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 July 6, 2025
View in the Daily Devotional Index
“Time will be no more.” But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God is finished, which He proclaimed as good news through His servants the prophets. Rev 10:6b-7.
When Revelation 10 was written, John had Daniel 12 in mind. In Daniel 12 it talks about sealing up the words of the prophecy until the “time of the end” (Dan 12:4). Then in Daniel 12:7 someone lifts up his hands and swears by the One who lives forever and ever (see Rev 10:5-6) that there will be “time, times, and half a time.” This sounds almost exactly like Revelation 10, except that in Revelation the cryptic time period is replaced by the phrase “time will be no more.”
The point of Revelation 10 seems to be that the time prophecies of Daniel have run their course. Revelation 10 brings us to the time when the book of Daniel would be unsealed and God’s final message (the “mystery of God”) would go to the world. In both texts there is a strong sense of an appointed time. So the sixth trumpet brings us to a period in earth’s history where the final events are about to take place.
In the 19th century, students of the Bible ransacked the books of Daniel and Revelation, trying to understand where they stood in the course of human history. After careful study, they drew the conclusion that the time prophecies of Daniel would end around the year 1844. They naturally assumed that “time would be no more” was the end of the world, the second coming of Jesus. They missed one tiny word in Rev 10:7, however, “but.”
In the Greek language this particular word for “but” portrays a strong contrast, even stronger than the English “but.” It tells us that the time prophecies of Daniel did not bring the world to the very end, but only to the “time of the end.” Since the close of Daniel’s time prophecies we have been living in the final period of earth’s history. We do not know when the end will come, but we do know that we are living in the “time of the end.”
In a way this is nothing new. God has always portrayed the end as near (see Rev 1:3). At the same time God’s Word has always contained the seeds of deeper understanding. The disciples of Jesus, for example, thought that Jesus would come very soon after His resurrection (Acts 1:6-8). But He then explained to them that the gospel had to go to the whole world first.
The Millerites in the 19th Century, likewise, thought that the closing up of Daniel’s time prophecies had brought them to the end of the world. But once again there was a mission to accomplish first (Rev 10:11; 14:6-7). So the bottom line for the Christian life is not timing the end, but living the motto of the US Marine Corps Semper Fi Always Faithful.
Lord, I want nothing more than to be found faithful when You come.