Hello! I am Jon Paulien and I’m glad you came to this page to check out my work. I am a New Testament scholar and Professor of Religion at Loma Linda University. On this website you will find a collection of my articles, commentary on Revelation, and links to my blog, videos, and other resources. Make sure you check the articles link above regularly to see the latest postings. In my hand above is an exact replica of p52, the earliest extant New Testament manuscript fragment, containing portions of John, chapter 18. Centered above my head is a replica of ancient Greek pottery. At either end above are two sets of books from, and about, my favorite spiritual author, Ellen G. White. I hope you enjoy the site.

Daily Devotional For October 6, 2026

View in the Daily Devotional Index

And he gathered them to the place that in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. Rev 16:16.

           Texts like Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13 speak about a great end-time deception. According to Rev 16:16, the place where that deception occurs is Har-Magedon, Mount Carmel. In the original event at Mount Carmel, Elijah takes on the prophets of Baal. There is a showdown between two claims to be God, Baal and Yahweh. After a time of failure by the prophets of Baal (and a whole lot of mocking from Elijah), Yahweh responds to Elijah’s simple prayer and sends fire from heaven to confirm that He is the one and only true God.
           There is one small problem, though, in the end-time version of the Carmel showdown. The fire from heaven falls on the wrong altar! Instead of confirming the identity of the true God, the evidence of the senses will confirm that the counterfeit Trinity is the real thing. This will be a devastating shock to the human race.
           Imagine the following scenario. You get up from a restless sleep and peer past the living room curtain into the street. A jet-black 2004 Corvette has jumped the curb across the street, skidded across the lawn, and wiped out most of Charlie’s prize petunias before embedding itself into a retaining wall. Homer is out inspecting the wreck and the damage to the retaining wall. There is no sign of Charlie or of any occupants of the Corvette, which is too heavily damaged for anyone to have extricated themselves from its remains.
           It turns out this is only one of several such mishaps on your block. As neighbors cluster around the wrecks you notice that none of the “born-again” types are around. Charlie talked a lot about a “rapture” where all the born-again Christians vanish, leaving chaos behind. You remember him telling you to watch some TV evangelist, but you never got around to it.
           Now is a different story. You flip on the satellite TV, and turn to the Christian Broadcasting Network. There is chaos on the screen, people milling back and forth. Finally, one of them comes to the anchor desk to inform you with a trembling voice that apparently the “rapture” has come. Pat Robertson vanished in mid-sermon, airplanes have been crashing in mid-flight, minus pilot and co-pilot. The entire world has come to a standstill!
           Would such an event get your attention? Would you wish you had spent a little more time studying your Bible and a little less time on soap operas and the latest game shows? And this scenario is probably mild compared to the real thing. However it turns out, the End-time Mount Carmel experience will be very disorienting. Many will be deceived.

           Lord, help me to trust Your Word rather than my feelings. I want to be prepared for whatever may come.