Have you ever wondered why the book of Revelation is so often misunderstood or shrouded in confusion? In this thought-provoking episode of Seek Go Create, host Tim Winders uncovers the real story behind Revelation by exploring its original context, intended audience, and the fascinating link to first-century events. Dive in as we break through the mystery, challenge popular interpretations, and discover how this final book of the New Testament offers hope rather than fear. Whether you’re a long-time Bible reader or just curious about one of the most debated scriptures, this episode will spark new understanding and insight.

“Revelation isn’t a horror story—it puts an exclamation point on the biblical narrative.” - Tim Winders

Access all show and episode resources HERE

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 Why Revelation Misread

00:21 Series Setup And Resources

01:28 Personal Journey Into Revelation

03:28 Key Facts Author Date Audience

06:21 What Revelation Means

07:55 Persecution And Patmos

10:31 What You Will Encounter

12:40 Read It In Context

14:53 Two Ways To Read

18:48 Not A Linear Timeline

20:11 Three Kingdoms In Conflict

21:42 Harlot And Bride Theme

24:56 Wrap Up And Next Episode

26:38 Immersive First Century Scene

28:00 Final Invitation To Read

This is the most misunderstood book in the Bible.

Not because it's complicated, but because it's been ripped from its context.

When you arrive here after reading the New Testament and order,

revelation finally makes sense.

This is Seek Go Create.

You are listening to read the New Testament in 90 days, 27

books in order in context.

We're walking through the New Testament, the way it was written,

so you can hear it the way.

The first churches did make sure if, especially if you've been following along

all this time, go to our hub K2 Foundation slash NT 90 and get all the resources

there, all the links, and also if for some reason you click on this episode first.

Please make sure you go back and try to build up to where we're at and get the

information for all the other episodes.

I know that with a topic like Revelation, there's some people

that might click on this one first.

That's fine, but please go back and get all the other

information in the background.

It builds up to where we're at now.

K two M Foundation slash NT 90 today.

Stop.

Is Revelation, the unveiling of Jesus Christ, the final

book of the New Testament.

And I gotta tell you before we dive in here and get into the

context, what was going on?

All of those things I gotta tell you.

That for all of my life in studying and reading the Bible up until

about the last five years, I did all that I could to avoid this book.

It was controversial.

It seemed confusing.

I heard so many air quotes for those listening experts say they knew exactly

what it meant and predicting this and timelines and all these things.

I avoided it.

A handful of years ago, I finally started venturing into

Revelation and I had read it.

Okay.

It's not as if I totally avoid it, but I read it and went,

wow, what is going on here?

And so I spent some time and what really helped me over the last few

years was doing what we have just done with the New Testament, and that was,

and it was reading it as best we could.

In context, understanding the audience, understanding the

history and what was going on.

I don't wanna say that it immediately unlocked and I, you know, saw the vision

and knew exactly what was going on.

But time after time, after I read it over the last few years, It made more sense.

And so some of you that are just now coming to this place in our

New Testament reading plan, I'm excited for you because this.

Could be when you finally begin connecting the dots and understanding

what this book is all about.

It is great.

It is awesome.

It's hopeful.

It's not a horror story and it's something that really puts an

exclamation point on the biblical story and the narrative, especially.

In the New Testament.

So let's cover a few things here.

Key facts.

First of all, the author is John.

We know it's John the Apostle.

We've just finished reading some of John's work, and John is actually

in exile at the time of writing.

Now let's get into a little bit of controversy right here.

The date that we show it written after doing research and studying the, the

text and everything else is AD 68 68.

Now, I could slide it up based on some research we've done to about 65.

I don't know that I could go earlier than that based on

some things we know about it.

And some of you may be aware that revelation by some scholars is placed

written in the mid nineties under de.

But listen, there's so many things that pile up here that make.

The evidence really point to a mid to late sixties writing the time is near

the temple imagery was still there.

6, 6, 6 points to Nero and suggest an earlier date all the way around that

earlier date makes the most sense.

But either way, and we can show this in this episode and in the next,

either way, the events described.

Whether it's before or after are going to fit the late sixties and what's

about to happen in 80 70 with Jerusalem and the temple being destroyed.

So our date.

Maybe a little controversial for some is the late sixties, so 80,

68 is what we're putting on this.

The audience, very specific.

It's the seven churches of Asia Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,

thi Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laia.

They're not random cong congregations, and they're really not some secret code

for some future interpretation about different ages or anything like that.

These are real churches with real people that received this information.

Paul likely planted several of them on his missionary journeys.

John has been with these churches for years.

His gospel and letters were written to this same network.

When you read Revelation after John's other writings, which we have just done,

if you're in our reading plan, reading them in order in context, you're hearing

a pastor write to people that he knows.

And loves.

