Satan often imitates God. Here, the beast copies the death and resurrection of Jesus.
One of the beast’s heads appears to have been fatally wounded but then healed. This detail has led many interpreters to connect the beast with the Roman emperor Nero, who ruled from AD 54 to 68. A tradition developed that Nero was so evil that he either did not really die or would return as another tyrant like Domitian, who ruled from AD 81 to 96. In Revelation 17:9–10, the beast’s seven heads are linked to both seven hills (Rome) and seven kings.