Simple questions and answers

This article is a series of simple questions, asked by kids, and their Biblical answers. Since these questions are faitrly simple to answer, we've grouped them in one article. These questions include:

which king was eaten by worms?

did God make space?

can someone write the Bible in one day?

are there dogs in the Bible?

are there unicorns in the Bible?

are there dragons in the Bible?

were there guns in the Bible?

how many miracles did Jesus do on earth?

how many people did Jesus raise from the dead?

who changed Lucifer’s name to Satan?

did they tear the clothes of prisoners who were being whipped?

how old was noah when the flood came?

why did God choose noah?

how did God know to pick Jesus?

how can a bug shoot fire?

if Jesus had scars on His hands, feet and side, would He have scars from the crown of thorns and the flogging too?

could Adam and Eve climb trees?

did David have any brothers or sisters?

if the world was sinless, would there still be accidents?

1. what king died from all the worms eating him?

King Herod Agrippa, the grandson of the king Herod who lived in Jesus' time, died and was eaten by worms because he did not give praise to God:

acts 12:21-23

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

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2. did God make space?

Yes. God created everything, including outer space.

genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

genesis 1:14-18

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

colossians 1:16-17

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

john 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

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3. can someone write the whole Bible in one day?

If you’re asking if someone could write down a copy of the whole Bible in a day, probably not. One person claims to have written a copy in four years.

Our Bible has 66 books and was written by over 40 men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and during a timeframe of about 1500 years.

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4. are there dogs in the Bible?

Yes. Dogs are among the kinds of animals created in Genesis 1:24-25:

genesis 1:24-45

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

And, dogs are mentioned many times in the Bible, including:

see also:

Exodus 22:31

Judges 7:6

I Kings 14:11, 16:4, 21:19-24, 22:38

II Kings 9:10, 9:36

Job 30:1

Psalms 22:16-20, 59:6, 59:14, 68:23

Isaiah 56:10-11

Jeremiah 15:3

Matthew 7:6, 15:26-27

Mark 7:27-28

Luke 16:21

Philippians 3:2

Revelation 22:15

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5. are there unicorns in the Bible?

Yes! They are mentioned in the King James version of the Bible:

deuteronomy 33:17

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock,

and his horns are like the horns of unicorns:

with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth:

and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

psalm 22:21

Save me from the lion’s mouth:

for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

isaiah 34:7

And the unicorns shall come down with them,

and the bullocks with the bulls;

and their land shall be soaked with blood,

and their dust made fat with fatness.

These unicorns are not the "My Little Pony" variety of fantasy unicorns that fly and shoot rainbows out of their rear ends. The unicorns mentioned in the Bible are some other kind of animal, referred to as wild oxen in the NIV and other versions of the Bible. They could have referred to a kind of one-horned rhinoceros. Whatever they were, God did create unicorns!

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6. are there dragons in the Bible?

Yes! Dragons are mentioned in all versions of the Bible. The word “dragon” is used to figuratively describe Satan in the book of Revelation (chapters 12, 13, 16, and 20), and is also used literally as the name of certain (real) animals in the King James version:

nehemiah 2:13

And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

psalm 91:13

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:

the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

isaiah 27:1

In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword

shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent,

even leviathan that crooked serpent;

and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

isaiah 51:9

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;

awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.

Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

jeremiah 51:34

Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me,

he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel,

he hath swallowed me up like a dragon,

he hath filled his belly with my delicates,

he hath cast me out.

ezekiel 29:3

Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

In newer translations of the Bible, the word “dragon” is sometimes translated as “jackal” or “serpent” or “monster.” It is entirely possible that these dragons were animals that we don’t see on earth today, perhaps even dinosaurs.

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7. were there guns in the Bible?

As we now know them, no. The modern firearm was invented in the year 1364, and in their early days, they weren’t very good or very reliable. But there were many other kinds of weapons in the Bible, including:

Spears

Swords

Knives

Slings

Rocks!

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8. how many miracles did Jesus do on earth?

All of ‘em!

Actually Jesus did far more miracles than are recorded in the Bible:

john 21:25

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

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9. how many people did Jesus raise from the dead?

