4 big myths of Book of Revelation(CNN) The anti Christ. The Battle of Armageddon. The Nike 6.0 Mavrk Mid 2 Skate Shoes Black Blue dreaded Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.You don't have to be a student of religion to recognize references from the Book of Revelation. The last book in the Bible has fascinated readers for centuries. People who don't even follow religion are nonetheless familiar with figures and images from Revelation.And why not? No other New Testament book reads like Revelation. The book virtually drips with blood and reeks of sulfur. At the center of this final battle between good and evil Nike Air Jordan 11 Shoes Black Blue is an action hero like Jesus, who is in no mood to turn Nike Shox NZ the other cheek.Elaine Pagels, one of the world's leading 2015 Nike Free 5.0 biblical scholars, first read Revelation as a teenager. She read it again in writing her latest book, "Revelations: Visions, Prophecy Politics in the Book of Revelation."Pagels' book is built around a simple question: What does Revelation mean? Her answers may disturb people who see the book as a prophecy about the Cheap 587561-600 Superhuman Nike Zoom Hyperflight PRM Pimento Bright Citrus-Black end of the world.But people have clashed over the meaning of Revelation ever since it was virtually forced into the New Testament canon over the protests of some early church leaders, Pagels says.CNN's Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories"There were always debates about it," she says. "Some people said a heretic wrote it. Some said a disciple. There were always people who loved and championed it."The debate persists. Pagels adds to it Nike Air Max by challenging some of the common assumptions about Revelation.Here are what Nike Air Jordan 6 Olympic Shoes White Navyan 4 she says are four big myths about Revelation::1. It's about the end of the worldAnyone who has read the popular "Left Behind" novels or listened to pastors preaching about the "rapture" might see Revelation as a blow by blow preview of how the world will end. He was a devout Jew and mystic exiled on the island of Patmos, off the coast of present day Greece.Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter"He would have been a very simple man in his clothes and dress," Pagels says. "He may have gone from church to church Cheap 454138 002 Bright Blue Black Orange Nike Zoom Hyperdunk Low preaching Nike Air Jordan 4 Suede Shoes Navyan 4 his message.For some of the earliest Jewish followers of Jesus, the destruction of Jerusalem was incomprehensible. They had expected Jesus to return "with power" and Nike Jordan Hydro 2 conquer Rome before inaugurating a new age. But Rome had conquered Jesus' homeland instead. Think of the Winston Churchill radio broadcasts delivered to the British during the darkest days of World War II.Revelation was Buy ??Weatherman?? Nike Air Foamposite One Premium White/Modern Blue-Flash Yellow-Green For Sale Cheap an anti Roman tract and a piece of war propaganda wrapped in one. The message: God would return and destroy the Romans who had destroyed Jerusalem. "He really is deeply angry and grieved at the Jewish war and what happened to his people."2. The numerals 666 stand for the devilThe 1976 horror film "The Omen" scared a lot of folks. It may have scared some theologians, too, who began encountering people whose view of Revelation comes from a Hollywood movie."The Omen" depicted the birth and rise of the "anti Christ," the cunning son of Satan who would be known by "the mark Nike Air Cheap 616175-700 Nike LeBron 11 Black Moon Silver Shoes South Beach Custom Jordan 11 Retro Shoes White Red of the beast," 666, on his body.Here's the passage from Revelation that "The Omen" alluded to: "This calls for wisdom: let anyone with Air Jordan Outlet understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty six."Good movies, though, don't always make good theology. Most people think 666 stands for an anti Christ like figure that Womens Nike Lunar will deceive humanity and trigger a final battle between good and evil. Some people think he's already here. He was describing another incarnation of evil: The Roman emperor, Nero. Nero was said to have burned followers of Jesus alive to illuminate his garden.