Contribution to Book
Nero as the Persecuting Beast in Patristic Thought
Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception
(2023)
Abstract
Due to his rule as a megalomaniac tyrant over the Roman Empire and his role as the brutal persecutor of
Peter and Paul, Nero became a legendary figure shortly after his reign (A.D. 54-68). The uncertain data
on his demise and the persistent rumors that he was either hiding in the east or would be resurrected
and return to retake his throne, made him a focus of apocalyptic fantasies by the late first century.
Sibylline Oracles and The Martyrdom of Isaiah presented him as the fallen angel Beliar, who would
persecute the Christian faithful and wreak havoc on the Roman world. Revelation 13 and 17 portrayed
him as a Beast from the Abyss, who would serve the Great Dragon Satan in initiating the events of the
End Time struggle and Christ’s final return (the 666 number of the Beast equals Nero Caesar). These
fantasies soon coalesced with biblical warnings about the False Prophets, Man of Sin and Anti-Christ
who would lead the saints astray in the last times (Matt 24, 2 Thess 2, and 1 Jn 2) so that Nero emerged
in patristic thought as a monster of fearsome proportions.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2023
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter
Citation Information
Charles M. Odahl. "Nero as the Persecuting Beast in Patristic Thought" BerlinEncyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception Vol. 21 (2023) p. 148 - 149 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/charles_odahl/93/