Four, including:

a. the widow’s son

luke 7:11-15

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

b. the daughter of jairus

mark 5:38-43

When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

c. lazarus

john 11:38-44

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

d. Himself!

john 2:18-19

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

Additionally, He raises all of those who belong to Him from the dead!

1 thessalonians 4:15-18

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

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10. who changed Lucifer’s name to Satan?

It’s not so much that his name was changed, but that his identity changed. Here’s what we mean:

“Lucifer” may or may not be a proper name. “Lucifer” only appears in the KJV and some older translations of the Bible, and only once or twice. Isaiah 14:12 is the primary place where Satan is called Lucifer:

isaiah 14:12 KJV

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!

how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

In the NIV and most other modern translations, the name Lucifer is translated “morning star” or similar:

isaiah 14:12 NIV

How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

The word “Lucifer” actually means “shining one.” Indeed, Satan was once a bright, shining angel. But when Satan rebelled against God, he was thrown out of heaven and was no longer a bright, shining angel. Now, Satan can only masquerade (pretend) as an angel of light.

2 corinthians 2:14

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

And so, Satan has always been Satan, but when he was in heaven, before he rebelled against God, Satan was also a “shining one,” which is what “Lucifer” means. Once Satan was thrown out of Heaven, he lost his shine! So it’s not so much that Satan’s name was changed. It’s just that he lost his shine, and so “Lucifer” isn’t a good way to describe him anymore!

Research taken from:

https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/is-satans-real-name-lucifer-or-should-we-call-him-satan/

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11. when they whipped Jesus, they tore the backs of their clothes, would they give them new clothes or would they give them torn clothes back?

When prisoners were whipped or flogged back in Bible days, those who did the whipping probably didn’t care much about giving new clothes back to the prisoners afterward. In Jesus’ case, there is no record of His clothes being torn.

In fact, Jesus was stripped and then dressed in a scarlet robe, when He was mocked and beaten.

matthew 27:27-31

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Later, when Jesus was crucified, He was hung on the cross (probably naked) and the soldiers cast lots for His clothes. They wouldn’t have wanted Jesus’ clothes if they had been torn up.

john 19:23-24

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them

and cast lots for my garment.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

This actually fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy.

So, when Jesus was beaten and flogged, His clothes were not torn, but stripped off of Him.

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12. How old was Noah when the flood came?

According to Genesis 7:6, Noah was 600 years old when the flood came:

genesis 7:6

Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.

The Bible does not clearly say how long it took Noah to build the ark, but we do know that Noah died at the age of 950:

genesis 9:28-29

After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

So, Noah lived to be one old dude!

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13. Why did God choose Noah?

At this time in history, God was grieved that He had made man on the earth because all of the thoughts of man were only evil all the time:

genesis 6:5-6

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

Unlike the rest of humanity, however, Noah found favor in God’s eyes because he was a righteous man:

genesis 6:8-9

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

9 This is the account of Noah and his family Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

This doesn’t mean that Noah was sinless, but in his heart, Noah desired to please God, and so God, because of His mercy, chose Noah to build the ark and to keep the human race alive, along with all the animal kinds.

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14. How did God know to pick Jesus?

Since mankind could only be saved from sin by someone who was sinless, and since He could only be saved from death by someone who had mastery over life and death, there really wasn’t a choice at all. Jesus was the only One who could have saved us from our sin.

It is important to understand that Jesus was not simply a man whom God chose, but is in fact the Son of God and truly, is God Himself. Jesus has always existed. He was not created. He is God the Son. As Jesus said in John 10:30...

john 10:30

“I and the Father are one.”

When we understand that Jesus has always existed and that He is part of the Trinity Godhead. Below is more Scripture to support this:

john 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Here, Jesus is called “the Word.” It says that He was there in the beginning; that He was with God and that He was God. It also tells us that Jesus is the Creator. Jesus Himself explained that He had always existed in this passage:

john 8:58

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Before Abraham was (past tense), I Am (present tense)! When we understand that Jesus is God, it is very simple to understand why God could only have sent Jesus to save us.

