The REAL and FAKE Study
“Literacy and the WORD”
THE BIBLE IS
Literature
A Series about the Beginning, Middle, and End
This article was inspired by the book of Revelation, by the book of Genesis (in that order) and by a teeny-tiny little LIST of literacy skills written by District 833 titled, “Literacy is Everywhere.”
On May 24th, my son graduated from High School and we began preparing him for college. Seven days later my 52 year old sister-in-law lost her battle with cancer and we began preparing for her Celebration of Life. On June 15th, I finished the book of Revelation and ended my 42 month journey through the entire Bible (commentary, footnotes, and all). These three major ends have caused me to seriously contemplate the relationship between the END and the BEGINNING (in that order).
Finishing the last book of the Bible this past June affected me so much that I could barely read the words on the page through my tears … they were tears of humility, of overwhelming thankfulness, of joy, of sadness, and of terror, all at once … all at the same time. Genesis to Revelation spans over 1,000 years of human authorship and over 2,500 years of human history. My tears fall for these words committed to paper by men who loved God above all else and who died spreading the gospels I hold in my hand today. This book took me 42 months to finish, and it began changing my life from the moment I finished reading Genesis (See The Rational Bible collection by Dennis Prager).
The Ending
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
After the four gospels of Jesus Christ, the Bible ends with the traveling message of Good NEWS. This message was delivered on foot by men who walked in sandals to churches they built up from the ground and congregations they bore through the thick crowd of wealth, ignorance, and prestige of this high class society full of false gods, false power and false security. By the very last chapter of the Bible, God reveals, through John, this illustration of why all prior preparation, from the very BEGINNING books of Moses, is so important to our salvation in the end.
HINT
Pay attention to the (GOOD) news stories of the Bible, because their texts have messages for us.
THE BIBLE IS
A traveling MESSAGE of SALVATION
The Good News of Jesus Christ
Early Conduits of Messaging were not made out of internet highways. They were made out of dirt roads.
The apostle John finished writing Revelation in A.D. 95 as the Roman Empire was conquering and occupying land. Rome was in need of efficient travel for their growing military – thus an establish roadway infrastructure was needed. The first paved road was built by the Romans in 312 B.C., establishing the Appian Way from Rome to Capua. This expanding roadway infrastructure literally paved the way for the gospel of Jesus Christ to travel far and wide throughout the land. (See Person of Interest by J. Warner Wallace)
It is quite remarkable when you consider how God entered our world in the flesh at just the right time in history … Man had developed all three conduits of communication necessary to deliver the Good News of Jesus Christ far and wide. Ironically these technological advancements were created by the very power structure which sought to kill the message of Jesus Christ. These advancements included language, print and roadways.
Delivered on foot
What is an apostle after all if not for a messenger of Jesus? He is chosen from among many to be God’s deliverer of Good News, and he traveled on foot to meet people face-to-face. It is now 2,000 years later. Who do you think God chooses now to be the deliverer of his Good News?
What is an ending made of?
Answer:
New Beginnings
After finishing the Bible on June 15th, I began once again in Genesis …
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
From the very first sentence of the very first book, the Author gives us a summary of this story … the time is The Beginning. The main character is God. The main action is creation. By the second sentence the Author tells us the problem that needs fixing. You see, the problem since the beginning of creation has always been the same as it is today
FORMLESSNESS
EMPTINESS
DARKNESS
God began by filling that void with Adam, but Adam failed. Then he filled it with Israel, but Israel failed …
So who then is the solution? Who will solve this problem? Who will empty themselves of sin and make room for God to form, fill and light them? Who is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals in Revelation 5? We discover the solution long before the end of Revelation, and we know it today thanks to the 12 messengers (apostles) of Jesus who spread the Good News while traveling Roman roads by foot and by letter.
(For inspiration on Revelation 5, see Is He Worthy? by Chris Tomlin)
THE BIBLE IS
A List of God's people in their land
"This is the book of the generations of ..."
This is a phrase that is common to the book of Genesis, and we continue to see it repeated in rhythmic FORM throughout the entire introduction (Old Testament) to the Son of Man (New Testament). It can be helpful to visualize the use of generations here like a stamp in time that moves the reader quickly through hundreds of years while also slowing down to highlight the important details of each story within the greater story… because the Bible is really ONE BIG STORY.
What is a nation made of ?
Answer: A family extended over many generations
IN THE BEGINNING we are presented with Creation in the order it was created. This then flows out into THE TABLE OF NATIONS (Genesis 10:1-32) made from one blood (Noah) whose Tribes spread out across the land – “from Greece and Crete in the west through Asia Minor and Iran and down through Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula to northwestern Africa.” (Robert Alter)
God establishes his covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17:7-8 when he promises to make him a company of nations and to carve out for them a land they would inherit (a property, a real-estate). He then molds into shape his chosen people who he intends to be the FORM to a formless world, the FILLING to an empty world, and the LIGHT to a dark world.
