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 17, 2026

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If anyone leads into captivity, into captivity he will go, if anyone kills with the sword, with a sword he will be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Rev 13:10.

           A characteristic of the saints is patient endurance. Followers of God are persistent in well-doing. They are faithful in trial. They are not content to live on the surface, they go deep into God’s Word, willing to follow wherever the Word leads.
           In 1938 the King of Saudi Arabia, Abd-al-Aziz ibn Saud, authorized a team of American engineers to explore the trackless desert bordering the Persian Gulf, an arid landscape marked only by the occasional palm-fringed oasis. He hoped they would find water. A tribal leader with precarious finances, Ibn Saud believed the Americans might discover places where he could refresh his warriors’ horses and camels.
           But the team, from Standard Oil of California, had something else in mind. Oil had been discovered in other countries in the region, and the engineers thought they would find more in Saudi Arabia. Over several years, they drilled more than half a dozen holes without result. They could easily have given up in frustration. Instead, they decided to see if going deeper than normal might make a difference. So they set up their equipment again at well number 7 and dug deeper than they had ever dug before. They burrowed all the way to a depth of 4727 feet and finally hit the first sign of what would turn out to be the largest supply of crude oil in the world. A willingness to go a little deeper was all that stood between failure and unimaginable success.
           Oddly enough, the King did not appear to appreciate the discovery at first. He ignored the news about the oil for an entire year afterward. Finally, he and his retinue arrived in a caravan of 400 automobiles at the pumping station of Ras Tanura in time to witness the first tanker hauling away its cargo of Saudi crude. This discovery would change everything.
           Up until this time, the primary source of income in the Saudi kingdom came from servicing pilgrims in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. But even the first shipment of oil produced wealth beyond all expectation.¹ The lives and lifestyles of Arabian bedouin would never be the same. This isolated country with no other exportable product now became a major factor in global politics. The Saudi royal family became major players on the world scene. Their wealth became a crucial factor in Middle East politics and the bargaining over global energy supplies. Today their nation is at the center of world attention. All because a handful of American engineers were not willing to be content with a surface approach to their task.

           Lord, give me the patience and the endurance of the saints. May I not be content with anything less than the deep things of Your Word.

¹ Adam Zagorin, “Finding the King’s Fortune,” Time, March 31, 2003, p20.