The Sharp Sword

By Xlibris US

This is the third in the series of three volumes featuring the adventures of our hero, Charles. The first two were: The Life and Times of Charles and Charles-Spy Extraordinaire! In those two publications Humor and adventure are rampant.
Charless world travels forced his contact with the bad-guys. In these encounters, Charles' unique personality and astonishing ability always won-out. He and close companions became members of the International Good-Guy Spy Agency, with headquarters in The Hague, Holland. It's the good guys against the bad guys, Guys!
However, the closing Chapters reveal that Charles had become awakened to a terrible reality: they had failed to defeat the bad guys of the world. This fact shocked him into deep depression. While at home in England and at his emotional lowest; King, fellow agent and archaeologist, came. Charles was startled when he was informed that research in Bible lands had disclosed an incredible conclusion. That famous old book, The Bible, is in realityaccurate world history! Charles, jolted, Why! That's impossible; the Bible is an old religious book that practically nobody pays any attention to. But, he had been shaken out of his lethargy. His drive, now, was to research King's unbelievable assertion; which drive launched the production of The Sharp Sword.
Personal opinion, pride, are cast aside. Could God exist? Could God be the source of this incredible work? Can it answer our most imposing questions? The life and times of Charles takes a drastic turn for the best as he sharply researches the Bible. Is it really Gods two edged sword, activated for us today?! The reader is invited to join right in, participatebecome a fellow researcher.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499049541

Book preview

cover.jpg

Copyright © 2014 by R.O. Gunther [Dryfuss W. Driftwood].

ISBN:            Softcover                     978-1-4990-4953-4

                      eBook                           978-1-4990-4954-1

KJV - King James Version

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

NKJV – New King James Version

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Revised Standard Version

Scripture taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

NWT— Scripture taken from New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY11201

718-560-5000

JB—Scripture taken from The Jerusalem Bible. Alexander Jones, ed., The Jerusalem Bible. Garden City,

New York; London: Doubleday; Darton, Longman & Todd, 1966. ISBN: 0232481865.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 07/17/2014

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Section I

Vital Statistics

Chapter 1 Self-Examination Can Be Vital To Our Health

Chapter 2 A Rude Awakening

Chapter 3 An Examination Of The Bible’s Composition

Chapter 4 More Confirmation Of The Bible’s Authenticity

Chapter 5 What Do The Bible Writers Say About Their Writings?

Chapter 6 Describe God: Who Is He; What Did He Create?

Chapter 7 Who’s Running This World—Anyway!

Chapter 8 If You Were God—What Would You Do?

Section II

Bible Prophesy, Miracles, Creation

Chapter 9 The Genesis Breakthrough

Chapter 10 A Universal Challenge Uncovered

Chapter 11The Dragon’s Seed

Chapter 12 Messianic Prophecies

Chapter 13 Deciphering Daniel Chapter Nine

Chapter 14 Till The End Of Time—With Jesus

Chapter 15 Let Your Kingdom Come… .

Chapter 16 You Say You Don’t Believe In Miracles… .

Chapter 17 What Do You Think About The Theory Of Evolution … ?

Section III

The Sharp Sword Is Now Focused On Our Personal Involvement

Chapter 18 You Have Your Own Personal Convictions—Now What?

Chapter 19 Well Then, Should You Study The Bible?

Chapter 20 You Say You Want To Study The Bible—But You Need To Know How

Chapter 21 Ignorance—A Good Hiding Place, Or A Dangerous Place?

Chapter 22 The Conclusion—But What A Conclusion

The Appendix Section

PROLOGUE

With this introduction, we invite you to continue enjoying the life and times of Charles. That is to say, this is the third book detailing the adventures of that very special person. The first two volumes had taken our hero, Charles, through his fabulous life and times. They are entitled: The Life and Times of Charles and Charles—Spy Extraordinaire! These two publications are basically comedy and adventure, which amazingly develop into a year of deep research—the essence of this volume, The Sharp Sword.

Their author was originally known as Dryfuss W. Driftwood. Now, however, I am sure, or we’re sure, you’ll want to know who I, we, are. Well, Dryfuss W. Driftwood is the pseudonymous writer. However, in reality, you see, I’m someone else—a real person. Dryfuss is just a fictitious character that I invented. I am R.O. Gunther, the real-life person, who is the real-life author.

