Chapter 10 

From the Book of Revelation 

Not the End of the World 

    The book of Revelation describes times of suffering for the Church and 

the world. The book of Revelation is 22 chapters long, so it is clear that the 

sufferings occur over the course of many years. But these times of suffering 

are not the end of the world. The end of the world is mentioned briefly near 

the end of Revelation, in just a few verses (Rev 20:11 to 21:8). But most of 

Revelation is about times of suffering which precede the end of the world by 

many centuries. 

The Seven Churches (Rev 1:4   3:22) 

      `As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, 

and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven 

churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.'   (Rev 1:20). 

    Revelation begins with three chapters addressed to  the seven churches  

(Rev 1:4). Currently, the Church has many parts, many divisions, Catholic, 

Orthodox, and Protestant, scattered across the face of the earth. When the 

Protestant and Orthodox Churches unite with the Catholic Church, these 

will quickly form one holy Church with seven parts. The Church will be one 

in faith, worship, and leadership, but with seven parts. This division within 

unity will be similar to the present day Catholic Church, which is divided 

into two parts, the Latin Rite and the Eastern Rite. Yet there is no division 

in beliefs or leadership. 

    But even before the Church is formed into a united whole, the divided 

Church will change and will move towards a seven part structure. There will 

be a closer fellowship among Christians of differing beliefs and also, I think, 

a consolidation among some Protestant denominations. These will be the 

first steps towards unity. 

    God speaks through the book of Revelation to the seven parts of the 

Church, describing their virtues, weaknesses, and failings. God was speaking 

to the people living in the time the book was written. The words addressed 

to each of the seven churches in Asia apply to the actual churches of that 

time.