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 17, 2025

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And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and the ones who had overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name stood upon the sea of glass having the harps of God. Rev 15:2.

           Many commentators have noticed the slight difference between the two references to the sea of glass in Revelation. In Revelation 4 the sea of glass is clear as crystal, here in Revelation 15 it is “mingled with fire.” The reference to fire (same word as the “fiery” horse of the second seal) may suggest the bloody red color of the Red Sea after the armies of Pharaoh have been destroyed. In Exod 14:30-31 (NIV) it says, “That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.”
           Sight is a blessing. It allows us to obtain a perspective that hearing and touching alone cannot give. One of the five senses, sight involves what is known in photography as “depth of field.” Depth of field places the object focused on in a larger context that helps us to clearly discern what we are truly seeing.
           For 430 years the Israelites lived in a foreign culture, subject to an oppression that succeeds in altering their view of God. As a world power Egypt was unsurpassed, and the Israelites were tempted to think that their God was as weak as they were. The awesomeness of Egyptian polytheism had confused their minds. They needed the plagues to set them free spiritually as much as physically.
           To see the Egyptians dead on the seashore meant not only that their oppressors were dead, but that everything that Egypt stood for–wealth, splendor, intellectualism, military superiority, and religious influence–was now washed up on the sands of the Red Sea. For so long Israel had been impressed with a mirage. But now they could clearly see that what the Egyptians stood for was inferior to the God who cared about Israel.
           Since the fall of Creation, God has been seeking to show us His hand in the world. All along God has permitted evil to co-exist with the good, so that we might appreciate the significance of the good. God has promised that, if we obediently follow Him to the land of Promise, He will put behind us all that has sought to deceive and destroy us. He will one day destroy sin, death, and the grave (Revelation 20:6-15), and we will “see” our “spiritual Egyptians” dead on the seashore.¹

           Lord, I need spiritual depth of field so that I can clearly discern truth in the midst of impressive alternatives.

¹ Based on an email from Samuel Thomas, Jr., October 10, 2003.