So with that clarification over and done with, I would like to retrace Charles’ history a bit; that is to say, epitomize the first two publications. In this way, you are brought up-to-date as to the life and times of our noble hero. I find this necessary so as to understand this third publication. Therefore, the essence of this entire three-volume work is as follows:

Book I: The Life and Times of Charles

Dear Prospective Reader, be it known that the following pages are designed to present you with humor and adventure—humorous adventure, if you please. It is felt that just ordinary, run-of-the-mill type comedy is not sufficient to provide maximum enjoyment. Therefore, along the way you will find that the narrative is punctuated with choice, tidbit sort of, explanatory notes, which are designed to be helpful, well, maybe. Furthermore, you must be alert to perceive the innuendoes, contradictions, anachronisms, a few originally composed word-forms; and poetry that you will find scattered along the way.

This first book takes our hero to many parts of the world where he comes into contact with the bad-guys. In these encounters, Charles’ unique personality and astonishing ability always win-out. The reader is invited to join Charles as he is impelled into the world of intrigue and adventure—but, please, don’t get in his way.

Book II: Charles—Spy Extraordinaire:

Charles is a little older now, which obviously you might expect due to the ravages of time. However, be warned: he is wiser, sharper and much more capable of meeting challenges than ever before. Also, to be especially noted here is that the advancing years have not changed his strange-type thinking ability that so often had provided his escape when found to be in harm’s way. Our adventurer is now the Spy Extraordinaire!

Charles, the historic figure that he has come to be, has seen and fought evil throughout the world. This second book continues to take our valiant one to many of the continents of the world—but now, as a unique good-guy spy.

During his years of adventure, he had gathered around him some close companions; all noble men dedicated to combat the bad-guys of the world. Their determination caused them to become members of the IGGSA, with headquarters in The Hague, Holland. Ooh. . . ! Okay. IGGSA stands for the International Good-Guy Spy Agency. It’s the good guys against the bad guys—Guys!

In the closing three Chapters of this, the second book, it is revealed that Charles had become awakened to a terrible reality—We, the good-guys, had won every one of the many world-wide encounters with the bad guys; but, in the end—we have lost the war. Due to this failure of our altruist fighter for world peace and security, he had become shocked into a deep depression. He was left without desire to live. He saw his fabulous life endeavor resulting in failure—our Charles was devastated.

However, something astonishing happened. He was at home with his parents in England and was about at his emotional lowest. Then came that eventful day when King arrived and startled Charles with what first had startled him, the results of his research. King, fellow IGGSA agent, had become an archaeologist. Kings’ years of research in Bible lands, the Near East, had led him to an incredible yet unwanted conclusion. It was with this that he had to approach Charles.

The unwanted conclusion … ? That famous old book called The Bible was, in reality, accurate world history! He was amazed when he saw that his major historical finds had already been written about, thousands of years ago—in the Bible!

This result had astounded him, and then, in turn, jolted Charles. Why! That’s impossible, Charles responded. The Bible is an old religious book that practically nobody pays any attention to; it has no real value in the world today. Nevertheless, he was sharply shaken out of his lethargy. He had to find out! His drive now, was to research King’s unbelievable assertion. Can this all be true . . . ?

These facts impelled them on to further study. The comparative conclusions between the historical accounts written in the Bible with the archaeological findings were positive. Bible history had been proven reality, not just stories. They felt that no man or group of men could have compiled this accurate, ancient world history. If that be the case, then how … who … God?! No—can’t be!

Personal opinions, pride, were cast aside; what could be the source of this incredible work? Their research and its meaning to us is the basis for the following pages of this project.

What is set out before the reader is a challenge; the very same challenge that Charles faced. We will show how he approached the situation and then present the facts that he and King had found. You see, perhaps as never before, the reader will have the opportunity to consider the evidence; then make his or her own decision.

Very interesting to them was this Bible statement that they had initially found:

For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any

two-edged sword … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart

The two saw vast meanings in this text; they were impelled to examine it. They did, with amazingly positive results. Therefore, enjoy very enlightening research with Charles and King.