Okay, here's the setting.

We're 38 years past the resurrection.

John has been exiled to Patmos.

Peter and Paul are dead Jerusalem.

We know this historically is about to fall.

Now let's talk about.

The word revelation and I, I sort of am humorous.

Before I clicked record on this, I was sort of joking with glory.

I said, I'm about to go record the episode for Revelation, or is it

Revelations or is it Revelation apostrophe s because many people get it wrong.

Well, I've got my new King James open right here, and it says the revelation.

Of Jesus Christ.

That's the way it is.

And that word is apocalypses and it means the revealing or the unveiling.

Many assume revelation is about some kind of end of the world apocalypse type thing

and everything's gonna be destroyed.

No, it's a revealing, and it is about an end, but not.

Of the world.

It's the end of the age that we've been reading about and it's been building up

throughout the New Testament that we've been reading in context and in order.

It's the end of the old.

Testament age, and the title really isn't about endings at all.

It's about a beginning.

It's an unveiling.

It's the revealing of Jesus Christ.

The risen groom ready for his bride the first, first tells you exactly what it is.

The revelation of Jesus Christ.

So now that we got that out of the way, we understand the name and what it means,

let's look at some historical context.

Okay.

At this time in Rome, Neros.

Persecution is at a fever pitch.

Believers have been burned as torches in the last few years.

Obviously Peter and Paul, Paul's been beheaded.

Peter was, was hung, excuse me, he was, crucified.

Niro himself, this is kind of an interesting thing to, to note.

He'll be dead within months.

He dies by suicide.

We know this on June 9th of the year, 68 in Jerusalem.

There is much going on, in and around that area.

A revolt has begun.

Ians legions are marching.

Temple will fall within two years.

Vespasian began the Judean campaign in 80, 67, and then the temple, as we've

said, will fall in August of 80 70.

what was going on in the church?

John is actually the last of what we would call the inner circle.

He's been exiled on Patmos, which is a rock, a small island in the a Gian C.

We already said Peter and Paul are dead.

Why Patmos?

Let's address that.

It's right at the beginning.

We don't know exactly how John ended up there.

We could speculate, but it would be surprising if he hadn't been impacted by

all the persecution that was going on.

I mean, he was still considered one of the leaders.

And if he hadn't been imprisoned or something had happened to him, it actually

would've been more shocking than not.

So Niro's persecution had already claimed Peter and Paul.

Like we said, John was the last living.

He was leading the churches in Asia Minor.

He would've been a visible target.

It doesn't appear that Rome executed him.

Obviously they exiled him to a barren island.

Hopeful to be forgotten.

Alright, let's look at the tension that's going on here.

And there is quite a bit of tension that builds the apostolic generation is nearly.

The empire looks invincible.

Jesus said 38 plus years ago, this generation will not pass away, and

that generation is almost over.

Typically the biblical generation is right at 40 years, so that.

It is all coming to a head here with this message, with this letter.

Alright, there's a lot to encounter.

I'm not gonna try to explain everything that goes on.

What I highly recommend you do is if you're following along with this reading

plan on Facebook or YouTube, go to.

Personal Facebook page and I will daily be adding in just some comments and thoughts,

about the scripture for that day.

And I actually post a similar thing over on the posts on our

YouTube channel at Seek Go Create.

So go over there.

Read along, jump in and comment, argue back and forth.

That's fine, but there's just a lot that goes on here.

This is some of the things you'll encounter within

the, the Book of Revelation.

The judgment is real, but you're reading history, not a future horror story.

Keep that in mind.

What had to end?

Ended and what had to begin began.

Jesus is among the lampstands.

We hear that early on.

Letters to seven real churches, warnings and promises.

The lamb.

Is on the throne standing as though slain but worthy to open the scroll.

Now, the seals, the trumpets, the bowls, it can get kind of confusing,

but that is basically judgment that is unfolding and it's the old order,

the old covenant passing away, you'll hear about Babylon falling.

The powers that rejected Christ are being.

Removed, we'll hear about a new creation.

That's the buildup it's building to, the end of the new creation, the holy city.

Descending and behold, I make all things new.

And again, there's a lot more detail there.

Make sure you're following along.

Jump over on again, Facebook or over on YouTube and, and track

along with some of the daily things that we'll be commenting on there.

Now this.

To me is so important, and that is reading revelation in the proper context.

This is where I got it wrong every time I tried to jump in and read it

because I was reading it from the wrong frame of mind, the wrong context.

So we're gonna spend a little bit of time here, and I know this episode is a little

bit long, but it's very, very important.

Here's what you need to know, revelation.

Is a wake up call to the seven real churches about events that were

about to happen in their lifetime.

Not a fear letter.

It was more of a dispatch the day of the Lord is near, and this is your moment

to get your house in order before.

