Bible Quiz--LITERAL OR NOT?

Question

Here is fun & challenging Bible Quiz. Are the following literal or not. Please explain answer. Hint: Ordinary words ordinary meaning unless explanation is ridicolous or absurd.

1. God created the universe in 6 days
2. The sun stood still during one of Joshua's battle
3. Observe Sabbath. So do it on Saturday
4. Cut your hand rather than sin, better for you to enter kingdom w/ one hand cut off than be thrown to Gehenna
5. Eat my body & drink my blood or you won't have eternal life
6. 144,000 goes to heaven
7. New Jerusalem coming down from heaven
8. Multiple beasts ( was that 7 or 10 heads? ) in Revelations

Answer 1

Good questions! Here are my answers:

1. God created... No. a 1,000 days to man is LIKE a day to Jah. Indifinite time is indicated, otherwise it is ridiculous

2. It was the earth that stood still not the sun. The verse was written from the perspective of the writer who was obviously here on earth.

3. Yes in ancient Israel. No, to Christians. According to Col 2:14, and Romans 7:6 . Christians no longer under the letters of the law but spirit (intent) of the law.

4.Cut your hands. No. obviously ridiculous. Restrain your self well is likely meaning

5. Eat my body… No to cannibalism. It was meant to listen and live by his words. (John 6:68)

6. 144 K. Yes, not ridiculous. They rule the earth subjects are humans on earth ( Rev 5:9, etc )

7. New Jerusalem. No, symbolic of God’s kingdom. Ancient Davidic line of kingdoms had Jerusalem as their capital

8. Beast w/ multiple head. Symbolic. Of human kingdoms according to Chap 17 & 18 of Revelations, also Daniel chap 8.

Answer 2

1)Yes literal
a 365 day year is based on the time it takes for the earth to go around the sun
a month is 28-30 days based roughly on the lunar cycle
a day is 24 hours because that is how many are in a day
BUT where do we get a 7 day week from?
almost every civilization had or has a 7 day week it points back to the garden of Eden where God made the Heavens and the earth in 6 days. I believe if God could create everything He surely could create them in 6 days

2) Yes, from their point of view I don't know how God did it. if He stopped the earth or if He manipulated light but I believe it

3)Yes, the Sabbath is not only for the Jews it was given to Adam who we all descend from. Even if it is only for Israel "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29). You are a spiritual Jew and grafted in(Romans 11). Adam kept it, Jesus kept it, The Apostles kept it, we are going to keep it in Heaven (Isaiah 66:22-24) Jesus and his apostles taught others to keep the Sabbath. Why would God get rid of the only command that starts with the word "Remember".

4) Not literal, it is a hyperbole:a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated or extravagant. It may be used due to strong feelings or is used to create a strong impression and is not meant to be taken literally
like if you say "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

5) Not literal, Jesus said that He is the bread of Heaven and He is the rock that gives living water(I Corinthians 10:4) taking in His words is the same as eating His flesh and drinking His blood. At the passover he gave them the bread and said this is my body, and the wine was His blood.

6) There are 144000 believers with a special mission in the last days but they are not the only people that make it to Heaven. The 144000 are first found in Revelation 7 and the chapter goes on to say in verse 9 that there is "a great multitude that no man can number from every nations" that make it to Heaven

7) Yes, God says that He will make a new Heavens and a New earth (Isaiah 65:17-23, Rev 21:1-8). Jesus taught that the meek will inherit the earth (Matt 5)

8) Not literal Symbol of kingdoms and powers Daniel 7:17

Answer 3

1. Literal. The only reason any Christian believes an old-earth interpretation is bc they've taken man's ideas of uniformitarianism and used them to interpret the Bible, placing man's authority as the one which God's Word is measured against. Pretty foolish. The problem with this is that uniformitarianism denies the global Flood. The Bible is clear that it was a global event and would have seriously altered the Earth's appearance.

2. God's God, He can do anything, even create in six days, so yes, I believe this

3. We are to observe the Sabbath, although I don't know how necessary it is that it's on Saturday. I think if we devote one day a week to resting and trying to spend time with God that's good.

4. Well, it is better to lose a hand now and gain heaven, than to keep your hand in hell. And we will be getting a new body when we get to heaven, although I don't think this should be your first choice of action.

5. I don't recall Jesus ever saying you had to take communion to get into heaven.

6-8. Revelation is very symbolic as it's a book of prophecy, which regularly employs symbolism. You have to understand that there are parts of the Bible that are written as historical narrative, like Genesis, and there are parts written as allegory, like a bit of Isaiah and Revelation.