See how Charles handles The Two-edged Sword. …

R. O. Gunther [Dryfuss W. Driftwood]

SECTION I

Vital Statistics

CHAPTER 1

Self-Examination Can Be Vital To Our Health

First of all, we must allow you, our reader, to think about something. What? How do you feel about the book that is entitled The Bible … ? This is what King and Charles had to do at the start—they had to examine themselves in regard to this challenging question. After King’s years of archaeological research and the dramatic conclusion that he presented to Charles—wow! They were forced to take a hard look at the Bible—the book that had it written down all the time.

King and his group, after having compiled their own acquired data, had sat down and compared their findings with what had already been compiled by archaeologists during the past century. The results, to them, were dynamic and compelling. What exactly was it that they found?

Well. … The artifacts unearthed containing the many names of ancient kings, other prominent people, important places and world events, they compared with the Bible’s historical writings. Upon doing this, the group was astonished to find that the names of the kings that they dug up out of the ground—had been already recorded in the pages of the Bible. Ancient world shaking events and places—had also been already written in the Bible. In effect, the information that had been dug up out of the ground resulted in a grand confirmation of the Bible’s recorded history. Conclusion: archaeological research has proven Bible history to be true, not fable!

Amazingly, the Bible—is an accurate history book. Who can believe that? Who wants to believe that! We know, Dear Reader, you also must find this difficult to accept; which, to us, is understandable. But, listen to how King put it to his friend: "Charles, I concluded by asking myself, what then could be the source of the Bible? Where could it have come from? No man or group of men could have had knowledge of all those historical facts and then have written it all up in a book. We are talking about three thousand years of ancient history. Yes, there are ancient secular accounts, fragments, about particular historical events. These serve as a confirmation of certain particular Bible accounts. However, it is The Bible and the Bible alone that contains the history of (1) all the major world events that have happened down through time, (2) the names of prominent figures (3) and places that have existed.

"Now, Charles, another thing we did. We wanted to be sure that the pages of the Bible that we have today are the same as what were originally written. You see, I had to be sure of that, right? So, we proceeded to examine the book, the Bible, in a preservation-type sense. The Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek. We investigated the Hebrew and Greek Bible manuscripts that are preserved in museums throughout the world. Our conclusion: Charles, we were forced to conclude—thousands of years of copying with no changes or alterations. … Extraordinary: what we have today, as The Bible, is essentially the same as when it had been originally written."

What you’re saying, King, is that those manuscripts have, then, been translated into most of the languages of the world.

That’s it, Charles, baring the problem of translation differences, of course, we can rely on the fact that our Bible today is basically the same as the original.

What King had done was to install in the computer the CDs that contained various Bible investigative materials; what he had catalogued were Bible manuscripts, translations and other Bible indexing data. Looking at the computer monitor together, King outlined the readout to his friend. He pointed out that in regard to the Hebrew Scriptures (pages of the Old Testament) there are catalogued some 6,000 ancient manuscripts. These are preserved in various libraries of the world. There also exist about 13,000 manuscripts of the part of the Bible known as the New Testament (the 27 books containing the life and teachings of Jesus and his apostles). It was decades of scholarly comparison of all these manuscripts that showed textual agreement—no important changes.

King was quite excited as he pointed out some of the most famous to his companion. "Look, Charles, up there on the monitor. … Those are manuscripts of the Old Testament, the most precious. There is the Samaritan Pentateuch, thought to be from the fourth century before Christ (BCE). Then here are the Aramaic Targums and the Greek Septuagint; also written before the time of Christ.

"And now, in this document we have the manuscript writings of the New Testament, written in Greek. Charles, comparing all of these copies of the Bible writings, it has been concluded that there have been no significant changes. As I said above, all of these manuscripts have been studied and compared by professionals in the field."

You mean that when we read a copy of the Bible today, in English, for example, we can be assured that we are reading what was written by the original writers . . . ?

