The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth, So Help me God!

By Mark S Phetterplace

 Contained within this book are Ten Irrefutable Facts about Jesus Christ from the Testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I challenge you whether you are a believer or a non-believer to read this book and then decide for yourself; what is the Truth?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark S Phetterplace
• Release date: Jan 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9780578619316

Mark S Phetterplace

I was born in Bradford, Pa to two wonderful parents. My father was a Marine who somehow drowned in Guantanamo Bay back in 61'. My mother raised me and my brother by herself. I'm a Vietman Era veteran of the Air Force. Six years later I joined the Army going through basic training again at the age of 30 serving during the First Gulf War. When I turned 50 I joined the North Carolina National Guard. In 2005 I did a tour in Iraq and I came back to God knowing that I could find myself standing before Almighty God in a split second. After I was retired at 60 I attended SEBTS earning my Master's Degree in Christian Studies. This book is actually my Master's Final paper which has been extensively edited hopefully making it easier to understand. My previous degrees were in Civil and Architectural Engineering. I've been with my wife Brenda now for 26 years. Two of my three step-daughters have passed away since. I became a Grandfather to their five children, one of whom was murdered. I'm currently the proud Great-Grandfather of five with one more on the way. My adopted son is now married and I can't wait to hold another newborn Grandchild in my arms. The Holy Spirit has compelled me to write and finally publish this book after three years of working on it. I think that you will learn something that you didn't know about Jesus before. Heck, you might even become a Christian be saved and granted eternal life in Heaven instead of eternal torture in the depths of Hell. Amen!

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Map of Jesus’ Israel

THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, SO HELP ME GOD!

Thesis Statement;

What I hope to prove beyond a shadow of doubt through examining ten truths is that the Holy Scriptures contained within the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are indeed the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God!

Preface;

The title of this book comes from the oath that every witness who has ever testified in a court of law in this nation has to swear to. Then after having been sworn-in they can give their account of what they saw, or heard, regarding the case at hand.

Now that the Ten Commandments have been removed from our courts of law in these United States if the name of God cannot be used in a court of law just what is? In 1962 prayer was taken out of our schools by our very own Supreme Court. It’s no wonder that our middle and high school students have shot-up their classmates because they lack a moral background today. Religion, or God’s law, has been replaced with manmade law.

Therefore, just how honest is someone’s testimony today? In the not too distant past our founding fathers based this country’s laws upon the laws of God. These laws stem directly from the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai in the Book of Exodus. [See Exodus 20]

They are the foundations upon which civilized man has built his empires. Basically they are the simple rules that contain the moral ethics of one man’s behavior towards another. I’m sure that everyone has heard, Thou shall not kill, right? Well it comes from those very same Ten Commandments given to us by God several thousands of years ago. [See Exodus 20:13]

Another one of those Ten Commandments is, Thou shall not bear false witness. In other words; it is wrong to lie about something that you have seen, or heard, that was committed in a crime. Note: Jewish law from the Old Testament states that a man cannot be convicted, condemned, or found guilty, of a crime unless there are at least two men who have witnessed that crime. [See Deut.19:15]

Based upon their testimony a man could be found guilty of committing the crime that he is accused of. Then a king, or a council of elders, known as a jury, could base their verdict from the evidence given before them. Then a sentence would be handed down whether or not that person was found to be guilty, or not guilty.

That way a suitable punishment could be determined and carried out by the state upon the accused. This could be anything from a fine, to imprisonment, and even execution. Lying about another committing a crime in those days could in turn get you executed when they found out that you lied against another. Therefore, lying in ancient Hebrew culture would get you into even deeper trouble than by telling the truth.

What exactly is the truth?

What does the word truth mean? In The Random House Dictionary of the English Language College Edition truth is defined as; 1. true or actual state of matter. 2. conformity with fact or reality; verity. 3. a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like. 4. state or character of being true. 5. actuality or actual existence. 6. ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience. 7. agreement with a standard or original. 8. honesty; integrity; truthfulness. 9. an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude. 10. accuracy, as of position or adjustment. 11. in truth; in fact; actually.¹ According to our PC Bible Study version 5 Concordance; there are 108 matches for the word truth in the NASU in the New Testament alone.

Exactly what makes the truth, true in a court of law? First, the evidence must be presented. What does the evidence consist of? Who were the people that were involved? What exactly happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen? Why did it happen? How did it happen? Who saw or heard what happened?

