Verse 22 Here end the epistles to the seven churches of Asia. These churches were situated on the main land, near to the Island of Patmos, where John was then residing; and they are named in geographical order, as they would naturally present themselves to the mind of the writer, as he passed in imagination from one to the other, over the region in which they were situated. The nature of the instructions which they contain,--the fact that a mystical number, seven, was the number of churches addressed,--the incorporation of the epistles into this mysterious book,--and, still more, the general address to Christians with which the several epistles are closed,--all conspire to indicate that these warnings and instructions were intended, even in a higher sense than the other Epistles of the New Testament, for the church at large in all ages. They have, accordingly, exerted an influence in respect to the standard of piety, and to the aims and obligations of the Christian life, fully equal to that of any other writings of the apostles. These letters constitute the first division of the book of Revelation. The reader will now enter upon a portion of the book entirely different from what has preceded it, both in structure and design.