And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. 'The whole description (as Olshausen remarks) is so picturesque and striking that it could only have come from an eye-witness.' The suddenness, strength, and diffusiveness of the sound strike with deepest awe the whole company, and thus complete their preparation for the heavenly gift. Wind is a familiar emblem of the Spirit (Ezekiel 37:9; John 3:8; John 20:22). But this was not a rush of actual wind; it was only a sound as of it ( hoosper (G5618)). Neander's description of this-that 'an earthquake, attended by a whirlwind, suddenly shook the building where they were assembled'-has nothing whatever to support it but his own fancy, labouring to account naturally for the supernatural. Had the historian intended to convey this impression, why did he express himself in terms auditing something so much more unusual?