A Burning Dove

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                          Acts 2:3

A Burning Dove

by Robert T. Cooper

So there was this wind sound that filled the whole house. Now, there were 120 adult men there, not counting the women and under 13’s. So don’t go thinking house. Not even the wealthiest residents of Jerusalem had a personal abode like that. Think meeting hall. But the point of the sound filling the entire structure is to indicate that no person present failed to hear the sound.

So when we get to verse 3, we find that all saw this phenomenon. It seemed to be flickers of flame like one would see burning on the wick of a candle. So we have this additional metaphor going: a sound and a flame.

So everyone hears the sound and everyone sees the flickers which divide in such a way that there is a separate flicker that comes to rest on each one present. The traditional way of visualizing this is to imagine flames like each person was a candle with a wick coming out of the top of each person’s head.

Interestingly, we are not told how long this phenomenon lasted. Surely the image was gone by the time anyone outside the room heard what happened next. (We’ll get to that another time.)

Now, compare this with the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at the Savior’s baptism. In that case, the Spirit descended in a form that gave one an impression of something similar to a dove. The text does not say that an actual bird flew down and sat on Jesus. It says that the Spirit descended like a dove.

If this is the exact same Holy Spirit, why was the image like a dove in one case and like tongues of fire in the other case? One possible answer is that the Holy Spirit was marking Jesus to be Isaiah’s prophecies Prince of Peace, while He was marking the 120+ as being on fire for God.

Remember that Jesus said the Apostles (and others present at that time) would have power when the Holy Spirit came on them. So when the Holy Spirit came to rest on each one, it was in order to fuel the witness of each believer as the Gospel began to be carried to the uttermost part of the world.

Today the Holy Spirit comes to indwell each person who places his or her faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He is the source of our peace that passes understanding. He is the source of our power to witness to our community and beyond. He is like a burning dove. Let’s make sure we don’t quench the Spirit.

What are some other metaphors for the Holy Spirit? Also, please share with us some times the Holy Spirit gave you peace or empowered your witness.