"That’s it, Old Boy. And that’s why I know we have a solid basis to work on here. Charles, listen carefully now, what I’m going to tell you. … I reached the assumption that all those ancient men that wrote must have been inspired by God! God, a supreme being existing somewhere in the universe? I don’t believe I’m saying this. … But, God, somehow must have told them exactly what to write. That was my initial conclusion. Charles, do you understand what I’m saying? Plain human endeavor could not have produced it! Later, as we study the Bible writings, I think we’re going to see that this conclusion has to be true. So far, I find no other answer, Old Boy."

Well, as you can imagine, Dear Reader, Charles was astonished; looking directly at him, King, you’re convincing me to study your findings. If they’re true … as you say … then … then, it could mean a new beginning for us … me. … You know what? Maybe, just maybe, we might be able to get some answers to my dilemma—the world’s terrible condition and why … ? Where is God?

Charles was moved. His mind was working again, deep interest. Can there be something here . . . ?

Completely enthused now; they prepared a large room on the second floor of his parent’s home in Worchester. This was to be their research room. They proceeded to equip it with computers and three large fifty-inch computer screens, all fastened up along one wall. They had Internet access, printers and a complete library. They had to have the latest and most efficient equipment available; their investigative work was to be serious.

What was studied was compiled; what they found, they questioned, attacked. Only facts were acceptable. When the facts stood up, with no other conclusion possible—that was accepted and recorded. The first big question being investigated was the book, entitled the Bible; has it come down to man by inspiration from a higher source, God?

Our purpose here, Dear Reader, is to include you in their day by day studies. How about that? Incredible and very satisfying answers to our greatest questions will be made. And you, Dear Perspective Researcher, are invited to participate.

Thinking about Charles, now, remember what almost toppled him over the brink of sanity … ? It was their terrible failure in their efforts to save mankind. He failed, man has failed. But, now, the question has become: is there another answer? Is there a God who is the author of the Bible … ? Is He doing something about the problems of the world . . . ?

That, then, is what happened and compelled them into a period of deep Bible research. But, first, can you imagine the change that took place in them, concerning their point of view about the Bible? Like you, they had different opinions; opinions that are presented below. Was prejudice or pride going to dominate them … ? They, as the noble and altruist gentlemen that they were, underwent a self-examination. This very same self-examination we, Driftwood and I, feel needs to be presented to you, Dear Reader. Are you ready . . . ?

The question: what is your opinion of the book entitled, The Bible? But, wait—don’t answer yet. First, stop and think, just what do you know about it? What is it that you have heard about it? See! The point is: you can’t stop with what you think, or what you have heard. … What facts about the Bible do you have?

Perhaps you never thought about it very much. Right here, we strongly recommend that you do think about it. So, allow us to ask you: what could your position toward the Bible be? With that question, we invite you to accept an initial examination; could your position be one of the following?

(1) Do you feel that the Bible is too much for you? Many people are overwhelmed just to think of opening its cover and trying to decipher its contents. Oh! They would like to. But its massive complexity is very discouraging. And it’s, oh, so easy just to say, I have my own religion and then hope that’s enough. The Bible is too much for them. Could this be your position . . . ?

(2) Do you think that you are too much for the Bible: could that be your point of view? It’s an ancient book and very comforting to the elderly. The not-well-educated, or even the narrow-minded, look for some hope by means of it. And you are on a higher intellectual plane than that. Aren’t you? And so the Bible is beneath you. You are too much for it! You are above the advice that it offers. Could that be the way it is with you?

(3) Does yourpersonalexperience with religion cause you to reject The Bible? There is the possibility that you find yourself among a large segment of the world’s population who, due to bad experiences with religion, has rejected the Bible. If this is your situation, then please, let me say right here at the outset, be careful—it would be an error to judge the one by the other. Please, do not judge the Bible by what you may see in the religions that profess to use the Bible. What I am suggesting here is that you examine the book itself and not think about religion. Okay . . . ?

(4) Perhaps,you are one that strictly adheres to the dictates of a particular religion. You thought that is what God required of you, and didn’t need to follow the Bible. Well, if so, consider this your opportunity to investigate and see if that position is beneficial to you and your future. Could you find that there is a definite truth about God that religions don’t have?

