What does it mean to hold on to your identity when the world around you is pressing in with hostility and uncertainty? In this episode of Seek Go Create, Tim Winders unpacks the powerful message of 1 Peter, exploring how scattered early Christians found resilience, hope, and a renewed sense of who they were in the midst of relentless persecution. Dive into the turbulent world of the first century, where believers faced unimaginable challenges—and discover the life-changing encouragement Peter gave to remain steadfast and anchored in a living hope. If you’ve ever wondered how faith endures during trials or how ancient truths speak to today’s struggles, this episode is for you.

"The resurrection creates that living hope—not wishful thinking, but inheritance guaranteed. Suffer now, glory later." - Tim Winders

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Episode Resources:

1. NT90 Hub – This is the central website for the 90-day New Testament reading plan, with downloadable, printable plans, background information, and links to all episodes and resources.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Introduction and Overview

00:50 Context and Background of Jude

01:59 Historical Context and Persecution

03:36 Urgency and Themes in Jude

05:42 Warnings and Symbolism in Jude

08:03 Conclusion and Next Steps

Persecution is spreading.

Peter Shepherd scattered believers to holy resilience, suffering with Christ

as exiles who bless, not retaliate.

This is Seek Go Create.

You're listening to read the New Testament in 90 days, 27 books in order in context.

We are walking through the New Testament in the way it was written

so you can hear it the way the first churches did, and boy how.

Powerful it is.

As we start seeing what is building as we move along.

We are now into the sixties, the turbulent sixties, not the 1960s of our age.

We're talking about actually 60 of the first century, and

there was a bunch going on it.

I could argue much.

Much more turbulent than the 1960s of our time.

Make sure if you haven't done it already, that you get our free reading

plan and other resources available at K two M Foundation slash INT 90.

A lot of good stuff there.

Make sure you check that out today.

Stop first.

Peter, we've heard Peter's account via Mark's gospel, but now we're

actually getting a letter from Peter.

It's a letter from Babylon, which is the community's code name for Rome Keep.

That in mind.

Later as we get to books, like Revelation and other things, Babylon

is something you're going to begin hearing because of persecution going on.

They can't call it out as Rome because it could cause trouble.

So it's a letter from Babylon and let's look at some key facts here.

First of all.

Peter is the author here, pretty confident of that.

He's with sylvanus.

Many of these authors have a scribe with them or a traveling

partner or someone else that is often part of what is going on.

The date that we have on First Peter with our research and what we're looking at is.

A D 63.

So it is 63 in our timeline and as we've been seeing, there's

a lot going on right now.

The audience for this letter are scattered believers in Pontius,

Galatia, cap, Asia, and bia, and it's.

Kind of a scattering there, but it's, uh, we'll talk more about it

in just a moment about what that, uh, that region is about the setting.

If we're doing our math here, we're about 33 years after the

resurrection and the cross.

Persecution is spreading.

There is no doubt about it.

We're gonna hear more about that, Peter.

We know this now.

He may not have known it at the time.

Within a year or two, he will be martyred himself.

So we are hearing some of the last words that will come from Peter.

Historical context.

Let's get into what was going on during that time.

Nero is on the throne.

He's been sort of peaceful and calm through the fifties

into the early sixties.

That is changing.

Hostility towards Christians is intensifying.

Arrests, accusations, social pressure.

Peter writes, as we said earlier, from Babylon, the community's code name

for Rome the worst is still ahead.

They may or may not know it at the time, even though that they still

looked at what Jesus had prophesied in all of that discourse in Matthew 24.

They probably are aware that it's going to get worse.

Well, we know historically, looking back now, it gets much worse than

what they see in the year 63.

Within a year, the great fire will devastate Rome.

Nero will blame believers.

And even now though, the tension is rising.

So keep that in mind as we're immersing ourselves into what

is going on with the audience or audiences of this letter in Jerusalem.

The temple is still intact.

James, the Lord's brother.

Was executed last year.

Traditionally, we believe that was in 62 ad. And so picture the ripple that

that would have throughout the world of believers if the Lord's brother had

been executed by the temple leadership.

And we know that we still have about seven years before the temple and

Jerusalem will be destroyed by Rome.

The church itself are believers that are scattered across some

hard provinces in this letter.

Pon, Galacia, capo, Deia, Asia.

Nia, like we mentioned earlier, these five.

Provinces span Asia Minor, which is modern Turkey.

The Jews from some of these regions probably heard Peter preach at Pentecost

and they left and went back home.

We remember from Pentecost that was 40 days after, after, after

the cross, back in 80 30 or 33.

If some wanna look at that date that people were there.

They got the Holy Spirit and then they went back to their homes.

Some of these areas were mentioned at Pentecost.

33 years later, Peter writes to their churches.

Many of them are now Gentile believers also.

They've taken those into the fold.

Yeah, there's a lot of social ostracism, family rejection, neighborhood mockery.

They're losing business, losing friends, losing standing.

