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 June 29, 2026

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And the rest of the human race, those who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands in order that they might not worship demons or idols of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood. Such idols are not able to see, hear, or walk. And the rest of the human race did not repent of their murders, their magic arts, their acts of fornication, or their thefts. Rev 9:20-21.

           This is truly an amazing passage. The people in this passage have endured horrendous tribulations. They have been attacked by marauders numbering in the hundreds of millions (Rev 9:16). They have been assaulted by fire, smoke, sulphur and apocalyptic horses with snake-like tails that bite. One third of the human race is killed by all these tribulations. One would expect that the rest of the human race would be far more traumatized by these events than the trauma that New Yorkers suffered on September 11, 2001. Yet they refuse to repent. Amazing.
           One day a chaplain was asked to visit George (not his real name) in the intensive care unit.¹ He was told that George was 47 years old, but when the chaplain entered the room he thought he was in the wrong place. The patient looked well over 60, yet the charts indicated the chaplain was in the right place and the man answered to the name that was on the charts.
           George was under a sheet and talked as if he were freezing to death. He was shaking and desperate, as if every breath was going to be his last. He was talking the way a drowning man would talk.
           “Gonna. . . (pant, pant, pant) . . . get my life together. I wanna. . . (pant, pant, pant) . . . get my life together. . . I wanna change.”
           God can work so easily with people like George. George knows his need for God. He was on the fifth day of detoxification for alcoholism. His body had grown accustomed to being virtually “pickled” in alcohol. Body, mind and soul all resisted the detoxification process with everything they had. George felt as if he was not going to live. He was shaking with pain, living from moment to moment. People like George clearly hear the call of God to repent and set a new direction for their lives.
           The amazing thing about our text is that it describes a moment in earth’s history when most of the human race is right where George was and still refuses to repent. It is possible to ignore the call of God, and ignore it again, over and over, until one reaches the place that even “hitting bottom” is no longer enough for God to get through to us. I’d rather pay attention to God in the good times.

           Lord, thank You for the many ways in which You call me to You every day. I have set my heart to hear You and repent today. Teach me what I need to do.

¹ Email from Dan Millen, November 21, 2002.