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 March 27, 2026

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I counsel you to buy from me gold purified in the fire, in order that you might be rich, and white garments, in order that you might be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness might not be revealed, and eye salve to anoint your eyes, in order that you might see. Rev 3:18.

           Although the message to the seven churches have universal value, Jesus was certainly addressing a first-century church and its condition through His servant John. If the present condition of the ancient city of Laodicea is any indication, the church at Laodicea never accepted the counsel it received in this book.
           After passing by an ancient water channel, the bus lets you off at the base of Laodicea’s tell, the top of which proves to be a farmer’s field. As you walk through the field you look down and see chips of marble and clay piping scattered throughout the surface soil. There is a sense of awe as you realize a great city lies just below the surface (Laodicea has never been seriously excavated). Further on one can see remnants of a public bath and other structures sticking up out of the ground. Laodicea has been deserted for more than 1500 years! In a real sense the church at Laodicea was spewed out of Jesus’ mouth (Rev 3:16), it no longer exists.
           But there is a deeper sense in which Laodicea still does exist. The author of Revelation seems to associate the church with the last-day people of God, who face the final battle of earth’s history, Armageddon! You see, the counsel Jesus offers to Laodicea in our text for the day is very similar to that given to those facing Armageddon (Rev 16:15). There are four Greek words in common between the two passages: garments, shame, nakedness and the verb for seeing. No other text in the Bible has this exact same combination of words.
           Notice Rev 16:15 (NIV): “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” The words for clothes and naked are fairly obvious, even in translation. The words translated “shamefully exposed” represent the two major Greek words “see” and “shame.” When God makes a call to the final generation of earth’s history, He uses the language of Laodicea! While the city of Laodicea is dead, there is something of Laodicea left at the end of time!
           So in some sense the message to Laodicea represents the followers of Jesus who experience the final crisis of earth’s history. The final remnant is called to accept the counsel to Laodicea and take hold of the true wealth that God offers. The message to Laodicea is, in a special sense, a message to us as well.

           Lord, I need Your garment of righteousness today. Give me clear vision to discern good from evil in everything that happens to me today.