Pentecost Quiz

Answers to the following quiz are at the end of this section.

Matching -- Pentecost (Feast of Weeks)

Fill in the Blanks

1. "And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the _______, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the ____ ________; seven sabbaths shall be ________: Even unto the morrow after the seventh _______ shall ye number _____ ____; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD," Leviticus 23:15-16.

2. "And when the day of Pentecost was _____ come, they were all with one ______ in one place," Acts 2:1.

3. On the Feast of Pentecost, Peter admonished the people to "______, and be ________ every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the _________ of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the ____ ______," Acts 2:38.

4. The Holy Spirit is "given to them that ____ Him," Acts 5:32.

5. "For as many as are ___ by the Spirit of God, they are the ____ of God," Romans 8:14.

6. "Howbeit when he [it], the Spirit of truth, is come, he [it] will guide you into all _____, . . . " John 16:13.

7. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, . . . the things which God hath prepared for them that ____ him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his ______ . . . " I Corinthians 2:9-10.

8. "For God hath not given us the spirit of ____; but of _____, and of ____, and of a _____ mind," II Timothy 1:7.

General Questions

On a separate sheet of paper, give your answers to these questions:

1. Give the Biblical names for the festival of Pentecost. Exodus 23:16, 34:22, Numbers 28:26, Deuteronomy 16:9-12,16, II Chronicles 8:13, Acts 2:1, 20:16. What additional name do the Jews give to it?

2. Which Bible portions do Jews read on the Feast of Weeks?

3. Leviticus 23:15-16 says to count fifty days from the day of the Wavesheaf Offering to the Feast of Weeks. Deuteronomy 16:9-12 says to number seven weeks from the time of putting your sickle to the corn. How can you reconcile these seemingly contradictory scriptures?

4. The Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, is one of three times a year to keep a feast (Hebrew chag). What does this mean?

5. What does it mean to "tarry" for Pentecost? Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4

6. Give nine evidences of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23

7. Why is the date of the Hebrew Calendar Adjustment, 161 A.D., significant regarding the correct day of Pentecost?

8. What are two reasons given by the Catholic Church for their change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?

9. What do the following all have in common? Jesus, the 144,000, those led by the Holy Spirit, Israel, things holy to the Eternal, way to honor God from your increase, associated with the tithes, a reminder of the exodus and entrance into the Promised Land, given to the Priests, given to Elisha to feed one hundred men, first converts from a new church district. I Corinthians 15:20-23;Revelation 14:1, 4; Romans 8:14, 23; Jeremiah 2:3 (JPS); Ezekiel 20:40, 48:14; Proverbs 3:9-10; Nehemiah 10:37, 12:44; Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Numbers 18:12; II Chronicles 31:5; II Kings 4:42, 44; Romans 16:5' I Corinthians 16:15.

10. What is the relationship of Pentecost to marriage?

11. How do Psalm 68 and Habakkuk 3 give a Pentecost message?

12. What does "speaking in tongues" mean? Is speaking in tongues a necessary evidence of having the Holy Spirit? Acts 2:1-20, I Corinthians 14.

13. What are the different kinds of spiritual gifts? I Corinthians 12. What is the greatest spiritual gift?

ANSWERS

Matching -- Pentecost (Feast of Weeks): 3a, 13b, 14c, 2d, 9e, 7f, 15g, 8h, 5i, 11j, 10k, 1l, 12m, 6n 4o.

Fill in the Blanks: (1) Sabbath, wave offering, complete, Sabbath, fifty days; (2) fully, accord; (3) repent, baptized, remission, Holy Spirit; (4) obey; (5) led, sons; (6) truth; (7) love, Spirit; (8) fear, power, love, sound.

General Questions:

1. Feast of Harvest, Feast of Weeks, Firstfruits of Wheat Harvest, Day of Firstfruits, Day of Pentecost; atzeret (closing day) of the Passover season.

2. Ruth, Exodus, Psalms 42-72, Ezekiel 1, Habakkuk 3.

3. Deuteronomy 16 emphasizes the festival "wheres" and does not give specific "whens." In Deuteronomy 16, the word for "weeks" is shavuoth, while the word for "sabbaths" in Leviticus 23 is shabbath. "Putting the sickle to the corn" is harvesting for oneself, Deuteronomy 23:24-25, which would be the day after Wavesheaf Offering day. Therefore, the count in Leviticus 23 begins with Wavesheaf Sunday, for 50 full days, and the count in Deuteronomy, if it is intended to specifically tell us how to count, begins with the first full day of personal harvest, the day after Wavesheaf Sunday. Both counts expire at the end of a Sunday, making Pentecost on Monday.

4. Pentecost is a Pilgrimage Feast. We should assemble for worship, if possible.

5. To wait patiently, sit down and be taught, have an intimate relationship with the Heavenly Father, worship and pray with others.

6. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

7. The Hebrew Calendar year is six minutes longer than the astronomical year, and must be adjusted every several thousand years. Pentecost must occur in the spring, not the summer. The adjustment made by the Patriarch Simon III in 161 A.D. was based on a Monday Pentecost. If those in charge of the calendar had believed in a Sunday or Sivan 6 Pentecost, the calendar adjustment would not have been necessary until at least the fourth century, A.D.

8. Their belief that (1) Christ rose from the dead on Sunday and (2) the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles on Sunday.

9. They are all called "firstfruits" by the Bible.

10. The Ten Commandments were given during the Pentecost season, Exodus 19-20, sealed with the "wedding ceremony" of the Old Covenant agreement, Exodus 24. Old Testament Israel was figuratively "married" to the Eternal at Pentecost (see Jeremiah 3, Ezekiel 16). The New Testament Church was founded on Pentecost, Acts 2, and became the espoused bride of the Messiah, Revelation 19:7-9, Matthew 22, 25:1. The purpose of the human marriage relationship is to teach us to be faithful to the Messiah for all eternity, with no divorce ever, Ephesians 5, Romans 7:1-4, I Corinthians 7:39. Just as physical intercourse between couple faithful to each other makes them "one flesh," so the Holy Spirit produces fruits in our lives, makes us "one spirit" with God, prepares us to be resurrected as the firstfruits. Pentecost and marital faithfulness are inseparable doctrines!

11. Psalm 68 is in the "Book II" section (Psalm 42-72) of Psalms, which corresponds to the Book of Ruth, the "Pentecost Book." Psalm 68 shows the power of God, as expressed when He came down on Sinai. Verse 35 concludes that it is God alone who gives strength and power to His people. Habakkuk 3 describes the power of God for the salvation of His people, and concludes that God is our strength. Both show the destruction of the wicked, "as smoke is driven away," Psalm 68:2. Pentecost brings us into the presence of God, and only He is the source of our power and strength, the Holy Spirit.

12. "Speaking in tongues" means to speak in one language, and be instantly understood in many languages, Acts 2:4-12. Speaking in tongues is not speaking in gibberish so nobody can understand. All do not speak in tongues, I Corinthians 12:29-30. When the Eternal wants to give the gift of speaking in tongues for His work's sake, He will!

13. Spiritual gifts are: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different languages, interpretation of languages, I Corinthians 12:7-10. These gifts accompany apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, governments, different kinds of languages, verse 28. The greatest spiritual gift is love (charity), I Corinthians 13:13. The Holy Spirit gives one or more spiritual gifts, I Corinthians 12:7,11. Are you using your spiritual gifts for His service?

Written by: Richard C. Nickels
Giving & Sharing