Symbols of the Holy Spirit

Dove

The Holy One appeared in a bodily form like a dove at the time of Christ's baptism, as the Evangelist St. Luke said, "… And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove upon Him" (Lk3:22).

At the beginning of creation, the role of the Holy Spirit is clear, "… and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of waters" (Gen1:2) as a fluttering dove.

The Holy Spirit also appears as a dove proclaiming peace at the end of the flood, "The dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth" (Gen8:11).

When the Holy Spirit works in us, He makes us spiritual people, characterized by the simplicity of the doves "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matt10:16)... As the Groom said to the virgin in the book of Song of Songs, "Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair. You have dove’s eyes" (Song 1:15; c.f. 4:1), she became in her Groom’s likeness "His eyes are like doves by the rivers of waters" (Song5:12); moreover, He calls her His dove, "Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one" (Song5:2; c.f. Song2:14, 6:9).

Water

During His ministry, the Lord Jesus explained that water symbolizes the Holy Spirit by saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:37,38); and St. John explains this by saying, "This He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (v.39).

The Lord’s words by Jeremiah, "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer2:13). This reminds us by Christ's saying about the Holy Spirit, “When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (Jn15:26).

Water is the source of life for every living being, so the Psalmist depicts the spiritual person with a fruitful tree on the streams of water, "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper" (Ps1:3)... It is the River of the Holy Spirit, "There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High" (Ps46:4).

Rainwater is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit, which transforms the barren wilderness into a fruitful paradise, as the Lord says, "I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will Pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses" (Isa44:3,4; c.f. Joel2:21-24). It is a conditional divine gift, "It shall be that If you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that You may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil" (Deut11:13,14; c.f. Jer5:23,24). Thus, we bear the fruit of the Spirit, as the Apostle Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal5:16-25).

Water is also a symbol of cleansing by the Holy Spirit for purification, "I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, I anointed you with oil. I clothed you in embroidered cloth..." (Eze16:9,10). This is confirmed by St. Paul, "… but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God" (1Cor6:11). This refers to rebirth by the water and Spirit, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (Jn3:5).

Referring to the baptism of water and spirit for purification, St. Peter says, "... When once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also antitype which now saves us - baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1Pet3:20,21). The ark which saved Noah and his family to start the new life refers to the church where we are saved by the rebirth of the water (flood) and the spirit (dove). The wood of the ark refers to the wood of the cross, by which we received salvation (1Pet 2:24), by its efficacy we die, are buried and rise with Christ in the waters of baptism, which is sanctified and receives its power by the Holy Spirit.

The unclean spirit seeks a dwelling place which has no water, decorated with sins for his dwelling, representing a man in whom the Holy Spirit of God is not dwelling, “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order, then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked tan himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first” (Lk11:24-26).

Fire

The Holy Spirit also descended the disciples on the day of Pentecost, like tongues of fire, "Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them" (Act2:3).

God is Spirit and He is a consuming fire. The relationship between fire and the Spirit is declared by the saying of the Apostle Paul, "Our God is a consuming fire" (12:29), while Our Lord Jesus made it clear that God is Spirit (Jn 4:24).

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples was in the form of fiery tongues, not as a dove, as a sign for purification by fire, since they needed to be purified by the Holy Spirit, while Christ is all holy and sinless, so He did not need any purification.

In the Old Testament, the coming down of fire from heaven on the sacrifices for its purification, acceptance and was sent up to heaven, and this fire did not leave the old temple (Lev6:12,13)... The sacrifice of Elijah was also proved to be accepted by the fire coming down upon it (1King18:38). It is also a sign of the descent of the fiery Holy Spirit upon us to cleanse us and sanctify us in order to be accepted.

Referring to the purification by the Holy Spirit, we find a reference in the purifying living coal taken from the altar by one of the seraphim to touch Isaiah's lips, as he said to Isaiah, "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged" (Isa6:1-7).

The Holy Spirit is He who spoke by the prophets and the law. So the words of God are purified like silver, purified seven times in the fiery furnace “The words of the Lord, are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Ps12:6). These words of the Lord become like a light of oil lantern for our path, as the Psalmist says, "You word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps119:105). Moreover, by His words we are cleaned, purified, and sanctified, as the Lord says, "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you" (Jn 15:3).

Moses received the divine commandments where God spoke to him from the middle of the fire, as Moses said, "The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb... The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire… I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain" (Deut5:2-5).

The Lord also led His people during their entire journey in the wilderness by the pillar of fire at night, until they reached the Promised Land (Exud13:21,22; Num 14:14; Neh 9:12).

Wind

The Greek word "Pnevma πνεύμα" means spirit and wind as in the Lord’s saying "The wind (the Spirit) blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit"(Jn3:8).

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was accompanied by a mighty wind gusting from the heaven, followed by setting of the tongues of fire upon the disciples, ”Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts2:2).

The Holy Spirit, the Life-Giver, is clearly illustrated in Ezekiel's vision (Eze37:1-14) regarding the resurrection of the dried bones when the Spirit of the Lord blow over it as a storm from the four winds “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: ‘Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live… Also He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army… I will put My Spirit in you" (v. 5,9,10,14). The Holy Spirit, sent by the Son from the Father, gives us life.

