Most people are scared of the book of Revelation. Dr Katie Haldane — who's spent 15 years teaching end times and holds a Master's and PhD in Revelation — says that's not what John intended at all. Welcome to "Don't Be Scared Now," a new series from TYB — The Bridge.

In this intro episode, Dr Katie strips Revelation back from conspiracy theories, political propaganda and end-times fear-mongering, and reintroduces it as what she believes it was always meant to be: a book of hope. She walks through the four major scholarly lenses used to read Revelation — preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist — explains why she refuses to lock the text into just one of them, and unpacks Revelation 1:8 ("who is, who was, and who is to come") as the key that holds the whole book together.

This episode kicks off a full series featuring conversations with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker (Pilgrim Theological College) on the rapture, and Dr U-Wen Low (Australian Catholic University) on how to actually read Revelation well — plus a joint conversation with both scholars.

Academics for the average Joe: real biblical scholarship, explained like a human.

In this episode:

Why Revelation gets hijacked by fear, conspiracy theories and hatred — and why that was never the point

The real goal of end-times theology: regeneration and restoration, not speculation

The four classic views of Revelation — preterist (past), historicist (church history), futurist (end times), idealist (symbolic) — explained simply Why Dr Katie won't pin Revelation to just one of those four views

What C.S. Lewis got right about Christians who "think of the next world" Revelation 1:8 and the "who is, who was, who is to come" framework for reading the whole book

The non-negotiables of end-times theology vs. what's genuinely up for debate

A preview of upcoming episodes with Associate Professor Robin Whitaker and Dr U-Wen Low

Timestamps:
00:00 — Welcome to Don't Be Scared Now: why Revelation feels so scary
02:24 — Reframing Revelation as a book of hope, not fear
04:38 — The real goal of end times: regeneration and restoration
06:57 — Meet the guests + why the "four views" of Revelation matter
09:15 — The preterist view: Revelation and the first-century church
11:32 — The historicist and futurist views (and the American "mud map")
13:57 — The idealist/symbolic view + Craig Keener on not imposing theology onto text
16:22 — "Who is, who was, who is to come": reading Revelation as one whole
18:38 — What's non-negotiable, what's up for debate, and what's coming next Scripture referenced: Ecclesiastes 3:11 · Matthew 19:28 · Acts 3:21 · Revelation 1:8 · Revelation 4 · Revelation 22

Got a question about Revelation or end times? Send it through on Instagram @tyb_thebridge or email us thebridge@trashyourbible.com — we'll be answering listener questions throughout the series.