If you by chance have read the book of Acts, you will read in chapter two that when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the disciples of Christ an incredible display occurs. There was the sound of a mighty rushing wind and then tongues of fire appeared to each of the disciples and ‘sat’ upon them. Following this, we are told that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance. (Acts 2:1-4) Yet not much later in Acts 10:44-48, we see Cornelius and other Gentiles filled with the Spirit, speaking in other tongues, and Peter declares ‘they have received the Holy Ghost as well as we, but there is no record made of the tongues of fire or the sound of a mighty wind. Indeed, the tongues of fire and the mighty wind are never mentioned again. Why did those two things happen, seemingly that once and never again? What was the significance of them?
Both the sound of the mighty wind and the tongues of fire were functioning in the role of witnesses. In the Bible there is an underlying principle that everything is established in the mouth of two or more witnesses. It’s an important aspect that is found throughout the Scripture. Before ascending, Jesus had instructed His disciples to wait at Jerusalem until they were baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:4-5). What did the disciples know about the Holy Ghost? There’s nowhere where Jesus goes into great detail as to what it was going to look like, how it was going to happen. Instead, there’s many places where He gives a glimpse. It would be a counsellor. It would be like rivers of water flowing out of the belly. It would be a Father to the orphans. It would give them power. The question still persists in all of this: how would they know? That’s where the sound of a mighty rushing wind and the tongues of fire play an important role in confirming what was happening as being that promise being fulfilled. Let’s examine each one.
The Sound of a Mighty Rushing Wind
The actual description is very critical here. It doesn’t say there was a wind. It tells us there was a sound. That is critical to linking this witness to it’s corresponding proof texts. The first proof text is found in John 3:8
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Notice the words in bold? Jesus tells Nicodemus, no doubt with many of His disciples present, that those who are born (baptized) of the Spirit are like unto the wind – you can’t see where the wind comes from, but you can hear it! So too, when you are baptized with the Holy Ghost, you can’t see where the Holy Ghost is coming from, neither can you see the Spirit, but you can hear it!
If you can picture the disciples in that upper room, waiting for the promise, when suddenly, there’s a sound coming from Heaven as a mighty rushing wind? Young’s Literal Translation has a beautiful description of it as “a bearing violent breath“. (if you’re seeing parallels to John 20:22 where Jesus breathes on His disciples and says, ‘Receive you the Holy Ghost’, that’s by design – it’s our second proof text)
If you had been present either at the discussion with Nicodemus in John 3:8 or when Jesus exhaled upon them in John 20:22 or both, when you heard that sound while sitting inside a room, it would have brought those words of Jesus back to your mind, and no sooner has the sound of a mighty rushing wind arrived then you SEE the second witness: tongues of fire.
Tongues of Fire
The sound of the mighty rushing wind has grabbed everyone’s attention. Now a visual witness appears. It mirrors the baptism of Christ when a voice is heard (audible) and the Spirit is seen descending like a dove (visual). Now we have the sound of a mighty rushing wind (audible) and cloven tongues like as of fire (visual). The proof text is found in Matthew 3:11b as well as in Luke 3:16 (same event)
he (the Christ) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
It is worthwhile to note here, that the word in Greek that we translate to ‘and’ can also be translated to ‘even’. The same word is used. In case some might say there is two, it’s not two. The Holy Ghost and fire are one and the same. It’s baptism with the Holy Ghost, even with fire!
What makes this even more applicable is that there were definitely disciples in that upper room that day who had heard John the Baptist proclaim this. We know such is the case for not only did some of them such as Matthew record their witness, but Jesus himself refers back to this utterance by John in Acts 1:5! He never mentions the fire there, but for men who had been present at that time, imagine as the dots came together when they saw as it were fire resting upon each individual in that room!
Right on the heels of this second witness came the baptism of the Holy Ghost! God’s Spirit filled each of the disciples till they began to speak in other tongues that they themselves did not know, but the Spirit gave them utterance, that is, the Spirit was speaking through them! Did you know that fills yet another one of Jesus’ prophetic utterances? In John 7:38, Jesus cries out, “He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Lord willing, I shall soon write about that, for there is much to be said. For this immediate context, there was something inside the disciples that hadn’t been there before, and it filled them until they couldn’t hold their peace anymore and words came out of their mouths that they did not know. That right there was the evidence, the proof, that the Holy Spirit had now filled them.
This new thing – the baptism of the Holy Ghost – was confirmed by two witnesses. One was the sound of the mighty rushing wind, the other was the tongues like as of fire sitting upon each individual. These witnesses come from different sources. One is found recorded in John in two locations. The other is found in Matthew and Luke, reinforced by Jesus in Acts. The two witnesses do not appear again because there is no need for it. The church has been born. There is a new movement and it has been affirmed.
We know the disciples knew what the baptism of the Holy Ghost looked like after Acts 2, for when Cornelius and his family and friends were baptized with the Holy Ghost, the only thing mentioned that is in common with Acts 2 is that they spoke in tongues as well. Yet, Peter and the other Jews present immediately confirmed that this was the same experience!
It’s a powerful example of the consistency found in God’s Word and the principle of two or more witnesses. I am convinced that there is nothing recorded in God’s Word that is without a reason. HE is a God of plan and purpose – the Bible is proof of that.
Talking Bible 
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