Unscramble the letters -- DOUBTING THOMAS Quiz

Answer: bathing

Yes, Bathsheba was bathing when David first spotted her. 2 Samuel 11:2-4, in the NIV, tells of the occasion: "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, 'She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.' Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state "in ancient times, Israelite houses had an enclosed courtyard. Bathsheba was actually in her house."

Obviously, her house was relatively close to David's palace and he observed her from a higher vantage point. Before long, Bathsheba and David would find themselves in real hot water when she became pregnant as a result of their liaison.

Answer: Titus

The correct answer is Titus. The book was written by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. According to the Web site Christiananswers.net, Titus means honorable. He was a worker in the early church on the island of Crete, as per Titus 1:5. He is also mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:10. In the passage, Paul states Titus had gone to Dalmatia, part of present-day Croatia.

Notes in the New King James Version Study Bible have this to say about the book of Titus: "Whereas the letters to Timothy emphasize sound doctrine, the letter to Titus emphasizes good works (1:16; 2:7, 14; 3:1, 5, 8, 14). There were influential people in the church who were motivated by personal interest and selfish gain (1:11). In his letter, Paul exposes the ways this was affecting the doctrine (1:11) and practice (1:16) of the church and urges Titus to champion purity, service and kindness toward others (2:11-15; 3:7). Paul reminds Titus that salvation is not based on our 'works and righteousness' (3:5) but rather is the result of God's work of kindness and love toward us (3:4)."

Answer: South

The missing word is 'South'. There are different views on the Queen of the South and what she symbolizes.

Wikipedia, for example, states the Queen of the South is believed to be the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon. It is believed Sheba was part of present-day Yemen. (However, some believe Sheba was part of present-day Ethiopia.) Others believe the woman could not be the Queen of Sheba because she did not come from the Ends of the Earth. And on the debate apparently goes.

Notes in the NKJV Bible, however, state the men of Nineveh, mentioned in the previous verse, and the Queen of the South, "represent Gentiles who came to faith because of the words of God's prophets and kings, lesser people than Jesus Christ, God's only Son."

Here's how Matthew 12:38-42, read in their entirety in the NKJV: "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.' But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

Answer: moths

The missing word is 'moths'. The verse is a classic with many people, especially evangelical Christians. Notes in the NKJV Study Bible, however, suggest the true meaning of the verse might be misunderstood by some people.

The notes state: "'Do not lay up... but lay up' may be rephrased as 'Do not give priority to this but give priority to that.' This passage does not mean it is sinful to have assets as insurance, retirement plans and savings accounts. After all, parents are to save for their children (see Proverbs 13:22; 2 Corinthians 12:14.)"

Answer: sat

The missing word is sat, of course. When ever I see Psalm 137 I am reminded of the Bony M. song 'Rivers of Babylon'. The song was a monster hit for the Germany-based disco group in 1978.

According to Wikipedia, 'Rivers of Babylon' is one of a few pop songs whose lyrics come directly from the Bible. Three other examples cited by Wikipedia are 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' by Pete Seeger, '40' by U2, and 'The Lord's Prayer' by Sister Janet Mead.

Psalm 137 is about the trials, tribulations and heartbreak experienced by the Israelites after they were taken into captivity in Babylon.

Here are the words to Psalm 137, as they appear in the NKJV"
"By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion!'
How shall we sing the LORD's song
In a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth --
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, 'Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!'
O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock!"

Answer: mouth

Verses 10 and 11 go on to state: "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame'."

Romans was written by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. He is credited with writing 13 books in the New Testament and in the order the books appear, Romans is the first one by Paul.

Answer: boats

The missing word is boats. Luke 5 tells of Peter, John and James leaving their boats to follow Christ. Andrew, the brother of Peter, is not mentioned in the passage.

The previous verses tell of the disciples fishing all night with no success. However, Jesus told them to go to deep water and let down their net. The dubious disciples followed the suggestion and to their amazement, they caught so many fish "their net was breaking."

For the next three years, the disciples would follow Jesus and see Him perform a wide variety of miracles. According to Scripture, the miracles ranged from turning water into wine to raising at least three people from the dead. Raised from the dead were Jairus' daughter (Mark 5), the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7) and Lazarus (John 11).

Answer: tomb

The correct word is 'tomb'. According to Scripture, the women who went to the tomb included Mary Magdalene. She was the first to see Jesus after His resurrection, as per Mark 16:9.

John 20:19-25 also tells of Christ appearing to the disciples, but Thomas was absent. When the other disciples told Thomas about the resurrection, he was filled with doubt. In verse 25, Thomas is quoted as saying "unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." As a result, he has become known as Doubting Thomas or Thomas the Doubter.

Answer: hands

The correct words are 'hands' and 'hand'. The 20th chapter of John tells of Jesus appearing before the disciples who were meeting in a locked room. Many theologians believe the door was locked because the disciples were afraid of being rounded up in a mass persecution against anyone who had anything to do with Jesus.

When Christ appeared in the room, it must have been an electrifying moment for Thomas who basically scoffed at reports of the resurrection. By putting his fingers in the wounds on Christ's hands and by putting his hand in Christ's side, Thomas had irrefutable evidence Christ had indeed ascended from the dead.

His life would be forever changed.

Answer: God

The correct word is God. Some people believe the five words by Thomas ('My Lord and my God') are among the most important five words in the entire Bible.

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible perhaps sum up things best: "In awestruck wonder, Thomas not only believed that Christ was risen from the dead, but he also saw that the Resurrection provided His deity."

I love the comment by Jesus when He says "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." In other words, Christ is saying later Christians are the ones who are truly blessed.