False gods, goddesses, demons, etc

Home About Bible Studies Documents Charts Maps Contact Links

Test your Bible Knowledge
False gods, goddesses, demons, etc.
mouse over the question to reveal the answer

Question 1: How many false gods are mentioned in the Bible?
1. eight
2. seventeen
3. twenty-three
- Answer: The answer is "C." At least twenty-three pagan deities are mentioned in the Bible:
  1. There are the Canaanite deities:
    1. Baal: too numerous to list because the list includes regional worship of Baal and cultic sites of worship. Molech/Moloch is not a god but is the ritual of offering human sacrifice to Baal, especially child sacrifice (Lev 18:21 20:2-5; 1 Kng 11:7; 2 Kng 23:10; Jer 32:35; Amos 5:26; Acts 7:43).
    2. Ashtereth: the goddess of fertility worshiped at the capital city of Og that bore her name—Ashteroth (Dt 1:4; Josh 9:10; 12:4).
    3. Asherah/Astarte: the goddess consort of Baal (1 Kng 15:13; 18:19; 2 Kng 21:7; 23:4, 6, 7; 2 Chr 15:16).
  2. The Aramean god: Rimmon is the only deity named in Scripture (2 Kng 5:18)
  3. The Philistine gods: Dagon (Judg 16:23; 2 Sam 5:2-5, 7; 1 Chr 10:10; 1 Mac 10:84; 11:4) and Baal-Zebub (2 Kng 1:2-3, 6, 16).
  4. The Ammonite and Moabite gods of the Transjordan: Milcom (2 Sam 12:30; 1 Kng 11:5, 33; 2 Kng 23:13; 1 Chr 20:2; Jer 49:1, 3; Zeph 1:5) and Chemosh (Num 21:29; Judg 11:24; 1 Kng 11:7, 33; Jer 48:7, 13, 46)
  5. The Assyrian and Babylonian gods of Mesopotamia: Adrammelech (2 Kng 17:31; 19:37; Is 37:38), Anammelech (2 Kng 17:31), Ashima (2 Kng 17:30), Nibhaz (2 Kng 17:31), Succoth-benoth (2 Kng 17:30), Tartak (2 Kng 17:31), Nergal (2 Kng 17:30), Sakkuth and Kaiwan (Amos 5:25), Tammuz (Ez 8:14), the goddess Ishtar/ "queen of heaven" (Jer 7:18; 44:17-19; Ez 8:14), Marduk/Merodach (Is 46:1; Jer 51:44); they are called both Bel and Merodach in Jer 50:2.
  6. The Egyptian deities are Amon (Jer 46:25) and Apis (Jer 46:15).
  7. The only Greek god named in Scripture is Zeus (2 Mac 6:2; Acts 14:13).
Question 2: What king of Israel violated the Law by consulting a medium?
- Answer: King Saul consulted the witch/medium of Endor and requested that she make the dead prophet Samuel return to advise him. Such a practice was strictly forbidden according to the Law (1 Sam 28:7-25; Ex 22:18; Lev 19:31; Dt 18:10-12).
Question 3: What king of Judah offered his son in sacrifice to a pagan god?
- Answer: King Manasseh of Judea offered his son in pagan sacrifice and practiced soothsaying and divination (2 Kng 21:6). These are sins abhorred by God (Dt 18:9-14).
Question 4: Who is the "prince of demons"?
- Answer: Satan, also called "the devil" and "Beelzebub" in Scripture, is the "prince of demons" (Mt 12:24; Mk 3:22).
Question 5: When Jesus came upon a man who was possessed by many demons in the Gentile territory of Gerasene on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, what was the response of the demon possessed man when Jesus asked the demons its name? What happened to the demons?
- Answer: The demon said its name was Legion because there were so many demons inhabiting the man (Lk 8:30). Jesus cast the demons into a herd of swine that ran into the sea and drowned themselves (Lk 8:32-33)
Question 6: What is the identity of the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve to sin?
- Answer: He is Satan, the fallen angel who is also called the Dragon and the devil. Satan led a rebellion among the angels against the sovereignty of God (Rev 12:7-9; 20:2). He was once a beautiful creature in Eden until he decided to challenge God's power and authority (Ez 28:13-16).