state. To cast the Leviathan into the lake of fire/Abyss does not truly eliminate the creature as the lake of fire/Abyss is the Leviathan’s natural habitat, its home. Recall the Leviathan is a mythological creature believed to occupy and embody the fiery sea of death. The sea beast does not truly cease to be until death is finally and completely destroyed and there is no longer any sea.10 If there is no longer any sea or any death, then there is no longer any Leviathan as the Leviathan is the sea dragon which is the embodiment of death itself like its ancient Sumerian counterpart, the dragon Kur. We do not see this occur until the death of Domitian, the last of the Flavian Dynasty, in AD 96 when we see the events set in motion in AD 70 come to a full completion in AD 96. Revelation 20:13-21:1 predicts the final destruction of the Leviathan/death/sea/Abyss when it predicts the destruction of death and the removal of the sea:
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
In Revelation 20:13-21:1 we see the “sea,” “death,” and “Hades” give up the dead in them. Sea, death, and Hades are, as stated above, all synonyms for death. Then we see all these forms of death; sea, death, Hades; thrown into the lake of fire, the second death. The dissolution of the sea beast in AD 96 by the elimination of the sea and death itself is, I believe, predicted in Daniel 7:11-12 where the beast is “slain” and its body “given to the burning flame.”
If the beast is Rome under the Caesar and Flavian Dynasties and the beast causes the fall of the Whore of Babylon, Jerusalem, in AD 70, then one should expect that the final annihilation of the beast to be some time after that. How could the beast cause Jerusalem to fall in AD 70 per Revelation 17 and 18 and itself cease to exist completely at the same time? The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14) supports this idea. In Matthew 22:1-14 a king prepares a wedding banquet for his son and sends out invitations but those invited kill his servant messengers so the king “sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” (Matthew 22:7.) Matthew 22:7 is fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. After destroying this city in v. 7, vs. 8-9 then go on to say, “Then he [the king] said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” Notice that the invitation of the Gospel continues after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. In other words, there is a gap from the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 until the wedding banquet of Matthew 22:1-14. This wedding banquet is the wedding banquet mentioned in Revelation 21:2 when the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven as a bride prepared for her husband. This gap is, I believe, the twenty-six years between the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the death of the beast in AD 96.
The notion that the sea beast continues to “live” after AD 70 is also implied in Revelation 11:2, Luke 21:20-24, Daniel 9:26-27 and Daniel 12: 11-12. In Revelation 11:2 we learn that the Gentiles “will trample on the holy city for 42 months.” This 42-month trampling of Jerusalem seems to point to the three-and-a-half years between the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of Masada at the very end of the War on Passover of AD 74. Luke 21:24 implies that this trampling of the city by the Gentiles was during and after the siege of Jerusalem, not before it. This idea that Jerusalem is occupied by Rome for three and a half years after AD 70 is also implied in Daniel 9:26-27 and Daniel 12: 11-12 (see Revelation 11: A Preterist Commentary, Daniel 9: A Preterist Commentary, and Daniel 12: A Preterist Commentary). If the Gentiles still trample on the Holy City after AD 70, this implies that the beast is in a sense still alive or not fully dead in AD 70.
I think there is a natural tendency to assume that the Great White Throne of Judgment (GWTJ) predicted at the end of Revelation 20 is a quick and instantaneous event that began and was finished in AD 70. It is hard for me to believe that the judgment of all the dead could happen quickly. If God and the saints were to personally judge the entire life of every dead individual over thousands of years it would seem like this would take many years to complete. Perhaps the judgment began in AD 70 and was finished in AD 96? This seems to be the pattern among other major Biblically-significant events.
Many or most major eschatological or Biblical events seem to have distinct beginnings but often seem to extend for many years. For example, the forgiveness of sins began the year of the crucifixion and extended to AD 70 and maybe even beyond as one’s forgiveness does not seem to be fully consummated until the moment of death (1 Corinthians 15:51-57).11 The first resurrection mentioned at the beginning of Revelation 20, I believe, is similar. As I explain in my commentary on Revelation 20, the first resurrection appears to begin after Jesus’ resurrection and extends until the general resurrection at the GWTJ in AD 70. The second coming also appears to extend over several years. In AD 66 a vision of an army of angels was seen in the clouds matching Biblical predictions concerning the second coming. The fact that Biblical descriptions of the second coming were fulfilled in this event and yet predictions concerning the timing of the second coming seem to suggest an event that occurred in AD 70 suggests to me that the event began in AD 66 and extended to AD 70 and perhaps even beyond? Another significant event is the death of Adam. Recall that Adam was promised death the day he ate of the forbidden fruit and yet seems to have lived another 930 years thereafter according to Genesis 5:5.
