Crime & Punishment in the Bible Quiz

Answer: Paul banished a demon out of the slave girl, which prevented her owners from making money.

This specific story can be found in Acts 16. Paul and Silas had travelled to Phillipi, which was a Roman colony at the time. For an account of this, see Acts 16:12.

While they were there, they met a slave girl, who had a spirit in her, who had an uncanny ability to predict the future, which her owners were exploiting to make money. Eventually, Paul turned to her and said "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" For an account of this, see Acts 16:16-18.

Her owners were not pleased by this, as they could no longer use her to make money. They dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace, where they proclaimed "these men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs for us which are not lawful to receive, neither to observe, being Romans." Paul and Silas were both stripped and beaten, and eventually thrown into jail. For an account of this, see Acts 16:19-24.

Answer: Both of these.

"Unto the woman, he said,
I will greatly multiply they sorrow and they conception;
in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;
and thy desire shall be to thy husband,
and he shall rule over you."
Genesis 3:16.

After discovering that the serpent had deceived Eve into eating fruit from the forbidden tree, and Eve had then persuaded Adam to eat it as well, God issued punishments to all three parties.
The serpent was cursed to go upon his belly, and eat dust for all the days of his life, and enmity was caused between man and serpent. For an account of this, see Genesis 3:14-15.
Adam was punished by having the ground cursed because of him, and Adam would only eat of it through painful toil for the rest of his life. For an account of this, see Genesis 3:17-19.

The entire story of the Fall of Man, and the banishment from the Garden of Eden, can be found in Genesis 3.

Answer: Patmos

St. John was exiled to the Island of Patmos, a small Greek island located in the Aegan sea. According to the Bible, John was exiled to the island of Patmos for the testimony of Jesus Christ. An account of this can be found in Revelation 1:9.

John was also the only Apostle to not be martyred for his faith. The common belief is that he lived peacefully until the end of years, and eventually died of old age.

Answer: 30 days

King Darius had appointed three administrators to help him rule throughout the kingdom. Daniel was one of these administrators, and he did a very good job, thereby distinguishing himself amongst the other administrators. Because of this, King Darius planned to "set him over the whole realm." For an account of this, see Daniel 6:1-3.

The other administrators grew jealous, and tried to find a reason to undermine Daniel. However, the could find no basis for charges against Daniel. So they went to the King, saying "King Darius, live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statue, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O King, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O King, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians which altereth not." See Daniel 6:4-9.

Daniel, however, ignored this decree, and continued to pray to God, after which he was thrown into the lions' den, even though this saddened King Darius. However, God sent down an angel, who prevented the lions' from hurting Daniel, and when King Darius went to check on him in the morning, he had not been hurt, and the King ordered him to be removed. For an account of this, see Daniel 6:10-23.

The entire account of Daniel in the lions' den can be found in Daniel 6.

Answer: Pharaoh had him hanged.

Unfortunately, it is never made clear exactly why Pharaoh had his chief cupbearer and chief baker thrown into prison. What is known is that Joseph met the two men, and interpreted the dreams that they had had. Joseph predicted that the chief cupbearer would be restored to his original post in three days, and that the chief baker would be executed in three days. The chief baker was executed by hanging.

The story of Joseph interpreting the cupbearer and the baker's dreams can be found in Genesis 40:6-19, and the baker's execution can be found in Genesis 40:22.

Answer: King Herod

More specifically, it was King Herod Agrippa I who had James put to death.

Interestingly enough, James, the brother of John, was the only Apostle to have his death actually recorded in the Bible, and the deaths of the other Apostles are only really known by church traditions.

Acts 12:1-2 tells us:
"Now about that time Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword."

Most biblical scholars agree that the reference to "killed with the sword" is most likely to mean beheading.

Answer: They would never lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land.

For doubting God for just one moment, Moses was punished by never being allowed to lead his people into the Promised Land, something he had been working hard on for years. The Israelites were thirsty. God saw this, and commanded Moses to speak to the rock, which would then bring water out of it. However, for just that one moment of doubt that God could make water come from the rock, Moses and Aaron were punished.

"And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."
Numbers 20:2-12.

Answer: Ham saw Noah naked.

There is a lot of debate amongst biblical scholars as to whether Ham literally saw Noah naked, or whether this was a euphemism for rape.

After the rains had stopped and Noah was able to get off the ark, he planted a vineyard, and became drunk one day, and fell asleep naked in his tent. Ham, one of Noah's sons, wandered into the tent, and saw Noah in his nakedness, and told his two brothers, Shem and Japeth, about it. Shem and Japeth then, without looking, took a garment, and covered their father up with it. After Noah had awoken, he realised what his younger son had done to him.

"And he said,
Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
And he said,
Blessed be the Lord God of Shem;
and Canaan shall be his servant.
God shall enlarge Japeth,
and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem;
and Canaan shall be his servant."
Genesis 9:25-27.

For an account of Noah's drunkenness and the cursing of Canaan, see Genesis 9:20-27.

On a non-Biblical, yet very interesting note, this passage was used by Hendrik Verwoerd, one of South Africa's ex-Apartheid presidents, to try and justify the actions of Apartheid. Ham's descendants (Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan) became the various black peoples who settled in Africa and part of the Arabian peninsula. He claimed that Canaan and his descendants had been cursed to become slaves, and that they were black. He used this to try and justify the harsh laws imposed on blacks in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Answer: One thousand years

Satan would be stuck in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, after which he would be loosed out of his prison, and go out to deceive nations. After terrorizing the the world for a little while and gathering an army, the Devil would then be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, along with the beast and the false prophet, where he would be tormented forever.

For more information about Satan's punishments at the End Times, see Revelation 20:1-10.

Answer: He had his soldiers throw them into a blazing furnace.

Makes capital punishment look almost humane, doesn't it?

King Nebuchadnezzar made a very large golden image, and commanded his herald to proclaim "To you it is commanded, O people, nations and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." For an account of this, see Daniel 3:1-6.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not obey this order, and the three of them were thrown into the furnace. Thankfully, God sent an angel to rescue his servants, and they didn't perish in the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar then made yet another decree, saying that "every people, nation and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is not other God that can deliver after this sort." For an account of this, see Daniel 3:8-30.

The entire account of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and King Nebuchadnezzar and his golden image can be found in Daniel 3.

Thanks for playing my quiz. I hope you enjoyed it! God bless!