These events unfold.

John writes in code.

You've got to remember this.

This is what's so tough for us Old Testament imagery that Jewish

readers would recognize instantly, but Rome wouldn't understand.

Scholars count over 500 Old Testament illusions or symbols in

Revelations 400 ish verses more.

Perverse than any other New Testament book.

That makes it tough for us because we may not be steeped

and educated in all of those Old Testament symbolisms and illusions.

So makes it even tougher for us.

If you didn't have that background, someone in your congregation in those

churches could most likely explain it, and then what they saw was.

Those events actually happened.

Most of what confuses modern readers didn't confuse the original audience.

They recognize the symbols.

We're actually, now, this is the tough part for us.

We're just reading someone else's mail and it's confusing because often

we don't understand the context.

That's why we've been reading the New Testament in context and in order so

that we can understand specifically this book, this revelation even more.

There's really two ways I believe that you can read this book.

The first, and this is the way I did it for many years, and it's

why it was so confusing to me.

The first way to read Revelation is to treat it as a puzzle about the future.

People have done this for centuries in the 15 hundreds, the 18 hundreds, the

1970s, and today they read the headlines.

They listen to experts and prophecy teachers and so-called experts, and they

try to match up events and timelines with things like the Antichrist, the Beast,

the Mark 6, 6, 6, the Great Tribulation.

It feels like it should make sense, and some of those experts sound so good.

But if you're intellectually honest, it doesn't, the timeline

shift things never come true.

The predictions fail and the book stays confusing.

So that's one way you can read it.

Always looking to the future and it's predicting something.

Or you can do what we've done.

You could read the entire New Testament in order.

In context and watch it build toward an event, and then read Revelation

as the vivid symbolic description of something that already happened.

It's written in the language of the Old Testament prophets.

If you do that, it will finally.

Make sense.

And I just wanna remind you in the next episode, kind of our conclusion, the

end of the age, we're gonna walk through the actual historical events that match

up with what you're about to read in Revelation, they match up perfectly

and it just begins to get clearer.

And again, as someone who's been immersed in this for close to five years.

It is starting to be such a hopeful and encouraging thing

to read, not a horror story.

One thing to keep in mind, these are churches that John knows.

Again, like we said earlier, Paul likely planted several of them.

John has pastored them for years.

His gospel and letters were written to this same network.

When he writes, I know Your works, he means it.

This isn't a blistering attack on strangers.

It's a shepherd preparing his flock.

Now this is something important and if you've been reading

in context, you know this,

The warnings that we read about in Revelation didn't start with John.

They started centuries earlier, and really, they're part of

the entire story of the Bible.

Moses warned Israel, he said, break the covenant.

Specific curses will come.

Siege, famine, and the sanctuary destroyed.

That was in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26.

The prophets, of course, they repeated the warnings using cosmic language.

Sun darkened, stars, falling mountain shaking.

John is quoting their vocabulary.

Jesus of course specified exactly what would happen on the Mount of

Olives that we saw in Matthew 24, and he said, this generation will not

pass away until these things occur.

The Apostles echoed the urgency.

The Lord is at hand from Paul.

The end of all things is at hand.

Peter said that it is the last hour.

John, this isn't one book's obsession.

At least 20 of the 27 New Testament books point to the same event.

The day of the Lord, the end of the age, the coming judgment,

the entire New Testament builds toward what you're about to read.

And they weren't wrong.

They weren't confused.

They were preparing their readers for what was about to happen.

So how do you read a book like this?

Don't read it like a timeline.

Revelation isn't a linear sequence of events.

Many scholars see it as the same vision told from multiple vantage points

each cycle, seals, trumpets, bowls, covering similar ground with increasing

intensity or from different viewpoints.

First century readers familiar.

With Hebrew prophecy would've recognized the pattern, read it sort

of as waves, maybe not as a checklist.

In order John's imagery maps to what Jesus said, wars and famines.

The red horse and the black horse persecution, martyrs

under the altar crying.

How long?

Sun darkened stars falling, sun blackest, sackcloth stars like figs.

And then of course, this generation, John saying the time.

Is near the code really was about protection.

John writes under persecution.

He can't name Rome, he can't send a letter off that says Rome.

So he uses code words like Babylon.

He can't really name Nero, so he uses 6, 6, 6 first century readers.

Steeped in the prophets, recognized those symbols.

This is really where three powers that we talked about at the beginning of the

New Testament, they are about to collide.

They've been interacting with each other for the last 20 plus

years of the New Testament letters and, and gospels being written.

They are about to come together and collide here.

Revelation shows three kingdoms in conflict, Rome, Babylon, the beast,

the dragon, the ancient serpent, raging, because his time is short

and the kingdom of God where the lamb reigns and new creation descends.

