Apocolyptic beasts

[Minimalist]

It's from Revelations

And a more deranged, drug induced, psychotic load of

rubbish I have yet to encounter.

Actually, it is Jewish apocalyptic literature later adopted/stolen by xtians. Revelations dates itself to late 68, early 69 AD.

Revelation 17:10 >>

New International Version (©1984)
They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while.

Augustus, died 14 AD
Tiberius, died 37 AD
Caligula, died 41 AD
Claudius, died 54 AD
Nero, died 68 AD.

The five fallen.

Galba, died January 69 AD.

The one who is (was.)

The author correctly names the dead kings and the living king. He screwed up the rest of it because no one could have envisioned the short reigns of Vitellius and Otho before Vespasian became emperor and remained for a while (10 years.)

It would have been common knowedge that Josephus, when he went over to the Romans after the siege of Jotapata, declared that Vespasian would become emperor. Oddly, after overrunning Galilee, Vespasian put his campaign on hold to observe political events in Rome. His departure for Italy gave the Jewish rebellion an extra 2 years of life while Titus gathered a sufficient force to reduce Jerusalem. So it was with good reason that the Jews could look to the north and know what was coming. The Romans were not exactly secretive about their preparations.

In any case, Revelations is subtle and poetical writing but it is about what Rome was going to do to the Jews, and what an avenging 'god' would then do to the Romans. The Jews liked to pretend that their big sky daddy would always show up to fight their battles for them. Probably explains why they kept getting their asses kicked. No one gave a shit about xtians at this time. In the discussions on the run-up to the revolt neither Josephus or Tacitus so much as mention them.