It's a tough time.

There's a lot of actual persecution that is going on.

in these churches that Peter is writing to the tension, there

are exiles, there're strangers in the land where they were born.

The fiery or the fury trial isn't a metaphor.

It's coming and for some it.

It's already here, and we need to make sure that we are clear on that.

As we hear these words from Peter, there's still three kingdoms that are

pressing on these scattered exiles.

There's Rome, the empire that's turning hostile under Nero.

The worst persecution is coming.

There is general society, neighbors, families.

Communities are rejecting those who follow Christ.

They just don't fit.

They don't fit in with Rome.

They don't fit in with their old community if they came out of the

Jewish world, and really they don't even fit in with the people in

between because they bow their knee.

To Jesus Christ as Lord, and everyone else sort of falls in line with bowing

their knee to Caesar if they don't fit into the Jewish temple system

or some other Pagan type worship.

So they're just different.

They are, they're definitely outsiders.

the kingdom of God.

Definitely is there and moving.

That's the kingdom that many of them would say they are in.

It's where exiles become chosen people.

They hear terms like royal priesthood, which probably

sounds odd given their situation.

They hear terms like a holy nation, but it may be hard to see.

It looks as if it's much more spiritual than it is in reality.

Why now?

Why is this letter being written now?

Peter shepherds them with identity and instruction.

How to suffer well just like Christ, and he grounds everything in resurrection.

Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born

again to a living hope.

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

That is in one Peter one verse three.

And it's interesting as we hear a lot of these letters

from Paul and now from Peter.

I think we often read those greetings and just kind of keep going and

try to get to quote unquote what we call with the meat of the letter.

Well, the foundation of these letters that pull, that pull everybody together

is the belief in that resurrection.

So let's don't breeze through that.

The resurrection creates that living hope.

Not wishful thinking, but inheritance guaranteed.

Suffer now.

Glory later.

That's the pattern that Christ walked in, and it's also what

Peter is calling them to also.

Here's what we'll encounter.

Let's cover some bullet points here.

First, Peter is pastoral and studying identity.

Before exhortation, we'll hear about the elect.

Exiles chosen by God, set apart by the spirit sprinkled with Christ.

Blood.

We'll hear about living hope and inheritance Imperishable.

Undefiled Unfading once not a people.

Now God's people.

Identity has been transformed.

Identity, identity, identity is so powerful here.

And again, try to try to immerse yourself in.

What was going on with these people as they're being talked to about identity?

I know we wanna pull this identity and make it about us, and there is

some things we can learn from that, but let's first see what's going

on with them and how powerful this message of identity was for that group.

Submit and suffer.

Well honor authorities.

Endure unjust treatment.

Don't revile in return.

Christ pattern.

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return.

When he suffered, he did not.

Threatened the fiery or the fury.

I actually bounce around with the PR pronunciation of

that word, the Fury trial.

Don't be surprised.

It's participation in Christ's suffering.

Cast your anxieties on him because.

He cares for you.

Suffering isn't strange.

It's the same path that Christ walked.

Let's talk a little bit about the urgency, the imminence.

This is urgent.

There is urgency in all of these letters and especially in this one, the end.

This is exact.

This is exact quote from Peter in one Peter four, chapter seven.

The end of all things is at hand, and Peter, we now know in looking back,

he wrote this in 63, 7 years from now is what he's saying is the end of

all things not 2000 years away that we like to project it was at hand.

For them, they were rapidly moving towards that judgment day that

they, that they call it do not be surprised at the Fury trial.

That's, chapter four verse 12.

This is what Peter says after you have suffered a little while.

Chapter five, verse 10.

A little while not for generations, Peter knew what Jesus warned about

in Matthew 24, and he saw it coming.

They will deliver you up to tribulation.

You'll be hated by all nations.

That was from Matthew 24.

Nero is making it real, and as we said before, this is now seven

years before Jerusalem falls.

Peter writes to scattered believers.

Hold fast.

The end is at hand.

So, enjoy this reading.

You're gonna be reading one Peter over a couple of sessions.

I do think one, Peter's one you might can read all in one setting.

And so, hopefully you can do that.

What's next after this, we go to Jude Mercy and Vigilance when false.

Teachers slip in.

Definitely applicable in those times, and something that we can learn from

today if we really understand the context that they saw it in, I think we

can really apply it in our world today.

make sure again that you're following along at K two M Foundation slash.

NT 90.

Now, before you read, let's set the scene for this letter that

is about to arrive from Peter.

It is AD 63.

A letter arrives from Peter, the big fisherman who walked with Jesus,

who denied him three times, who was restored by the risen Lord.

33 years have passed since Peter sat with the resurrected

Jesus on the beach answering.

Do you love me?

Three times Jesus asked that question.

This letter is Peter feeding us his sheep.

The believers scattered throughout Pancho, Galacia, Cappadocia, Asia, and

Bia gather to here their exiles strangers in the land where they were born.

Now, let's read.