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The true identity of the devil has been revealed, according to an American professor.

In the Bible’s Book of Revelation, the devil is described as a great red dragon with seven heads, a massive tail and ten horns.

Having smashed a third of the Sun, Moon and stars out of the sky, the clumsy beast careers into heaven and sparks a great war with Michael and the Angels.

The terrifying monster is defeated, chained and flung into the abyss below where he is imprisoned for 1 000 years.

As epic as this mythical interpretation may be, Kim Haines-Eitzen – professor of ancient Mediterranean religions at Cornell University in New York – believes the true devil is less dragon than real life historical figure.

The early Christianity and Judaism specialist suggested the 666 number the Beast is referred to in Revelations signifies the Roman Emperor Nero.

Speaking to Morgan Freeman in his Netflix series The Story of God, Professor Haines-Eitzen noted 666 was the numeric Hebrew value of Nero’s name.

“It is making a political claim about the cause of evil, or who is responsible for evil,” she said.

“There is a strong argument to be made for 666 referring to Nero — the emperor of Rome from 54 to 68 AD.”

A potential pitfall in this theory is that some versions of the Bible have 616 as the number of the Beast.

“You might think that this number destroys the possibility that it could be Nero,” Professor Haines-Eitzen continued.

“What is striking about this is that it may help to confirm the identity of Nero because this is the number you get if you spell Nero the Latin way — Nero Keiser.”

The Roman theory is backed up in other sections of Biblical text.

In Revelation 2 John sends a letter to the church of Pergamum warning that Satan lives among members of their congregation and that his throne is in their midst.

Pergamum was the capital of the Roman Province of Asia at the time, leading some scholars to conclude the throne either referred to an altar dedicated to Greek god Zeus, or to a temple dedicated to the Roman emperor Augustus. — AFP