LISTS of the Bible are like a thread woven artfully into a 3,000+ year tapestry of time. This is one of the most remarkable attributes of the Bible to me : how the nation of Israel is carved from Noah’s family lineage in Genesis 10 and 11 along with the countries of the future who will attack the nation of Israel in John’s book of Revelation.
Space is a principle of Art, and God carves out space for Israel
In the wilderness – to spiritually rid themselves of evil before filling themselves up with God’s moral Law
In the Promised Land – to physically rid the land of those who worshiped false gods before filling the land with God’s chosen family line.
DETAIL in text is like an arrow directing our attention to what the author deems most important: His sOLUTION.
In the book of Numbers, we are met with a meticulous record (list) of Israelite names, people, tribes, and populations who were eligible to fight (Numbers 1:2-3). Many find these lists difficult to read, but I am intrigued by the Authors attention to detail here because DETAIL in any text is like an arrow pointing toward the priority of importance (from the authors perspective). You can learn a lot about the author through the order and detail of their lists.
It is fascinating how God has carved out of every family tribe the ONE who would carry on his covenantal blessing. God supplies us with the greatest amount of detail surrounding the 12 tribes of Israel because it is out of this nation that his solution is born.
Lesson Learned from Scripture:
The detail in a story directs the reader to see the authors order of priority. We can learn a lot about the writer, advertiser, school district or politician by noticing the direction their arrow points.
The 12 Tribes of Israel
And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.
The nation of Israel and the family line of Jesus is at the center of God’s SOLUTION. This is clear from the very beginning. At the center of the Bible are the gospels, and they point BACKWARD in time to the 12 sons of Jacob (Genesis 35:23-26) and the 12 tribes of Israel (Joshua 13-19) while they also point FORWARD in time to the 144,000 witnesses (12 tribes of 12,000), the servants of God whose foreheads are sealed (Revelation 7), who are to be, as Isaiah prophesied, Jewish evangelists who will become “a light to the nations” so that people “to the ends of the earth” might be saved (Isaiah 49:6).
Lesson Learned from Scripture:
If family is the FORM God created to hold and protect his solution – the message of Good News – and if nations are made up of family, then 1) this reemphasizes the importance of marriage between a man and a woman which God established from the very beginning, and 2) this places importance on properties, boundaries, and lands to be held separately by nations.
Details
We are given very little detail about the genealogies outside of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (whom God renamed Israel), but we are given enough to know that there are more enemies of Israel than there are friends. In America’s past, we once blessed Israel. In 1948 President Truman signed his approval to officially recognizing the birth of the modern nation of Israel. But the tide is turning, and America is divided, some for and some against this teeny tiny little country that the Lord has set aside to be blessed and to bless in end times …
As we now watch the Table of Nations attacking Israel today - in our very own lifetime - we may consider treating the Bible with more reverence than the Evening News (Aka Media).
In Dr. David Jeremiah’s book, The Book Of Signs, he describes how the attack on Israel will happen based on Old Testament records and prophets …
“The prophet Daniel describes the ruler who would lead an attack against Israel in the latter days as the ‘king of the North’ (Dan. 11:5-35). Ezekiel’s prophesy says the invading armies will come to Israel ‘from the far north’ (Ezek. 38:6, 15). Only one country occupies a geographical position in the “far north” in relation to Israel. That nation is Russia …” -The Book of Signs, Chapter 3, pg 33
He goes on to list all the Countries in the Alliance as their names have evolved since the time of Genesis: Magog, Meshech, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, Togarmah. “These are the nations that will form a coalition and march against Israel, setting the stage for this gigantic world war focused on the Holy Land.” -The Book of Signs, Chapter 3, pg 36
Lesson Learned from Scripture:
If Noah’s son, Japheth, moved into the land north of Israel, and if the British established colonies in America, then that means the United States is on the outer edge of historical significance. In America we are taught to think of ourselves as central to the global story (both the good and the bad), but in fact, the US is not even on the biblical map. The nation of Israel is central to the Bible, and it remains central up until the very end of time … So what does that mean for America, this mere infant of a nation?
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
A LIST represents ORDER
from Beginning to end
There are many lists to be found in the Bible, and they have much to teach us about the world we live in.
To be the FIRST ...
Order plays a significant role in LIST-making. Every list ever made starts with one item. The FIRST item on a LIST in the Bible is normally a leader or value of greatest importance. How is that item chosen?
