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 April 25, 2026

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And I saw and heard the sound of many angels around the throne, and of the four living creatures and of the elders, and their number was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” Rev 5:11-12.

           Jesus is truly worthy. Not only was He the active agent in creation (Rev 4:11; John 1:3), but He acted powerfully to redeem that creation at the cross, the action celebrated so loudly in this chapter of Revelation. What is exciting about this is that the value that He has by right can become ours by redemption (Rev 5:9-10). We can join the angels in celebrating His worth when we see how it makes all the difference in our lives.
           A fundamental need of human beings is to have a sense of great value. But how much is a human being worth? It depends on the context. If they were to melt me down into the chemicals of which my body is made, I’m told that I would be worth about twelve dollars (make that thirteen, I’ve gained a little weight in recent years). But the average American is valued by his or her employer at a much higher level than that, something like $50,000 dollars a year. But suppose you were a great basketball player like Shaquille O’Neal. Suddenly the value jumps to tens of millions of dollars a year. And if you were the nerdy designer of the operating system on most of the world’s computers, you would be valued at tens of billions of dollars (Bill Gates)!
           You see, we are valued in terms of others. But according to the Bible human value is infinitely higher than the value we assign to each other. According to the Bible, Jesus was worth the whole universe (He made it), yet He knows all about us and loves us as we are. When He died on the cross, He established the value of the human person. When the Creator of the universe and everyone in it (including all the great athletes and movie stars that people often worship) decides to die for you and me, it places an infinite value on our lives. And since the resurrected Jesus will never die again, my value is secure in Him as long as I live.
           Let’s put it another way. A baseball in my hands is worth about five dollars. A baseball in Alex Rodriguez’ hands is worth about 25 million dollars. A golf club in my hands is worth fifty dollars. A golf club in Tiger Woods’ hands is worth millions of dollars. A stick in my hands will keep an angry dog from biting me, the same stick in Moses’ hands parted the Red Sea. Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus’ hands produced salvation for the world. You could say it all depends on whose hands each of these objects is in.

           Lord Jesus, You are the most genuinely valuable person in the universe. Help me to seek my true value in Your hands and not in the fickle affirmations of others.