Who were the witnesses whether for, or against? What was their relationship to one another? Were they were complete strangers, or close relatives? What was the evidence that was found at the scene; whether it is physical, written, or electronic? What was the motive? Was it premeditated, or planned? Was there malice, or the intent thereof? All of these things are carefully weighed and examined in order to correctly determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. Then the verdict and ultimately the sentence will be handed down.

Personal Reflection;

What does the word truth mean to you? Wouldn’t you agree that if four persons gave the same, or nearly similar, account of what they had witnessed that that was the truth? The definition of testimony is as follows; 1. Law. the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court. 2. evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof. 3. open declaration or profession, as of faith. 4. the Decalogue as inscribed on the two tables of the law. [Ex. 16:34; 25:16]²

Wouldn’t you agree that if four persons in four different locations gave the same, or nearly similar, account of what they witnessed that that was the truth? I certainly think so. Wouldn’t you agree that if four persons at four different times gave the same, or nearly similar, account of what they witnessed that that was the truth? I certainly think so.

If an account of something that was witnessed was passed on by word of mouth for nearly a hundred years; would it still be the truth? It still could be, couldn’t it? I understand, just as you do, that over time stories can be stretched, or exaggerated, right? This is the stuff that tall tales, fables, legends, and myths are made of.

Agree or disagree; most myths do have some degree of truth, right? A good example of a stretched story is ‘the big fish’ story. Every time that the person tells it; the fish gets bigger and bigger, right? People just love to boast about their accomplishments, even if everyone else knows that they are exaggerating, don’t they?

Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe in spirits; good or evil? Do you believe in demons? Do you believe in guardian angels? Do you believe in life after death? Why? Think about it for a moment. Humans are, and always have been superstitious, agreed? Why, because they are the stuff of superstition and legend.

Some even today still believe in such superstitions as vampires, werewolves, zombies, dragons, Bigfoot, and even the Loch Ness Monster. Dracula was an actual person, but his real name was Ivan the Terrible. Why, because he liked to impale strangers, enemies, and people that he didn’t like, just for fun.

The Gospels;

The Gospels are named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who were real people that were the disciples of Jesus Christ. It is through their testimonies that we receive the good news of our Savior. Matthew (Levi) was a tax collector who gave up all to follow Jesus. He was an educated man who could read, write, and do math. [See Mark 1:13-14]

However, other than this verse and Matthew being called and/or appointed he is not even mentioned by name further in scripture.[See MK 3:18, LK 6:15 and MT 10:3] Some believe that the Gospel of Matthew was written first and are called Mattheans. Others believe that the Gospel of Mark was written first are called Markans. Mark is noted as a follower of Simon Peter in the Book of Acts who wrote down the finer details of his testimony.

The Gospel of Matthew contains the same events as Mark but Matthew expands upon his own eyewitness testimony thus making his book considerably longer. Ultimately who’s first doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they tell the very same story in their own style making it come to life.

John was a fisherman, a son of Zebedee, who along with his brother James witnessed a miracle when Jesus filled their nets with fish to near breaking on a bad day of fishing upon the Sea of Galilee with their partners Simon Peter, and his brother Andrew. Obviously he too was educated because he could read and write. [See Luke 5:1-7] John was also the youngest of the twelve disciples.

In those days a thirteen year old boy would become regarded as a man while going through puberty by being given a bar mitz-va. A bar mitz-va is defined as a solemn ceremony held for admitting a Jewish boy as an adult member of the Jewish community and therefore responsible for religious duty, usually at the age of 13 and after having completed a study of Judaism³. Therefore John may well have been only thirteen years old when he met Jesus.

Simon Peter was the oldest of the twelve disciples. His house still stands enshrined to this day in the middle of the ancient town of Capernaum. It is located along the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. In their day a man whose home was closest to the center of town was someone important to that town. He was an entrepreneur who made his living by fishing. We know for sure that he owned at least two fishing boats. [See Luke 5:2] Therefore it is possible that he could have owned several more, perhaps even a small fleet. I see him as a big, strong, and bronzed from the sun fisherman.

By his pursuit of fishing he not only fed the town, but he no doubt would have had his bounty of fish sold to the surrounding towns for a profit. With this profit he would have employed some of his fellow villagers as fishermen too. Others may well have been employed or affiliated in the preparation, transport, and sale of those fish. Therefore he would have been highly respected, and entitled to live at the center of town. Today his home is proof of this and its surrounding courtyard attests to his position in that town.

Simon Peter’s account of the angel freeing him from prison and leaving him in the street outside of John Mark’s mother’s house that night is