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15. How can a bug shoot fire?

This whole question refers to the Bombardier Beetle, which can shoot burning gas out of its backside as a defense mechanism.

God created this beetle with two little chambers inside of its body. Each chamber is full of a liquid that is fine on its own, but when it mixes with the other liquid, it explodes! When the Bombardier Beetle gets spooked, the muscles in its abdomen push the liquids out of these two chambers into another chamber, where they mix and then spurt out of the beetle at a fiery hot 212 degrees!

The reason we’re talking about this beetle is because the Bible mentions a fire-breathing creature called the Leviathan in Job chapter 41:

job 41:18-21

Its snorting throws out flashes of light;

its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

19 Flames stream from its mouth;

sparks of fire shoot out.

20 Smoke pours from its nostrils

as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

21 Its breath sets coals ablaze,

and flames dart from its mouth.

While some people claim that this passage is poetic and that no such fire-breathing creature could exist, the existence of the Bombardier Beetle proves that God did create living things that can spout fire, meaning that there is no reason to doubt that the Leviathan was not a crocodile or alligator, but a fearsome fire-breathing dinosaur of dragon-like creature!

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16. If Jesus had scars on His hands, feet and side, would He have scars from the crown of thorns and the flogging too?

We know that Jesus definitely still had the holes in His hands after He was raised from the dead. We know this because He asks Thomas to put his fingers into the holes so that Thomas would stop doubting:

john20:24-29

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

We can see that the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side were still present after Jesus was raised from the dead. It seems very likely, then, that the wounds in His feet, the wounds from the crown of thorns, and the flogging wounds were still there too.

It also seems likely that those scars, while no longer bleeding, will remain evident to us in Heaven as a reminder of the sacrifice our Savior made for us!

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17. Could Adam and Eve climb the trees?

Sure. Why not? God had only given Adam two directives. First, he was to work the garden (which was not toilsome at the time). Second, Adam was not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil:

genesis 2:15-17

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

There was no command against climbing the trees. So, if Adam or Eve had wanted to, they could have climbed the trees, and may even have needed to climb them to get their fruit. The Bible doesn’t tell us one way or another whether Adam and Eve climbed the trees, but they certainly could have!

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18. Did David have any brothers or sisters?

Yes. The Bible tells us how many brothers and sister David had, and also tells us their names:

1 chronicles 2:13-16

Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; the second son was Abinadab, the third Shimea, 14 the fourth Nethanel, the fifth Raddai, 15 the sixth Ozem and the seventh David. 16 Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abishai, Joab and Asahel.

In this list of Jesse's sons, seven sons are listed, along with two daughters. But the Bible tells us that Jesse had eight sons:

1 samuel 17:12-14

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

Shammah and Shimea are actually variations of the same name, so Shimea was the same person as Shammah; his name was simply spelled differently in different parts of the Bible.

For some reason, however, although Jesse had eight sons, we only know the names of seven of them:

Eliab, Abinidab, Shimea/Shammah, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and David. We don’t know why the eighth son is not listed, but it is possible that his eighth son died before having children. In such cases, a son might not be listed in the genealogy.

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19. If the world was sinless, would there still be accidents?

Probably not. The reason I say this is that most accidents are caused by people not paying attention, or by the failure of a piece of equipment or of something in nature.

In a sinless world, there would be no curse to cause decay or death. See below:

romans 8:19-22

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Since we know that decay is the result of the curse of sin, then we can expect that there ill be no decay in a sinless world. Therefore, there could be no accidents caused by something breaking or falling apart.

As for accidents caused by human error such as not paying attention, I would again say that our bodies and minds would also not be subject to decay or failure, which makes it seem unlikely that there could be accidents in a sinless world.

The good news is that, as Romans 8:19-22 say above, in eternity with God, there won’t be sin or decay, and therefore death, pain, suffering, or accidents!

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  Conclusion

Kids have all kinds of questions, and it is a good thing when they ask, because it means they’re thinking about the Bible and what it all means to them. So, keep the questions coming, and praise God for giving us His Word to provide the answers!