Revelations in Grace

A personal revelation of the gift of righteousness and grace through Christ Jesus.

Jon Paul Miles

Chapter 15 – The Sea Beast

In the book of Revelation, the sea beast mentioned by John is believed to represent Rome and its seven Caesars.

Revelation 13:1-8 (WEB) Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast. They worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him. He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling, those who dwell in heaven. It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed.

Revelation 17:9-10 (WEB) Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while.

The Sea Beast: A Representation of Rome

The interpretation of the sea beast as Rome is grounded in its alignment with the historical and cultural characteristics of the Roman Empire, as well as the angel’s explicit explanation of the vision. The sea is seen as symbolizing foreign nations and enemies of God’s people, and Rome, with its vast rule over many nations and peoples, became an adversary to Christianity during the Neronian Persecution (Revelation 17:1,3,7,15; Daniel 7:3).

Seven Heads and Seven Caesars

The description of the sea beast in Revelation 13:1-8 includes elements that align with Rome and its emperors. The beast has seven heads, with blasphemous names on its heads. In Revelation 17:9-10, the angel explains to John that the seven heads represent both seven kings and seven mountains on which the woman is seated, referring to Rome’s seven hills.1

From the birth of Christ until Rome’s civil war, Rome had seven Caesars: Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, Nero, and Galba. These Caesars ruled over Rome and its empire, and their reigns coincide with the symbolism of the seven heads (Revelation 17:10). The Romans did not consider Otho and Vitellius to be legitimate emperors but regarded their takeover of Rome as a rebellion.2

The sea beast had blasphemous names and demanded worship (Revelation 13:4-5; 17:3), and some Caesars, including Titus, proclaimed themselves as gods. The Romans enforced the worship of their gods and idols, leading the world to worship the dragon (Satan) (Revelation 13:4).

Unconquerable Beast

The beast also possessed immense authority and was considered unconquerable, having dominion over various tribes, peoples, languages, and nations (Revelation 13:7). In an inspiring and dreadful speech, Roman king Agrippa attempted to persuade the Jews to avoid war with Rome, illustrating how the Roman Empire decimated all empires that stood against it.3

Rome had conquered much of the known world, including the territories formally belonging to Babylon, Media/Persia, and Greece.

A Beast of Many Cultures and Religions

Furthermore, the description of the sea beast’s characteristics in Revelation 13:2, where it resembles a leopard, bear, and lion, symbolizes different regions of Rome and its incorporation of various cultures and religions. Roman culture adopted elements from Babylon, Media/Persia, and Greece (Daniel 7:4-6,17; 8:20-21) which are denoted by the lion, bear, and leopard respectively (Daniel 7:17; 8:20-23). The Roman legion standard bearers even wore skins of lions, leopards, and bears.4

Persecution of the Saints

Revelation mentions that the sea beast exercised authority for forty-two months and made war on the saints, conquering them (Revelation 13:5,7). This aligns with the time frame of the Neronian Persecution, during which Nero persecuted Christians for approximately forty-two months5 after blaming them for a fire that broke out in Rome.6 The Roman Empire’s oppressive actions against Christians were seen as an attack on Christ Himself (Matthew 25:40; Revelation 19:19).

The Mortal Wound and Resurrection

One of the heads of the sea beast is said to have a mortal wound but is healed, causing amazement and followership (Revelation 13:3). This can be associated with Nero, the sixth Caesar, who inflicted a mortal wound upon himself by stabbing his throat with a dagger.7 Nero’s death led to a dark period of civil war and uncertainty in Rome,8 as Revelation 16:10 (BSB) says, “And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness…”

However, the beast is resurrected from the bottomless pit and its mortal wound is healed (Revelation 11:7; 13:3; 17:8). In the legend of Hercules, when one head of the Hydra, Leviathan, or “sea beast” was cut off, two grew in its place.9 Vespasian and Titus eventually rose to power as joint Caesars, bringing stability and restoring the empire.10 The resurrection of the severed head and the kingdom of the beast can be seen as the revival of Rome from the brink of destruction.