Therefore, no matter what your personal view is, please, consider our reason for suggesting that you investigate now. Look at the Bible text cited at the outset and see what it is saying to us? It is found in the Bible book of Hebrews Chapter 4, verse 12 (NWT). This scripture text was written in, about, the year 60 CE and contains the words of Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged

sword … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Notice how its wording indicates a cutting into one’s very thoughts and desires; in effect exposes one as to what he really is. Look at it again. … In other words, consider: if God has given humankind this book—he had a purpose. Let’s say that his purpose was to help failing, needy, humankind. If that be the case, the Bible is exactly what we all need.

Do you think that it would be worth your while to examine this concept? Well, just look, again, at what the Apostle Paul, recommended for us. It’s that the Word of God, like a sharp sword, is capable of discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It’s what we might call exploratory surgery, isn’t it? A little fearful … ? Are you brave enough to undergo it?

Here’s an example to help with your decision. If you have a physical problem that requires surgery, what do you do? You have a surgeon examine you to discern the problem and remove it. It’s not an easy thing to have done. Is it? But, he made many tests, provided you with the results and convinced you that you needed the procedure. All right, let’s make the application. We of the human race need much more help than personal bodily surgery. We need a surgical cutting out of malignancies that have been quickly taking their toll on the peace and security of the body of the human family. So then, Dear Reader, the work set before us here is to provide you with the evidence that proves that the Bible contains the surgery that we need. And just like you considered the surgeon’s evidence and then made your decision; shouldn’t you, likewise, consider the Bible’s evidence as to what you need, before you make your decision? Don’t you think it would be wise for you to do so?

Of course, as we place ourselves in your position, we answer for you, Why, yes, of course! You see—we found this the vital key that we had to apply to ourselves.

We need to face the two-edged sword (the book that is entitled The Bible) and have it cut sharply and skillfully to discern our thoughts and the intentions of the heart, so as to disclose just what type of motivations take place.

Reviews for The Sharp Sword

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thee battle of Salamanca, the first battle in the Peninsula where the duke of Wellington took the tactical offensive, is the centrepiece of a rather ordinary Sharpe novel. The ending of this book feels odd to me. As a fencer, I'd never abandon such a lovely piece of art. I know that this is a spoiler, but it reveals a philistine side to Richard Sharpe that leaves a sore taste in my mouth.

[5hrdrive · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Battle of Salamanca takes a back seat to the complicated tale of espionage that Cornwell weaves here. It's quite a good story, not quite up to the best of the Sharpe novels, but the twists and turns and double-crosses are very entertaining. Lots of Harper and Hogan in this one, which is always good.

[katesherrod · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very true to the Sharpe formula, this one stands out for the quality of writing (a fight on some stone steps had me wincing at every sentence) and its perfectly slight note of mawkish sentimentality at novel's end. And a kickass calvary charge!

[joycepa_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

#14 in the Richard Sharpe series.Wellington’s army—and therefore Richard Sharpe—is in Spain, near Salamanca, still fighting the French. But there’s a new element in the mix—Napoleon’s personal intelligence officer, Colonel Leroux, who has been tracking down and eliminating the network of spies who supply information for Wellington’s army. His latest coup is someone who will lead Leroux to the coordinator of the network, known only as El Mirador.By accident, Sharpe encounters Leroux under disguise. Later, in another meeting, Leroux, with his sword made by Kligenthal, breaks Sharpe’s cavalry sword and nearly kills Sharpe. Determined to get Leroux’s sword, Sharpe pursues his nemesis through the intrigues that end up in the Battle of Salamanca.Although this book gets off to a slow and somewhat awkward start, it soon picks up and Cornwell delivers a faced-paced, exciting story such as we have learned to anticipate. The plot is excellent. Of course, the usual battle is the piece de resistanceof the novel, and it lives up to all the other superb battle descriptions that Cornwell has written in the series. Sharpe is not the most sensitive hero in literature, but he continues to interest as he does evolve, if slowly. But then there are so many more books to go! Sgt. Harper continues to provide a foil for Sharpe.As usual, there is an excellent Historical Note that provides more information on two characters in the novel that were historical figures. He waxes lyrical about Salamanca and, as usual, describes the battlefield as it currently exists. He also gives directions to the battlefield of Garcia Hernandez, the site of the magnificent charge of the King’ German Legion.Another magnificent installment in this superb series. Highly recommended.