The Ten Commandments
The most famous list in the Bible (and quite possibly world-wide) is The Ten Commandments. Jesus confirms in Matthew 22:36-40 that the greatest commandment of the Law is the FIRST. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these first two.
Some Jewish commentators regard the FIRST to be Exodus 20:2, “I am the Lord your God” (ie Maimonides). Because the Torah describes the Laws as the “Ten Statements” rather than the Ten Commandments, it makes sense then that there is some discrepancy over which is the FIRST.
This brings up a crucial point early on in the discussion, and I will expand on this further in future articles, about generational awareness as it relates to interpreting EVERY text.
Exodus was recorded between 1450-1410BC. That is 3,400 years ago! It can be deceptive to read this ancient Jewish account relayed to us now book form (with the aid of modern printing press technology) and remember that these words were originally written on two stone tablets high on a mountain top 6,700 miles away from America in a language many of us do not speak (Hebrew). These words, which many today will interpret in a matter of minutes, took one man 40 days to chisel into stone, carry down from the top of a very high mountain, and then transport through the wilderness for an entire generation before his people carried the tablets into the Promised Land of Canaan.
Lesson Learned from Scripture:
Literacy is not just everywhere at this present moment in history. LITERACY IS IN EVERY PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE generation of people there ever was, is and ever will be.
To be the LAST ...
In the same way as the first item on a LIST in the Bible has prominence, the LAST item on a LIST is typically significant for being the opposite of the first. In this way it is connected. (There are exceptions, of course, but paying attention to it and you will begin to see the pattern emerge.)
The 12 disciples
In the four gospels, Jesus repeatedly lists His 12 disciples in order from first to last. FIRST is Peter, an honorable leader, contrasted by his opposite who is listed LAST. Judah is the traitor who would betray Jesus. See this pattern of ORDER repeated in the listing of the 12 disciples time and time again: Luke 6:14-16, Matthew 10:1-4, Mark 3:16-19, Acts 1:13.
Lesson Learned from Scripture:
God is a God of Law and Order. Organization matters to God.
That teeny tiny little LIST
of Literacy Skills
Literacy is Everywhere
by District 833
In its simplest form, this letter can be broken down into a
LIST
We are told by Ms. Classen that our students will become stronger in their literacy skills through “knowledge” and “learning” (Link to this Letter HERE.) I am interested in this subject because of how much reading scores in Minnesota have plummeted under the direction of our government leaders over the past decade. We see the power of our local school boards slowly being stripped away, and I notice their language sounding more and more like the global priorities of the United Nations than like local “everyday” residents.
The Director of Teaching and Learning for secondary education in SoWashCo is asking parents to partner with them in showing our children everyday literacy skills. In keeping to the outer edges of this story, lets look at the FIRST and LAST items on their list …
LISTS & MAPS
Money & Contracts
Nutrition & Measurements
Art & Music
ONLINE VIDEOS & MEDIA
I will note that there is no detail given for the first two items on this list, therefore I am left to fill in the blanks by making assumptions. This is not a problem by the time I reach the end of the list though because the district gives quite a bit of detail and examples for the literacy of NEWS messaging.
- Pay attention to POSTS on Instagram, other SOCIAL MEDIA platforms, and Superbowl COMMERCIALS because their “texts have messages for us.”
Studying the Bible has taught me that the inclusion or exclusion of detail in a list (or story) reveals the priority of the list maker. The detail we are given in the LAST item points to the KIND of knowledge the district deems worthy enough to be called a skill, and that is
MEDIA LITERACY
I am curious what you think about that. Is media literacy the gold standard of truth? Should education BEGIN and END with an industry that exists to make money? I am not convinced that it is. I AM CONVINCED THAT IT IS BETTER TO BEGIN AND END ON THE SOLID ROCK OF SCRIPTURE THAN ON THE SHIFTING SANDS OF MODERN DAY JOURNALISM. The Bible has laid the foundation for laws, events, and doctrine practiced by the entire world today, and it too has something to say to us.
The message of God is in the Good News of Jesus.
God requires Law and ORDER to reach his goal.
The message of Satan is in the News of sinful Man.
Satan requires CHAOS and disorder to reach his goal.
Which one does the state-run school most closely resemble?
we begin to see a pattern emerge
Through the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end,
the first and the last.
The State-run school district of
SoWashCo
points to the message of man for truth
and tests by the standard of media-literacy.
Is this a coincidence?
I don’t think it is.
The schools may not look very Godly right now. In fact they are taking on a character of something quite the contrary. But there is no need to become angry or fearful. Try to focus less on the news media of man and more on the Good News of Jesus.
there is great HOPE !