Jerusalem also appears as Babylon.

That's why it sometimes is a little confusing.

The harlot, the unfaithful bride, drunk on the blood.

Of the prophets, John calls her the great city where their Lord was

crucified in Revelation 11, eight, knowing who's who helps clear up the

chaos for them that we're reading this.

There was so much hope.

In Revelation, they were caught between Rome's brutality and the

temple leadership that rejected Jesus Believers were hated by both powers.

The coming judgment wasn't terror, it was vindication.

This is why Revelation ends with come Lord Jesus.

They wanted him to come.

Their suffering would end.

Babylon would fall, and the lamb would be revealed as king.

Something else to kind of keep in mind here is this whole theme

of the harlett and the bride.

Revelation isn't just about Rome, it's the end of one marriage

and the wedding day of another.

Let's look back at the biblical narrative so that we can kind of get

a concept of what's going on here.

God married Israel at Sinai, but she played the harlett.

That's most of the Old Testament, chasing other gods, breaking covenant.

Jeremiah three eight says, God sent her away with a decree.

Of divorce.

Here's the legal problem.

Deuteronomy 24 says A divorced woman who remarries can't

return to her first husband.

It would be an abomination.

So how can God take Israel back?

How can there be a new covenant?

Okay, Paul answers this in Romans seven.

A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives, but if he dies,

she's free to marry another death.

Ends the binding.

The old covenant husband had to die and he did in Christ.

The law's claim was satisfied, the barrier was removed.

Now God is free to marry a new bride.

Jew and Gentile together in Christ.

Understanding a little bit of that will help as you read through Revelation.

this is what Revelation shows.

The prostitute judged in chapter 17 and 18, battle on the Great,

The great city where their Lord was crucified in Revelation 11 eight.

As we said earlier, Jerusalem herself, both powers that

rejected the lamb are judged.

The bride is then adorned in 19 seven through nine.

The wedding supper of the lamb occurs.

The new Jerusalem then descends in 21 2, and it's prepared as a

bride adorned for her husband.

The Harlet is destroyed.

The bride is revealed.

The wedding, the whole Bible has been building toward finally

happens for us 2000 years later.

Revelation feels like a puzzle for them.

It was a love letter promising everything Jesus said was about to come true.

And within two years it did.

Rome destroyed Jerusalem.

That was part of the judgment.

The temple fell.

The old Covenant age ended the day of The Lord had come the end of the age.

Was there.

And in the next episode, we will walk through the exact historical

events that line up with what you're about to read in Revelation.

And it is the end of the age, the, the final conclusion of what we've

been reading in the New Testament.

All right, man, there's a lot there.

Sorry, this has been just a little bit long.

This is such an important book of the New Testament that has been so confused.

So I want us all to get this.

You're gonna be reading Revelation over the next five

sessions and, just break it down.

Spend your time, take your time.

Think about it, let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you.

It really is some powerful stuff.

And then after this episode.

This is the final book.

Congratulations.

You're here.

You've made it.

you've just read the New Testament in the order.

It was written, 27 books, one generation in context.

The story continues in the next episode, and we'll just kind of put

a cap on all the things we've done.

Make sure, as I said earlier, that you're following along K two M Foundation

slash NT 90, and listen, as we've wrapped this up, I believe this has been

powerful for, it is it has been for me.

I've been reading along too, but for you.

If it's been as incredible as I believe it could be, share this with a friend.

Share the first episodes and let them get started with it.

I really do desire, I was actually spending some quiet time this morning with

the Lord and I was saying, Lord, I just want people to understand the context of

the New Testament so that we could allow it to live and breathe in our lives.

And in my quiet time, I felt like the Lord said.

I'm not saying thus sayeth the Lord.

I felt like the Lord said.

So do I, Tim.

So do I. So anyway, let's, let's do this.

Before we wrap this one up, let's immerse ourselves in

what was going on at that time.

Listen to this.

The island is small, 10 miles long.

Six wide rocky wind battered Rome uses it for prisoners they want forgotten.

John is one of them now.

Peter is dead.

Paul is dead.

The apostolic generation is nearly gone.

Of those who walked closest to Jesus, only John remains back

on the mainland seven churches.

Wait.

They've heard the whispers.

Jerusalem surround.

Nero's torches still burning in memory.

The empire tightening its grip.

They're caught between powers that hate them, and they remember what Jesus said.

This generation will not pass away.

On the Lord's Day, John is in the spirit, a voice like a

trumpet, seven golden lampstands.

And in the midst of them, someone like a son of man, the lamb stands

at the center of everything worthy, victorious, alive, forevermore.

This letter was written to them to first century churches

about first century events.

Their warning, their hope, and everything John saw was about to come true.

Now, let's read the revealing of Jesus Christ.