The Sibylline Oracles , Book 5 and 8 , written in the 2nd century , speak of Nero returning and bringing destruction . Within Christian communities , these writings , along with others , fueled the belief that Nero would return as the Antichrist . In 310 , Lactantius wrote that Nero " suddenly disappeared , and even the burial place of that noxious wild beast was nowhere to be seen . This has led some persons of extravagant imagination to suppose that , having been conveyed to a distant region , he is still reserved alive ; and to him they apply the Sibylline verses " , Lactantius maintains that it is not right to believe this .