Acts 2:1-4 Baptism with wind and fire

Acts 2:1-4 Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends on the disciples. We have here three phenomena: wind, fire, and speaking in tongues. Firstly we have the rushing mighty wind. The Holy Spirit is pneumatos hagiou, the holy breath. When Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, "receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22), it was just a hint of the true power of the Holy Spirit that carries the full presence of God almighty into the world. As we observe mighty winds in nature, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, derechos, we see destruction. This mighty wind came from God to bring life and power - literally the revelation of God dwelling with His people. And this breath transcended the life the God breathed into Adam (Genesis 2:7), as the Holy Spirit gave spiritual life to the disciples (I Corinthians15:45). A power greater than hurricanes and tornadoes unleashed in the spiritual realm, not to destroy, but to empower God's people for holiness.

          Tongues of fire are perhaps symbolic, as fire is symbolic in several respects of what God does. In Exodus 3:2, Moses saw the bush that burned with fire, yet the bush was not consumed, a type of grace. In Luke 3:16, John the Baptist made the baptism in the Holy Spirit almost synonymous with baptism in fire, and went on to elaborate that Jesus would burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Perhaps his listeners thought this referred to disposing of unbelievers in hell, but it seems much more consistent with the rest of the New Testament that he was referring to the work of the Holy Spirit in incinerating the chaff in our lives. At least, this would be consistent with I Corinthians 3:15. Revelation 4:5 also links the Holy Spirit with fire but in this passage there is no obvious context to interpret except, perhaps, the fire that burned in the Tabernacle.  As the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness, a pillar of fire gave them light by night. (Exodus 13:21) Isaiah 10:16-17 uses a similar metaphor to that employed by John, and may in fact have been in his mind when he prophesied about Jesus' ministry of baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire. In John 8:12, Jesus said that He was the light of the world, although this did not connect immediately to fire.