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 November 14, 2026

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And he (the angel) said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the genuine words of God.” Rev 19:9.

           When lambs were brought to the temple to be sacrificed, they were required to be absolutely spotless and without blemish. This was to illustrate the perfect purity of Jesus Christ. Those who are called to the wedding banquet of the Lamb will seek the cleansing that comes from intimate relationship with the spotless Lamb of God.
           There is a beautiful Seventh-day Adventist College in Eastern Indonesia called UnKlab. It is situated in the mountains just outside the world-famous diving destination of Manado, in North Sulawesi. It is known as the “green campus” because of the wonderful expanses of grass which greet the eye at every turn. Every day the students are up before dawn to rake the leaves before the sun rises over the horizon.
           The campus contains several substantial buildings and it seems in this part of the world that white is the favorite color to adorn any edifice. But while white looks beautiful against the jungle green environment, it does have drawbacks when it rains. For not only are the buildings white, but the floors are graced with white tiles as well. During the torrential rainy season, some of the earthen walkways turn to mud and it is not long before the white tiles are substantially smeared with chocolate brown dirt.
           In North America the favorite color of flooring is brown, because it “hides the dirt” well. So one might be mystified as to why anyone would want to place white tiles where they would get dirty so quickly. But if you were to ask the cleaning lady at UnKlab why they used this color for the flooring, she would answer, as if it ought to be self-evident, “So we can see the dirt.” And sure enough, one day after a muddy rain the tiles are restored to a spotless state with all dirt removed from the surface.
           Let’s face it, most of us don’t want to see the dirt on our floors. We don’t enjoy seeing dirt in our lives either. We do everything we possibly can to conceal the dirt by sweeping it under the carpet or comparing our polluted thoughts and actions with the dirty world around us. But the Lamb of God is 100% pure, spotless. Jesus is pure so that when we come to Him, we can see the dirt in ourselves. And He will not only help us see the dirt, but He has promised to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). So instead of trying to hide our dirt, we can go to Jesus and become clean through the Word of forgiveness.¹

           Lord, draw me near to Jesus so that I can clearly see the defects in my own character. I don’t want to hide the dirt anymore, I want to be truly clean.

¹ Based on an email from Jim Park, March 28, 2004.