God uses everything to the Glory of His Holy Name – even evil empires like Rome – so don’t lose hope when you see the world bowing to false gods. Give your children a firm foundation of Biblical truth so they recognize the wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (Peter 5:8) I often cringe at man’s abuse of technology, but I constantly remind myself that God allows its advancement for a reason and his ways are so much higher than my ways. This fruit of technology will one day grow ripe enough on the vine – as it did for the birth of Jesus – and become the conduit for end time prophesy.
And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
“Here is one of the Bible’s most graphic depictions of God’s wrath, the martyrs’ cry for justice is answered when the blood of their crushed oppressors will flow in a stream five feet deep and two hundred miles long.” -THE BOOK OF SIGNS (pg 280) by Dr. David Jeremiah.
End Time prophesy is scary. In fact, I don’t hear many church sermons on Revelation. Many modern day ministers like to preach about all things nice – grace and heaven and love and peace – but Scripture tells us there is much more to God’s character than that. There is depth to this problem of hell and evil and the Devil. There is God’s wrath, and there is judgement, and there will be an end to this life as we know it. Whenever there is a true prophet of God, he will preach judgement.
In this article
I have kept to the outer edges of the Bible story by focusing on Revelation and Genesis. We are told the problem in the very first two sentences of this story. The problem is formlessness, emptiness and darkness, and the entire Old Testament points toward the Savior who will solve this problem some day. Until then, Israel was to learn about the character of God so that they would recognize the Savior when he came.
Who then is the Savior? And why did Israel not recognize him?
Up next, I will begin to move toward the CENTER of the Bible.
The Savior is the solution, and we meet him in the center of the Bible – in the gospels of Jesus Christ.
Dear Reader,
These articles take a very long time for me to write, especially those that focus purely on the Bible. I have so much to learn from God. Every time I think I’ve got a subject figured out, the Holy Spirit forces me to linger longer. He reorganizes and reorders my thoughts. He re-prioritizes my focus. He pulls out details in my research that I never saw coming. And I stand beside myself in utter amazement at how I ever came up with such a conclusion as is staring me in the face. Months pass by like this, and my anxiousness grows, but I finally reach that moment of revelation when all the pieces of this puzzle fall into place in an instant. I thought I had The Bible as Literature all figured out two months ago, but God keeps nudging me gently to the outer edges of that conversation as I write and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite.
The REAL or FAKE Series
The Real or Fake Series sets the stage for 2024 and will be the foundation for future articles. It builds off of the Christmas Gift poem written and published on December 15th, 2023 titled “The Maker IS”
Everything that “IS”, has been made, and all things made have a MAKER. Therefore, everything made has a purpose. This series distinguishes between the superficial and the substantive things we choose to surround ourselves with. Generation after generation passes by, and pretty soon fakeness become so embedded in a culture that reality is forgotten altogether.
The characteristic traits of REAL are defined here, and FAKE is called out for the counterfeit it is. Follow along as Jaime looks at all parts of the K-12 education system, from tangible to complex, literature to curriculum, public to non-public, and the real and fake players within the Minnesota election process.
Game of Complimentary Opposites
Sometimes words just look like clutter on a page … Sometimes messages sound like noisy gongs and clanging cymbals (1 Corinthians 13:1) … especially with so many words being thrown at us day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second… by… second. The Director of Teaching and Learning for Secondary education in South Washington County Schools says, “Literacy is Everywhere.” … To that I say, “Yes! Like most district communication, this is a message that SEEMS easy to understand.
In the same way as playing catch is about giving and receiving the ball, so too is literacy about messages given and received. Literacy is supposed to be a relationship of two after all … as in listening AND speaking … reading AND writing.
Not only is literacy everywhere, but so is the Bible, a book whose words miraculously harmonize with the Word of the world. As I turn my attention toward the Bible as Literature, the two-sided nature of literacy becomes very REAL. It cannot be a one-sided act or a single sensory experience alone.
Literacy and The WORD
A person who can read and write is considered “literate”, but what IS literacy if not for language, and what is language if not for words? In the conclusion of the JOURNEY series, I add a fourth Book Review to the mix. THE HOLY BIBLE is the language of God’s word. Your child’s school may not focus on teaching them biblical literacy directly, but the scholars they hire to create school curriculum are VERY well versed in Biblical knowledge. Here I explain how the Bible is a valuable resource of educational literacy for all children – historically, culturally, and (for some) spiritually. Who is the HERO of the Bible and who is the VILLAIN? We all know that decades ago, our nation systematically removed Bible education from the public school day. That in effect has conditioned Christian families into believing that the truth of their spiritual teacher is not compatible with the truth of their secular life. This is wrong, and I think the three books reviewed in this last series are proof that secular is not spiritually neutral.