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 12, 2026

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And the fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were smitten, in order that a third of them might be darkened, and that a third of the day might not shine, nor a third of the night likewise. Rev 8:12.

           When I was ten years old I spent two years of savings on a telescope. I thought it was so cool to be able to look at the heavens and see awesome things like the rings of Saturn, the craters of the moon, the moons of Jupiter and colorful gas clouds. But the best thing I ever saw in my telescope was the Pleiades. In spite of the smoggy air in my neighborhood just outside New York City, the Pleiades “knocked my socks off.”
           The Pleiades are sometimes known as the seven sisters. To the naked eye they appear as a small cluster of six or seven points of light. But in the telescope the Pleiades expanded to a cluster of several hundred stars sprinkled across the viewing area like so many jewels. The stars were visibly yellow, red, blue, green, and every shade in between. It was a “once in a lifetime experience,” the equal of any of the royal crowns I have seen in the palaces of Europe.
           After this experience I was fully in agreement with the Psalmist, who said, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Psalm 19:1, KJV. In viewing the heavens through my telescope I was catching a glimpse of the greatness of God and how much He is a lover of the beautiful. The greatness of God was illustrated for Job by the stars. When Job was questioning why he had to endure so many problems, God pointed him to the stars. “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?” Job 38:31-33.
           In our text for today, a partial darkening descends over the stars and the other heavenly bodies. In a spiritual sense this would portray a time in history when the true knowledge of God is disguised or partly obliterated. Just as it is hard to imagine a world in which the stars can no longer be seen, the author of Revelation is boggled by the thought of a world in which the spiritual light of God is no longer seen.
           In the context of this passage, we see a God who hides Himself at times. When we take Him for granted, when we ignore the abundant blessings that He has scattered everywhere for us, He sometimes removes Himself from our view for a time. He hopes that we will see what we are missing and long for a renewed walk with Him.

           Lord, I don‘twant You to have to hide from me. Keep Your glorious greatness ever before me. I want to see You as You really are.