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 August 23, 2026

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And he [the land beast] was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast might speak and might cause whoever does not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Rev 13:15.

           Have you ever heard people say that you look just like your mother, or that one of your brothers or sisters looks just like your father? People who sit around looking at baby books often exclaim over the similarity between one generation and another.
           “Look who got momma’s nose!”
           “Yeah, but look where the dimple came from!”
           “I always wondered where the curly hair and the green eyes came from!”
           Look-alikes are basic to the movie industry, and the Internet is full of advertisements for celebrity doubles and impersonators to cover any occasion. Saddam Hussein was known to have many doubles for security. The comedy film Dave explores what might happen if the president quietly had a stroke in the back room while a security look-alike was waving to the crowd. Power-hungry subordinates keep up the sham that the president is fine, all the while finding the look-alike hilariously uncontrollable! This is nothing new. Charlie Chaplin look-alike contests were popular as far back as 1915, but even Charlie himself failed to make the finals in one of them! How’s that for an identity crisis!
           The image to the beast is a puzzling symbol of an entity who at the end of time will powerfully impersonate the sea beast of Revelation 13. Part of a pattern of deception, this image of the beast comes to life and seeks to convince the world that the beast is alive and well, even though out of sight (Rev 13:12). The key to the deception is likeness, if the image did not look like the beast, the deception could not occur.
           Who do you look like? Can the people with whom you interact tell who your Father is? Do you have the mannerisms of your Brother? Do your reactions to difficult situations remind people of the Lamb or of the Beast? Whom do people think of when they really get to know you? Do you have your Father’s eyes?
           If you are not proud of your image, ponder how you spend your time. By beholding we all become changed. If the major focus of the day is to follow the hottest celebrity, or download the latest hit song, or see the latest show, you are becoming a “look-alike” whether you know it or not. But here’s the good news: While we had no control over our appearance in baby pictures, in the spiritual realm we get to decide who we look like.¹

           Lord, I choose to become more and more like You. Help me to see through the deceptive alternatives today.

¹ With thanks to Miriam Taylor, “Look-alikes,” Adventist Review, February 27, 2003, 31.