In my commentary on Revelation 13, I explain how the death of the beast was fulfilled in the death of Nero and the end of the Ceasar Dynasty and the resurrection of the beast is fulfilled in the coronation of Vespasian and the rise of the Flavian Dynasty. What is interesting about the death of Nero is that when Vespasian and Titus heard about the death of Nero, these two generals departed Palestine and went to Egypt (i.e. the sea/foreign nations/death) to plot their next move.12 The beast comes back to life after Vespasian established himself as emperor which inaugurated the Flavian Dynasty. The ascension of Vespasian and the rise of the Flavian Dynasty also resulted in the return of Titus to Israel, the land, to put down the rebellion in Jerusalem in AD 70. Here we see how the beast rises out of the sea/earth by physically arriving in Israel from foreign nations aka the sea/death/Abyss. Thus the death and resurrection of the beast predicted in Revelation 13:3, 14; 17:8; 11:7 appears to be fulfilled or symbolized in both the arrival, departure and later return of the Roman armies under the Flavians and in the end of the Caesar Dynasty and beginning of the Flavian Dynasty.
I believe the beast began to show signs of life and its wound mentioned in Revelation 13:3 began healing at Vespasian’s coronation in Palestine. The beast continued to heal itself and revive through the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 with the wound fully healed, perhaps, and the beast’s strength fully regained or increased once Vespasian finally entered Rome and officially took his seat on the throne as emperor in AD 71. I believe Revelation 19:20 depicts the land beast becoming the sea beast in AD 70, not the ultimate destruction of the sea beast itself. Therefore, I believe that Revelation 19:20 which was fulfilled by the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 precedes Revelation 13. As explained in the commentary on Revelation 13, Revelation 13 is a prophecy about Vespasian and Titus’ joint triumph in Rome in AD 71. In Revelation 13 and in the Roman triumph it predicts the events leading up to Vespasian and Titus becoming autocrats of Rome through their military success in Israel were remembered, highlighted, and celebrated. Revelation 13 opens with the sea beast rising out of the sea (Revelation 13:1), a resurrection motif and an apt symbol of Vespasian and Titus entering Rome by sea to celebrate their triumph and officially claim the throne. It should also be noted that the casting of the land beast into the Abyss which was fulfilled in the Flavians departing Israel mirrors a literal reading of 2 Thessalonians 2:8 where we see the Lawless One, Titus, leave Israel (see the commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2).
I believe the primary focus and fulfillment of Revelation 19:20 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8 is in the destruction of the land beast by way of Vespasian’s and Titus’ departure to Rome, the sea, in AD 70. This stands in contrast to Revelation 17:8 and Daniel 7:11. In Revelation 17:8 and Daniel 7:11, I believe the primary focus and fulfillment is in the ultimate annihilation of the sea beast in AD 96 through the death of Domitian and the concurrent total dissolution of death which began in AD 70 and was completed in AD 96 when the last of the Old Testament dead were finally fully judged. The notion that Revelation 17:8 predicts the annihilation of the sea beast in AD 96 and Revelation 19:20, the destruction of the land beast in AD 70 makes sense of the seeming contradiction between Daniel 7:11 and Revelation 19:20. According to Revelation 19:20 the beast is cast “alive” into the lake of fire. However, in Daniel 7:11, the beast appears to be dead prior to its body being “given to the burning flame”: “I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning flame.”
1 Corinthians 15:26 reads, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Recall the Leviathan is the Hebrew equivalent of Kur. And the dragon Kur is death itself. Could the fact that the sea beast aka Leviathan aka Kur is the last enemy to be defeated imply that this total defeat was to occur sometime after AD 70, like in AD 96? I believe it does.
- Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character (Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1963), 197, 198.
- In Hercules’ Twelve Labors, the Hydra resides in the Lake of Lerna which was a gate to the underworld. Virgil, Aeneid 6.287 ff (trans. Fairclough) (Roman epic C 1st B.C.); Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 23.224 (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C 1st A.D.); Statius, Silvae 2.1.228; 5.3.260 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman poetry C 1st A.D.)