Answer 4

1. God created the universe in 6 days YES
2. The sun stood still during one of Joshua's battle YES
3. Observe Sabbath. So do it on Saturday. WAS THE LAW. LAW FULFILLED AND THUS UNNECCESSARY TO MAKE SACRIFICES ON SATURDAY. (Going to church on Sunday is more the principle of the thing, not a law)
4. Cut your hand rather than sin, better for you to enter kingdom w/ one hand cut off than be thrown to Gehenna. IT WOULD BE BETTER, BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARY.
5. Eat my body & drink my blood or you won't have eternal life. SPIRITUALLY, YES. LITERALLY, NO
6. 144,000 goes to heaven. THAT'S NOT WHAT IT SAYS.
7. New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. YES. (But I'm not going to explain it all here)
8. Multiple beasts ( was that 7 or 10 heads? ) in Revelations YES AND NO. (Some were angels, and yes, I believe they really look like that. Other times this referred to powers on earth, that would not literally look like monsters)

Answer 5

For the most part the Bible is not meant literally. If indeed the Bible was written by God using humans to do it, then why, for example are there two DIFFERENT creation stories in Genesis? Why did God tell the children of Israel "Thou shalt not kill" and then just a while later tell Joshua to kill everyone in Jericho but Rahab the prostitute and those in her house? The Bible is written in several different literary forms. You need to understand that to interpret well. Oh, and Gehenna was the garbage dump in "unclean" land outside Jerusalem. When they were still sacrificing humans in Jerusalem, the blood of the dead ran out of the city to Gehenna making it unclean. Gehenna became the town dump and a place to bury Gentiles. There was always a fire to get rid of the refuse, hence the reference to a fire that does not go out. Questions 6,7,and 8 refer to the book of Revelation which most scholars believe to be an allegory. As for the Sabbath, Christians changed the celebration to be the feast of the resurrection which happened on Sunday. If you read your Bible well, you know that Jesus does away with the old covenant. That means you don't have to worship in the Sabbath, you don't have to keep kosher, you don't have to engage in ritual washing, and you no longer have to put menstruating women in tents in the back yard because they are unclean.

Answer 6

1. not literal Hebrew word "days" has no definitive time meaning
2. literal and figurative
3. literal Firday at dusk to Saturday at dusk
4. figurative it was taught to show a lesson, not literal
5. figurative many people see this as cannibalism.
6. question is not Scriptural Bible only mentions 144,000 as witnesses during the Great Tribulation. This is Jehovah Witness faith.
7. literal God will create new heavens and new earth
8. Spiritual

Answer 7

1) literal in gods eyes not mans, we don’t know how long a day was in god’s eyes we can only estimate

2) in mans eyes it was the sun that stood still, so not literal , because it makes more sense that the earth stood still. Easier for god to do this then change the whole cosmos.

3) the Sabbath was literal up to the time of Jesus, when he died he filled the Sabbath as it known. We do not in fact know what day was the seventh day the day of rest, god did not name the days of the week man did.

4) not literal Jesus was using that as a learning lesson for his followers

5) figurative, all Christians who believe in Jesus knows he is the body and the blood, and our only way to gods kingdom is through his Sacrifice for us.

6) literal if you believe the bible does not lie, because it talks about a unnumbered amount of people who have been washed white by the lamb, he stand before him. Partaking of gods promise.

7) figurative, its represents the united nations, and all the kingdoms of the world that belong to which are under stat ans control

Answer 8

Are you asking these questions because you don't understand the bible and want to learn or are you being sarcastic in a sense? Jesus spoke in parables for a reason, if you don't understand some things you need to seek further guidance from a spiritual leader, Excuse me for being sensitive but in these days, the questions that you ask are simply understood by reading and studying, without sarcasm, don't play around, be serious, ask some real questions like what promises does Jesus give to those who obey His word? Either you believe or you don't, either you do or you don't, its as simple as that and those who understand the Lord and His power will have no problem with my responce, thank you

Answer 9

Bible defines itself as "allegory" in both "covenants": Galatians 4; Also as "mystery" over 20 times in the New Testament;

Even a triple mystery in Colossians 2:2.
1: the mystery of God, and
2: (the mystery) of the Father, and
3: (the mystery) of Christ
Sadly, most ppl haven't solved the first allegoric mystery yet.

So it's obviously allegoric mystery, with an over-all more-all: "grace is sufficient"(no law req'd); And not to be taken literal, since believe every spirit would make ppl an oxy-MORON:
- I will never leave thee nor forsake thee... Grace
- I will forsake you, the city, your fathers... Law
Grace and Law are "contrary things".
"Comparing" spiritual with spiritual.
When mixed it's one-PROSELYTE.

Not to mention plural and contrary "scriptures" were written aforetime for our learning: Romans 15:4; But only the singular "script-u-are" is what's God inspired: 2Timothy 3:16.

The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ WITH YOU ALL. AMEN.

Answer 10

1. Literal
2. Literal
3. Jesus became the sabbath, He is our rest and refuge, we are no longer under Mosaic Law
4. Figurative
5. Figurative
6. Jehovah Witness doctrine, unbiblical and a lie.
7. Literal
8. Represents nations and leaders of the Anti-Christ