Eyes of the Soul Trivia Quiz

Answer: Abundance and famine

Joseph, the elder son of Jacob and Rachel, had the ability to interpret dreams. He dreamt that his brothers' sheaves of wheat bowed to his sheaf, so he understood the dream to mean that some day his brothers would bow to him. This came to pass later. His brothers were jealous of the favor their father showed him, and angered by his dreams. Finally, they sold him to slave traders, who sent him to Egypt.

In Egypt, Joseph interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh. Pharaoh dreamt that seven fat cows were eaten up by seven lean cows. His second dream was of seven good heads of grain swallowed up by seven shriveled heads of grain. None of Pharaoh's magicians could explain his dream to him. With the power given to his soul's eyes, Joseph saw the meaning of the dreams: Egypt would have seven years of abundance (the seven fat cows and seven full heads of grain) followed by seven years of famine.

Pharaoh then made Joseph ruler of Egypt second only to Pharaoh himself. Joseph hoarded food through the years of abundance. When famine came, Egypt had food. His brothers then came and bowed down before him, wishing to buy grain. All that Joseph interpreted from dreams came to pass.

Joseph's story ends the Book of Genesis.

Answer: Moses; Exodus

Moses was born of an Israelite family, but since the Egyptians were killing all Israelite boys, his mother hid him. The well-known story goes that Moses was found in bulrushes by an Egyptian princess, who raised him as her son. When Moses grew up, the Lord spoke to him from a burning bush, saying, "Go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:10) In obedience, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt in the Book of Exodus.

Three months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites stopped by Mount Sinai. There, God descended on Mount Sinai to speak to Moses, who went up to the mountain top. The rest of the Israelites were forbidden to go, and remained behind with Aaron. Later, after offering up sacrifices, Moses and the elders all ascended the mountain and saw God. However, Moses alone entered the cloud where the Lord was and spoke to him face to face. There, the Lord gave him commandments for the future of the Israelites.

Answer: Chariots of fire

In 1 Kings 19, Elisha was chosen by Elijah the prophet to succeed him. After years of being Elijah's companion and servant, Elijah accompanied the old prophet on one last journey to the Jordan, where Elijah was to be taken up to heaven. Elisha wished to inherit a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Elijah told him that was possible if he saw Elijah as he is taken up.

The Bible tells us: "As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, 'My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!'" (2 Kings 2:11-2:12)

Later, Israel and Aram went to war, and King Joram of Israel was able to forestall the Arameans each time through Elisha. Thus, the king of Aram sent a force of horses and chariots to capture Elisha. Elisha was not afraid, however, as he could see that he was protected by an army of horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:17).

Answer: Jeremiah

Jeremiah wrote the Book of Jeremiah, and is credited with writing 1 Kings, 2 Kings, and Lamentations. In the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and showed him a vision of a branch of an almond tree, saying that He was watching to see His word fulfilled. Then Jeremiah saw a boiling pot, tilting away from the north. The Lord said to Jeremiah that He would cause the kings of the north to come against Jerusalem, as her people had forsaken Him.

So Jeremiah went forth and preached to the people, warning them of what was to come. They refused to listen, and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah king of Judah, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and carried off the people. Thus the judgement of the Lord, as foretold through Jeremiah, was fulfilled.

Answer: Daniel

When the king of Babylon conquered Jerusalem, he ordered that a number of young, handsome, and intelligent men of Judah be brought to Babylon to serve him. The Book of Daniel describes four such men from Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. In Babylon, they were given new names. Daniel became Belteshazzar, and the other three were renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

A God-fearing young man, Daniel's power of interpreting visions brought him favor in the eyes of King Nebuchadnezzar. When the king's wise men failed to explain one of the king's dreams, Daniel succeeded. Later, his interpretation came true and as warned in the dream, Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom fell apart, and was conquered by the Medes and Persians. Later, Daniel also interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's second dream, which came true, and the king lived like a beast in the fields until he praised the Lord God Almighty.

The eyes of Daniel's soul enabled him to see many visions. He saw four beasts in one vision, a goat and a ram in another, and in the third year of the reign of the Persian king, Cyrus, he saw the vision of a man. Daniel's eyes alone saw him; then men around him did not, and were seized with terror.

Answer: Peter, James, and John

The transfiguration is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus took three disciples, Peter, James, and John to a remote mountain. There, he transformed, his clothes and face shining with white light. Moses and Elijah manifested beside him, and conversed with him. According to Luke 9:31, the prophets spoke with Jesus about his death, the fulfillment of which was near.

Then, a cloud covered the disciples, and a voice spoke: "This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:5, also found in Mark 9:7 and Luke 9:35) When they looked, they were alone with Jesus.

Answer: Stephen

In the early days after Jesus' ascension to heaven, the number of believers multiplied daily. Therefore, it was decided in the church to choose seven men of wisdom and faith to administer to the people (Acts 6). One of the seven, Stephen, performed his duties with extraordinary wisdom, and all that he did was blessed by the Lord.

Motivated by deep resentment, some Jews had Stephen falsely accused of Stephen of blasphemy, and had him arrested and brought to trial before the Sanhedrin. In a long, fervent defense in chapter 7 of Acts, Stephen condemned the actions of the Pharisees. Then he looked up at heaven and, alone of all the assembly, witnessed Christ standing at the left hand of God.

Answer: Peter

Following Jesus' ascension to heaven, his disciples continued spreading the Gospel. Chief among these was Peter. When Herod realized that persecuting the believers pleased the Jews, he imprisoned Peter, and planned to have him executed the next day. As Peter slept in prison, an angel of the Lord came, woke him, and said, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." (Acts 12:8) Peter complied, despite thinking that he was seeing a vision. They passed between the guards, who saw nothing; only Peter's eyes could see the angel. Only after they had left the prison and the angel had disappeared did Peter come to himself and realize that he had seen an angel of the Lord come and free him.

During his lifetime, Peter saw many things with his soul's eyes. He was the first disciple to see and say to the Lord, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). In Acts chapter 10, he saw a vision of a sheet filled with clean and unclean animals, and heard a voice telling him to kill and eat. The voice told him that what God had made clean should not be called unclean. Peter took the lesson to heart and shared his faith with Gentiles, an unprecedented action among the Christians converted from Judaism.

Answer: John

John, known as "the one whom Jesus loved", is known for writing the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation. Revelation details "what must soon take place" (Revelation 1:1), as seen in John's vision. The book begins with a greeting from the apostle, and seven letters to seven churches, dictated by one who was 'like a son of man' (Revelation 1:13) The rest of Revelation records the vision he saw of the events at the end of the world.

He saw the wrath of God poured out on the nations. The dead were judged, and the Lamb displayed in his full glory.

At the end, a new Jerusalem was built, a perfect world where God's servants reign forever. Finally, there is a warning that Jesus is coming again, soon.

Answer: His baptism

John the Baptist baptized people in the Jordan, and Jesus went to him from Galilee. Deeming himself unfit to untie Jesus' sandals, John was initially reluctant, but Jesus replied that it should be so. Then John complied, and baptized Him. "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16-17).

Jesus' baptism is also recorded in the books of Mark and Luke, and referred to in John.