- Perhaps to rise out of the earth/sea symbolizes most specifically the fact that the beast rules over the earth, Israel? In the absence of Daniel 7:11-12, Daniel 2:39, a similar vision, implies more specifically that when the beast arises out of the sea or earth that this means that the beast will rule over the earth: “Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.” However, in Daniel 7:11-12 we learn that the lion, bear and four-headed leopard do not die when they lose authority over Israel: “I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)” Thus it appears to be the case that to rise out of the sea/earth just symbolizes the presence of these empires in Israel. We see the presence of these empires in Israel despite having lost authority over Israel in Revelation 13:2: “The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.” Also the statue does not shatter until the end of the fourth kingdom per Daniel 2:34-35. These verses imply that the Babylonian, Persian and Greek Empires retained their presence in Israel through the presence of their successors and that these empires are something of a cohesive unit.
- Vespasian and Titus were declared Caesar in Caesarea in Israel in July of A.D. 69. This coronation preceded Vespasian’s and Titus’ departure to Alexandria. Josephus The Wars of the Jews 4.10.2-4; Suetonius Lives of the Twelve Caesars 10.6-7. Thus Vespasian and Titus were already Caesar when they departed to the Abyss/foreign nations.
- One might suggest, “Perhaps it is true that Titus is Apollyon and he was physically alive when he was in the Abyss/ the lake of fire, but Titus is never said to be one of the heads of the sea beast in Revelation 9 and thus the heads of the beast must die.” Although Titus is never said to be one of the heads of the sea beast in Revelation 9, this idea is suggested in Revelation 9 itself. In Revelation 9:11 Apollyon is also called Abaddon: “They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.” Abaddon means death and destruction. Recall that the Leviathan resides in the Abyss aka the realm of death. If Apollyon aka Abaddon (death and destruction) is king of the Abyss, the realm of the Leviathan/sea beast, this means that Apollyon/Abaddon must be one of the head of the Leviathan/sea beast since the heads of the Leviathan/sea beast are its kings (Revelation 17:9-10).
- When Apollyon rose out of the Abyss in Revelation 9 this was the resurrection of the sea beast with its first head, Vespasian. Vespasian is thus seemingly cast into the Abyss in AD 69 when he departed to Egypt to plot his coup and to become emperor and the new sixth head of the beast. Titus is cast into the Abyss a few months later after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 in fulfillment of Revelation 19:20. At the time Titus leaves Palestine the land beast ceases to exist having been fused into the sea beast at that time.
- Both Vespasian and Titus left Israel after hearing of the death of Nero and although Titus returned to Israel in AD 70 to besiege Jerusalem, Vespasian never did. This makes it possible for Titus to fulfill Revelation 13 by directing the people of the earth to worship the sea beast which at this time was Rome under Vespasian’s rule. Thus, the beast, Vespasian, and false prophet, Titus, were, I believe, cast into the Abyss in fulfillment of Revelation 19:20 at slightly different times.
- The siege of Jerusalem by Pompey was in 63 B.C. After that time Judaea remained autonomous but was forced to pay tribute became dependent on Roman Syria, and lost control over a vast extent of territory. Then in 40 B.C. the Romans deposed the Hasmonean dynasty by declaring Herod the Great, King of the Jews. The third beast of Daniel 7 is a four-headed leopard (Daniel 7:4) which represents the Greek Empire. The four heads of the leopard represent Alexander the Great’s four generals who divided-up his kingdom after Alexander’s death. The fact that the beast representing Greece has four heads is interesting as this kingdom began with one king or one head, Alexander the Great. The fact that it has four heads in Daniel 7 implies that the beast can begin its existence prior to the existence of its heads as is clearly the case in Daniel 7’s reference to the Greek Empire in Daniel 7:4. It is not certain exactly when the fourth beast came into being, but whenever it did, it is not necessary that it begin with Julius Caesar in the same way that the leopard with four heads symbolizing the Greek Empire began with Alexander the Great despite of the fact that he is not one of the four heads of the leopard. Perhaps one could also then argue that the beast could also come to an end prior to the death of its last head?
There is a moment in AD 70 when the beast appears to die again referenced in Revelation 19. But remember the sea beast is the Hydra or Leviathan. In other words, the sea beast’s natural habitat is the Abyss or sea. It returns to the Abyss or Sea in A.D. 70 when Titus leaves Jerusalem to celebrate the Flavian Triumph in Rome predicted in Revelation 13. Notice when predicting the Flavian Triumph, Revelation 13 opens with the following: “And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.” The Flavian Triumph was in A.D. 71 therefore this spectacle in which the beast rises out of the sea is after the beast’s casting into the Abyss in Revelation 19:20 which seems to predict the departure of Vespasian and Titus from Israel enroute to Rome ending in A.D. 70. Their arrival is symbolized by the beast rising out of the Abyss or sea in Revelation 13:1. The beast does not truly die and stay dead until A.D. 96 which, I believe, is predicted in verses like Daniel 7:11, 26 and Daniel 2:34-35.
