Revelation 13:3

But the fatal wound had healed. Remember this was directed to the believers in John's day. The seven heads represent seven empires that follow each other in history (Revelation 17:10). [Old Babylon; Assyria; New Babylon; Medo-Persia; Macedonia; Rome; etc.] The beast symbolizes all anti-christian empires. The head that seemed to have been killed, but had healed, must mean that one of these empires which had been fiercely persecuting the church, had stopped doing this, but after a time, had started the persecution again. Rome fits this pattern. Emperor Nero nailed Christians to posts, poured oil on them and burned them as torches to amuse the mob. But in 68 A.D., Nero killed himself. For a few years, Rome was "dead" as a persecuting power. But then in the last years of the first century, Domitian began the persecution again (Revelation 1:9).