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 September 10, 2026

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And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes indeed,” says the Spirit, “so that they might rest from their labors, for their works follow after them.” Rev 14:13.

           Dja-Dja was the only Christian in the village of Tangouroubi, all the others continued in the ancestral worship of the spirits. To all outward appearances, her witness was totally fruitless. As old age took its toll on her body she was no longer able to attend her church, which was some distance away.
           One day Dja-Dja collapsed unconscious outside her hut. Her family gathered her up and brought her into the hut. Everyone knew that the time of her death was near. According to the Lobi tradition in Burkina Faso, they cradled her in their arms to assist her passage into the next existence. They believed that they were manipulating the spirits to assure her a blessed existence in paradise.
           As Dja-Dja’s family held her, she regained consciousness. Taking in the scene and its animistic implications, she blurted out, “I don’t want any of you pagans touching me. I want to die in the arms of Jesus.”
           In amazement, her family put her down and backed away. While they had often heard her speak of Jesus, they wondered how she could trust her soul to someone she couldn’t even see. In her dying moments, this was her supreme witness. It was the ultimate denial of ancestral animism with its fearfulness and its attempts to manipulate the spirits. It was the ultimate testament to her faith in Jesus.
           While some of Dja-Dja’s family may have been offended, her simple statement of faith in a God they could not see overshadowed the offense. They knew she was speaking from her heart in this, her greatest time of need. Jesus was real to her. He was there comforting and holding her. She was at peace, safe and secure in the arms of Jesus–they could see that it was so. She died in the Lord and the blessedness of such a death was evident to all.
           Since Dja-Dja’s death, four precious souls have been baptized in the name of Jesus. More than a dozen now meet every week to worship the God of heaven in a village where Dja-Dja’s witness had appeared fruitless for so long. Her death was blessed, she rests from her labors, and her works most certainly are following after her!¹

           Lord, the specter of death haunts every human being. We hope against hope that an exception might be made in our case, but as the years go by we increasingly realize the limitations that death places upon our lives. Today, more than ever, I need a foretaste of the blessedness You have promised in Revelation.

¹ Based on Dana and Colleen Clark, “Dja-Dja,” Adventist Frontiers, March, 2004, 10-13.