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 July 25, 2026

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And a great sign was seen in heaven, a woman dressed with the sun. The moon was under her feet and upon her head was a victory crown of twelve stars. she was pregnant and she cried out in pain as she labored to give birth. Rev 12:1-2.

           From childhood on, the moon has been of special interest to me. When I was nine-years-old I bought a three-and-a-quarter inch reflector telescope. With a special Barlow lense it was capable of bringing heavenly objects 270 times closer than with the naked eye. The telescope had a heavy, cast-iron base and was angled according to the tilt of the earth’s axis, so one could follow an object as it moved across the sky because of the earth’s rotation.
           I set up the telescope in the front yard of my parents’ home just outside of New York City. There was a half moon out that night. I focused the telescope on the straight edge of the moon. The moon’s craters were in sharp relief on account of the long shadows near the lunar sunset. It was a magnificent sight. I stopped everyone walking by so they could have a look!
           It should be no surprise, then, that I got up at 3 AM the night of the first moon walk, on July 20, 1969. Live television broadcast Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the lunar surface. I distinctly remember the sound of his words, That’s one small step for. . . man, one giant leap for mankind. The words were so unexpected, yet so appropriate.
           It turns out that Neil Armstrong meant to say, That’s one small step for a man, adapting the phrase from a children’s playground game. Instead, because of intense radio static, Mission Control in Houston and the rest of the human race heard, That’s one small step for. . . man, one of the most famous sentences of the 20^th Century.
           Even on a grainy black and white television set the images were unforgettable. A camera mounted on the base of the lunar landing vehicle beamed back the otherworldly milestone. The 38-year-old Armstrong became the first earthling to stand on the moon. Since he was assigned to handle the portable camera, most of the pictures of that mission are of his fellow astronaut, Edward Buzz Aldrin. Armstrong is seen mainly as a reflection on Aldrin’s face plate. A total of 12 men have walked on the moon, the last in 1972.¹
           In another sense, though, Armstrong was not the first human to stand on the moon. The woman of Revelation got there first! Earth’s final battle is the outcome of an earlier battle in heaven. The two battles are shown side by side in Revelation 12. What happens to the woman is determined by what happens in the universal war between Satan and Christ. But whenever my life becomes a struggle I look up at the moon and know that I am not alone.

           Lord, help me not to be absorbed in my own difficulties. Keep me aware of the larger battle of which I am only a part.

¹ Based on Douglas Brinkley, One Giant Leap for Mankind, Time, March 31, 2003, A52.