The Eighth King and the Bottomless Pit

The Leviathan, which represents the sea beast, is described as both a creature that “is” and “was” but “is not” in Revelation 17:8-11. The sea beast “was” in the sense that it represented the significant enemies of God’s people in past persecutions such as Egypt/Pharaoh (Ezekiel 29:2-3) and Babylon/Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 51:34). The “is” aspect refers to the sixth Caesar reigning when Revelation was written or Nero (Revelation 17:10). (Revelation was written between 62-64 AD, according to Ed Stevens.11) The “is not” aspect of the beast can be understood as referring to the eighth king, who was not yet in power, but would follow in the footsteps of past beastly conquerors and fulfill the archetype of the enemy of God’s people (Revelation 17:11). The eighth king is identified as the joint reign of Vespasian and Titus, both of whom became the eighth Caesars and desecrated the Jewish temple, similar to Antiochus Epiphanes in the past (Revelation 17:8).

The Two Witnesses

The eighth king was the beast who rose from the bottomless pit (Revelation 17:8,11). The beast who rose from the bottomless pit in Revelation 11:7-8 was expected to kill the “two witnesses” in the streets of the “great city” or Jerusalem. The two witnesses seemed to point to the prophet Jesus ben Ananus, whom Titus killed with a Roman stone catapulted at the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem (Revelation 11:7-8).12 Although Revelation said there were two witnesses, it mentions them sharing one body, possibly indicating that the spirits of two prominent prophets shared the body of Jesus ben Ananus (Revelation 11:8). The Greek literally reads, “And their body will be upon the street of the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8 [BLB]).13 In a couple places in the Bible, men operated in the spirit or manner of a prominent prophet. John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah (Matthew 17:9-13; Luke 1:16–17). Elisha received a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit (2 Kings 2:9). Perhaps the spirits of two prominent prophets shared the body of Jesus ben Ananus.

Apollyon and the Locust Armies

There appears to be a connection between the eighth king of the sea beast and Apollyon, the king of the locust armies in Revelation 9:11. Both the eighth king and Apollyon came out of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:1-2; 11:7; 17:8). Apollyon led the locust armies out of the abyss to torment those without God’s seal for five months (Revelation 9). The Roman god Apollo considered locusts sacred creatures. Titus, the leader of “Legio XV Apollinaris” (“Apollo’s Fifteenth Legion”), besieged Jerusalem for five months before destroying it.14

The Final Judgment of the Sea Beast

The sea beast would eventually be “thrown alive into the lake of fire” (Revelation 19:20 [WEB]). The lake of fire was a picture of the afterlife punishment that awaited the enemies of Christ. Recall that Satan was also cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). The sense in which Rome was “thrown alive” into the lake of fire occurred in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted and instantly destroyed two entire coastline cities of Rome while the populace was inside.15 Indeed, the instantaneous death caused by a searing pyroclastic surge wave left petrified human cavities in the ash, preserving their form and expressions to this day.16 Interestingly, Satan was also “thrown into the lake of fire” a year after the volcano eruption when a fire destroyed most or all the Satanic temples in Rome.17

Conclusion

In summary, the sea beast in Revelation symbolizes Rome and its seven Caesars. The description of its characteristics, the historical context of Rome’s rule, and the fulfillment of various prophecies all point to this interpretation. The sea beast’s actions, demands for worship, unconquerable nature, and the persecution of Christians align with the Roman Empire’s attributes during the time of John’s writing.

