Thursday, March 14, 2019

Pattern Analysis for Half of the Bible is Completed

Pattern analysis is the study of the thought process that the Holy Spirit used when He inspired the Bible. Through literary devices such as the chiasm, parallel symmetry, concluding summary, and substructures, I am seeing a very complex, unique and consistent method for presenting themes. There are forty literary devices in all. Each of the so-called ‘authors’ of the Bible, Moses, Malachi and Mark to name a few, reveal this same methodology. So far in my analysis of half of the Bible, every verse participates in this well-organized thought process. Using the NASB translation, there is no verse that is randomly placed.

Of the 31,100 verses in the Bible, I have today analyzed 15,600 which is 50%. It has taken nearly three years:
0% — April 6, 2016
26% — May 6, 2017
30% — August 31, 2017
35% — January 21, 2018
40% — April 20, 2018
45% — October 24, 2018
50% — March 14, 2019
At least 25% of every book has been sampled and thirty-one have been completed. Overall that is 43% of the Old Testament and 70% of the New Testament.

Three major things have happened during the five months since my last update in October. By far the most significant was last December when my wife Nancy passed away. During the time since, I have been confronted with how much she was my best friend. I knew that but what I'm saying is I miss her. She was an excellent woman who truly loved and depended upon the Lord despite her health issues.

In my April 2018 blog article, I announced I had started another manuscript entitled Pattern Analysis Findings. I hit a stumbling block shortly after that, so in November I picked that up again. That has been my focus for the last few months as I work through issues related to my wife.

My ability to identify literary structures has substantially improved since 2016. I find myself going back to those earlier efforts to review and potentially modify each as necessary. The third major thing has been the review of Genesis through Romans — that process is nearing completion.

To say I am 50% complete does not do justice to the effort that is still to come. Just as I have been reviewing my effort to date, others must come alongside to do the same. These would include both editors and scholars. Input from others is an essential component to an effort of this magnitude. It is exciting to see how the Lord is putting all this together.
Peace, Tom