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 October 7, 2026

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And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out from the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were lightnings and noises and thunders and a great earthquake. It was such a terrible and massive earthquake that none like it has ever happened since humanity has been on the earth. And the Great City disintegrated into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. Rev 16:17-19.

           A raging God doesn’t always sit well with people today. But one thing we have to keep in mind is that Revelation was written primarily to people who were suffering as they heard the book. In a time of ease language like this can seem inappropriate, but in desperate times the thought of a mighty avenger can seem almost sweet to the abused and the downtrodden.
           But more than this, God uses this kind of language as a motivator in some circumstances. God knows that we often want to do the right thing, but we need some sort of motivation to pull it off. The sense of negative consequences can go a long way toward changing our behavior.
           An academy principal faced a problem of motivation one day. It seems that a number of the girls thought it was great fun to coat their lips with lipstick and then plant a big kiss on the mirror in the girl’s bathroom. The appearance of all the lip marks seemed too hilarious for words. This, however, increased the janitor’s workload greatly as the oil-based substance was quite difficult to remove.
           So the principal made it a rule. No kissing of mirrors in the girl’s bathroom was allowed. Did this motivate the practice to stop? Of course not! Now there was not only the fun of smudging the mirror, there was the thrill of breaking a rule! So the marks on the bathroom mirror increased rather than decreased.
           The principal then levied a fine on the behavior. This made it even more attractive. Not only was there the thrill of breaking a rule, but the thrill of avoiding punishment! So that didn’t work either.
           He finally came up with an idea. He cleared the girl’s bathroom one day and called in ten of the most talkative girls for a demonstration. He would show them how hard it was to clean the mirror of all the lip smudges. So with the girls looking on he called on the janitor to clean the mirror in front of them. The janitor dipped a sponge in the toilet and began to wipe the mirror! Needless to say, within two or three days the kissing of mirrors had stopped in that school!

           Lord, I need a little extra motivation today. Help me to apply the principle of consequences to everything I do. May my choices result in a brighter future.