Footnotes

  1. “Seven hills of Rome.” n.d. Wikipedia. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_hills_of_Rome. ↩

  2. Otho’s emperorship was considered illegitimate and a rebellion by the Romans and was only confirmed by the Senate through the threat of force. He later surrendered his reign to Vitellius, who likewise was seen as illegitimate. “Otho withdrew from the battle, declaring that he could not witness a battle between kindred — just as if he had become emperor in some legitimate fashion and had not murdered the consuls, the Caesar, and the emperor in Rome itself”; “Thus, after living most disgracefully of all men, he died most nobly; and though he had seized the empire by a most villainous deed, his taking leave of it was most honorable.”; “At the same time that this happened, Vespasian, who was engaged in warfare with the Jews, learned of the rebellion of Vitellius and Otho and was deliberating what he should do.” (Dio, Cassius. 1914. Roman History. Translated by Earnest Cary. Loeb Classical Library ed. 9 vols. N.p.: Harvard University Press. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/64*.html, 64.65.8; 64.10; 64.15; 65.8); Josephus, War, 4.9.2; Morais, Daniel. n.d. “Revelation 17: A Preterist Commentary.” Revelation Revolution Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.revelationrevolution.org/revelation-17-a-preterist-commentary/. ↩

  3. Josephus, War, 2.16. ↩

  4. Morais, Daniel. n.d. “Revelation 13: A Preterist Commentary.” Revelation Revolution Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.revelationrevolution.org/revelation-13-a-preterist-commentary/. ↩

  5. Von Mosheim, Johann L. 2006. Historical Commentaries on the State of Christianity During the First Three Hundred and Twenty-Five Years from the Christian Era, 2 Volumes. Edited by James Murdock. Translated by Robert S. Vidal. (As cited in http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/beast.html) ed. N.p.: Wipf & Stock Publishers. ↩

  6. Schaff, Philip. 1996. History of the Christian church. N.p.: Hendrickson Publishers. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc1/hcc1.i.VI.37.html; Stevens, Edward E., and Michael A. Nichols. 2014. Final Decade Before the End: Jewish and Christian History Just Before the Jewish Revolt. Bradford, Pennsylvania: International Preterist Association, 155-157; Tertullian. 1885. Apology, From Ante-Nicene Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, A. C. Coxe., and Kevin Knight. Translated by S. Thelwall. Vol. 3. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0301.htm, 1.5 (3.22). ↩

  7. Tranquillus, Caius S. 1914. The Life of Nero, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Translated by John C. Rolfe. N.p.: Loeb Classical Library edition. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html, 49.3. ↩

  8. 4 Ezra 12:18; Tacitus, The History, 1.11, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Tac.+Hist.+1.11&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0080; Josephus, War, 4.10.2, 4.11.5. ↩

  9. Apollodorus. 1921. Apollodorus, The Library. Translated by James G. Frazer. Loeb Classical Library ed. 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022:text=Library, 2.5.2, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D5%3Asection%3D2; Edgecombe, Daniel. 2020. “Echoes of the Baal Cycle in Scripture.” Living Faith. https://living-faith.org/2020/01/17/echoes-of-the-baal-cycle-in-scripture/. ↩

  10. McKenzie, Duncan W. 2009. The Antichrist and the Second Coming: A Preterist Examination. Vol. II. N.p.: Xulon Press, Incorporated, 191. ↩

  11. Stevens, The Final Decade, 84. ↩

  12. Josephus, War, 6.5.3. ↩

  13. “Revelation 11:8 Greek Text Analysis.” n.d. Bible Hub. Accessed December 26, 2022. https://biblehub.com/text/revelation/11-8.htm. ↩

  14. Morais, Revelation 9, https://www.revelationrevolution.org/revelation-9-a-preterist-commentary-who-is-apollyon/. ↩

  15. Dio, Cassius. 1914. Roman History. Translated by Earnest Cary. Loeb Classical Library ed. 9 vols. N.p.: Harvard University Press. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html, 66.23.3, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cassius_dio/66*.html. ↩

  16. Dimuro, Gina. 2018. “39 Agonizing Photos Of Pompeii’s Bodies Frozen In Time.” All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/bodies-of-pompeii. ↩

  17. Dio, Roman History, 66.24, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cassius_dio/66*.html. ↩

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