Holding the Four Winds of the Earth Quiz

Answer: Patmos

The first chapter of Revelation states where John wrote down this vision.

"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

This is the only place in the Bible where Patmos is mentioned. Patmos is a rather small Greek island, relatively near the Turkish coast.

Answer: True

The seven churches are all in present day Turkey: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. But of course there were already Christian congregations in various other localities.

The book of Revelation was probably written around 95 AD, a moment at which many convicted Christians were not put to death, but banished to islands with very few inhabitants, such as Patmos.

At that time, the number of Christian churches was about forty - including (besides the seven churches addressed by John) Rome, Jerusalem and Antioch.

Answer: They were full of eyes before and behind

Although all these phrases are taken out of Revelation 4, only one concerns the aforesaid beasts. "Round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind" (Rev 4: 6). These beasts are not the frightening beasts we meet further on in the Book of Revelation, but they symbolize the four evangelists. The first beast was like a lion - Mark. The second was like a calf (or a bull), symbolizing Luke. "The third beast had a face of a man" which points to Matthew. And the fourth beast "was like a flying eagle" - John.

The elders were "clothed in white raiment", the one who sat on the throne "was to look on like a jasper and a sardine stone", and there were "seven lamps of fire burning before the throne". The seven lamps indicate the seven Spirits of God (which one might interpret as the cardinal virtues).

Answer: A pair of balances

The first horseman was a conqueror armed with a bow. The second one would take away peace and was armed with a great sword. These two seem quite obvious threats to the population in those times. The third horseman, however, used a pair of balances to ration wheat and barley, thus condemning the people to starvation.

The fourth horseman was Death, "and Hell followed with him". Traditionally this one would be depicted in later times armed with a scythe.

Answer: Because the righteous should be sealed

The servants of God were to be sealed: 144,000 people, namely 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. But these were not the only ones to whom salvation was promised. "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" (Rev. 7:9).

These people, too, would be salvaged.

Answer: A swarm of wasps

There were no wasps. Not a single verse of the entire Bible mentions any wasps.
After the seventh seal was opened, seven angels would sound the trumpets, each one causing some kind of catastrophe. Interestingly the first three trumpets announce something that was already mentioned as one of the plagues of Egypt: water turning into blood, hail and fire, darkness.

Answer: The Number of the Beast

"The Number of the Beast" (also a title for an album by the heavy metal group Iron Maiden) is indeed 666, a number which would indicate the true name of Satan.
Several theories abound on who was identified by "the number of the beast". Some candidates: the Roman emperor Nero, Napoleon, Hitler, Osama bin Laden...

The red herrings are sinister sounding titles to heavy metal albums, but they have nothing to do with the Bible.

Answer: Violin

The elders in heaven praise the one sitting on the throne by singing. Trumpets announce several woes. And in Revelation 14:2 the author claims "I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps".

The violin was not yet invented at the time the Book of Revelation was written, so of course their were no violins mentioned.

Answer: Armageddon

Armageddon literally translates to "Mount Megiddo", a name for a real place - a strategic location about 127 km north of Jerusalem. But Bible exegetics explain that Armageddon is more a symbolic name for the final shootout. The true believers will vanquish, thanks to the support of Our Lord. The Beast and the Harlot will be slain.

Answer: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire."

Revelation 20:14 states "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." The last two chapters of Revelation describe the New Jerusalem, a city in which the righteous will live forever.

The red herrings are titles of books by Ernest Hemingway, John Milton and Aldous Huxley.