- I believe the sea beast becomes all the land creatures in Daniel 7. The sea beast ultimately represents death under the authority of Satan (Hebrews 2:14). Since the Roman aspect of the sea beast appears to begin to exist during the reign of its first Caesar, I believe the sea beast of the previous three empires has a worldly counterpart in Babylon, Persia and Greece in the same way that the fourth iteration is Rome.
- Although the sea beast is death it has been destroyed before and can be destroyed again. Psalm 74:14 says, “It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.” The context of Psalm 74:14 appears to be during the Exodus as the killing of the Leviathan is sandwiched amidst references to the time God “split open the sea” seemingly referring to the parting of the Red Sea and the time God “dried up the ever-flowing rivers” which seems to refer to the drying of the Jordan to allow the Hebrews to enter Canaan. Isaiah 51:9-10 also implies that the Leviathan was previously slain at the time of the Exodus and conquest of Canaan: “Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?” Rahab is a synonym for Leviathan. Rahab is also a name given to Egypt: “to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless. Therefore, I call her Rahab the Do-Nothing.” (Isaiah 30:7). Rahab appears to again be Egypt in Isaiah 51:9-10 since Isaiah 51:9-10 implies that Rahab/Leviathan is slain around the time of the Exodus as suggested by the fact that Issiah 51:9-10 also mentions the parting of the Red Sea echoing Psalm 74:15 mentioned above.
Interestingly, heaven and earth were also created at the time of the Exodus according to Isaiah 51:15-16. Here God “divided the sea” and “gave the law” and in this context God is stated to “plant the heavens and found the earth.” In the Babylonian Creation Epic, Marduk kills the sea dragon Tiamut, splits its body in half and uses it to create heaven and earth. The same thing occurs at the end the Book of Revelation. Here the sea beast is also destroyed (Revelation 19-20) at the creation of a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21).
The destruction of heaven, earth and Hades signifies a change in administration. In the Old Covenant order, Satan is prince of heaven (Isaiah 24:21, Ephesians 6:12), god of the earth (Ephesians 2:2, John 12:31; 14:31;16:11), the one who holds the power over death (Hebrews 2:14) and “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Once Satan is cast out of heaven, the kingdom of God arrives together with “the authority of his Messiah” (Revelation 21:7-10). The new heaven and earth of Revelation 21 and 22 is a new administration over the three major realms of existence; heaven, earth and death; under Jesus Christ. Having cast Satan from his heavenly throne, Jesus becomes the prince of heaven and earth in addition to having “the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18) which Jesus wrestled from Satan who the Bible states held all these same princely titles in the Old Covenant Age. Thus, the statue of Daniel 2 and the four beasts of Daniel 7 appear to symbolize the princely reign of Satan over heaven, earth and death itself in the Old Covenant Age. At the end of that age and the beginning of the Messianic Age, the age to come, authority shifted to Christ which took full effect at the new heaven and earth in Revelation 21-22
Whenever there is a new heaven and earth, there is also a new “death” or Hades. The fact that there is no more death echoes the fact that there is no more of the old heaven and earth either. The destruction of Hades is a reference to the destruction of the previous administration of death under the authority of Satan in the same way that the destruction or heaven and earth refers to the removal of Satan’s authority over those realms as well.
- 1 Corithians 15:51-52 reads, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” I believe the brevity suggested in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 refers to the interval of the resurrection of each individual, not the entire span of time in which the resurrection took place which, I believe, was and is over many years.
- Having not fully put down the Jewish rebellion when Vespasian and Titus left Israel with their armies, they essentially left Israel a sovereign nation at that time. May be significant if the rising of the four beasts out of the sea/earth symbolizes the beasts ruling over the earth (Israel) (Daniel 2:39). When Titus and Vespasian left Israel for Egypt once they heard of Nero’s death, the war stopped and the beast no longer contested the rebellion and thus had lost geopolitical authority or rule over Israel. The arrival of Titus and his army after the ascension of Vespasian also resulted in the fall of Jerusalem and the ultimate subjugation of Israel in AD 70. We also see the beast rise out of the sea/earth as it does in Daniel 7 in the reconquest of Israel at the fall of Jerusalem soon to follow.