The disciples accepted the Holy Spirit from Christ when He breathed in their faces, saying to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22). That breath was like a wind that came out of His divine mouth and entered into each of them, and so the prophecy of the Psalmist that says, "I opened my mouth, and drew a Spirit unto me" (Ps119:131 Coptic translation) was fulfilled.

Cloud

Its purity and Highness refer to the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul explains: "I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into the cloud and in the sea" (1Cor10:1,2).

In the event of transfiguration (Lk 9:28-36), Jesus, the incarnate Son, talks to Moses and Elijah about His live saving death in Jerusalem, and the voice of the Father proclaims, "This is my beloved son. Hear Him!” (v. 35). Then “A cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (v.34) this cloud is referring to the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. What is amazing is that the voice of the Father came from the cloud, because the Holy Spirit leads us to know the Father and to believe in the Son (Jn14:26; 15:27; 16:13-15).

God appeared to Moses in a pillar of cloud, "The Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle" (Deut31:15). The Lord says by Isaiah, "When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the Blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgement and by the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering" (Isa4:4,5). It is obvious that the cloud and fire symbolizes the Spirit of the judgement and the Spirit of burning, referring to the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of every sin, and even cleanses, purifies, and sanctified us (Jn16:8).

The cloud refers to the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, as the cloud always covered the tabernacle "So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents" (Num9:16,17). The clouds also filled the temple on the day of its consecration. ”And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon spoke: ‘The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud. I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever" (1King8:10-13).

The Lord led his people in the wilderness, in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, until they reached the Promised Land “The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people" (Exud13:21,22; c.f. Num14:14; Neh9:12). The Holy Spirit leads us to the Kingdom because He is with us and abides with us forever (Jn14:16). As the pillar of cloud was leading them to the end of the journey, “In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, and all the night with a light of fire" (Ps78:14; c.f. Ps105:39). This is how the children of God are guided in their lives by the Holy Spirit, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Rom8:14).

St. Peter refers to the wicked as "wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest" (2Pet2:17), in a reference to absence of the Holy Spirit, referred to as the water of the wells, the water of the clouds.

The use of incense in the sacramental prayers represents clouds, to represent the presence of God by His Holy Spirit, working in the sacraments. We also find water and incense in the prayer of Laquan; and in the Prostration prayer, we find fire and incense.

Oil

The use of oil was so important in the eyes of the Lord that He had set for Moses its ingredients and amounts to make it a holy oil for the anointing of sanctification, confirming many times the value of this sacred oil, “… and you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil… This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generation” (Exud30:22-25, 31). No one shall make any other like this sacred oil (v.32).

In the past, this oil was used, as a symbol of the descend of the Holy Spirit, to anoint priests, kings and prophets to sanctify them and to give them certain gifts, as ordered by the Lord:

The anointed one was called the anointed (Messiah) of the Lord as David's saying about Saul the King, even though he knew that the Lord had rejected Saul, and that His Spirit had been departed from him and distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord" (1King24:6)... As the Lord says, "Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm" (Ps105:15).

This oil is also used to sanctify the tabernacle and its contents, so that everything that touches them, and all those who touch them "You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy" (Exud30:29)... It is a reference to the sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

This refers to the anoint of Holy Myron oil for the Holy Spirit’s dwelling for sanctification:

• "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things... But the anointing which you have received form Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him" (1Jn2:20,27)... This anointing is an unremovable seal, "… In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph1:13).
• It is also used to consecrate the church building and its contents: the altar, baptismal font, icons, and utensils, for sanctification for the ministry.

The Holy Spirit is represented by both oil and fire into the oil lantern used for lighting, referring to the enlightenment by the Holy Spirit. The Lord ordered Moses saying, "You shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel" (Exud27:20,21).

• Therefore, the church lanterns are lit with oil in front of the icons to show that these saints had been filled with the Holy Spirit and had spiritual enlightenment.
• We also use oil in the sacrament of unction of sick, where it is lit by seven wicks. The patient is healed by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, such as the saying of the Apostle Jacob, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders (priests) of the Church, and let them pray over him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up" (Jam 5:14)... The disciples, in their first mission, also healed the sick by anointing them with oil, "So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed them with the oil many who were sick, and healed them" (Mk6:12,13).
• At the time of reading the Book of Revelation on the night of Apocalypse (Apoghalmsis), we have oil with the seven wicks lit by fire, and dense incense.
• The wise virgins were characterized by having lamps filled with oil, as a symbol of being filled by the Holy Spirit, the spiritual enlightenment, and the adornment with the virtues of the Holy Spirit.

The church, which sacraments are performed by the Holy Spirit, is represented by an olive filled with oil, instead of the wild olive, i.e. the church of the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul says, "If some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker in the root and fatness of the olive tree... For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Rom 11:17, 24; see also Zeck4:11).

Wine

The wine refers to the joy of the Holy Spirit. Those who were assembled on the day of Pentecost thought that the apostles were drunk because of their joy for being filled by the Holy Spirit, “So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘Whatever would this mean? Others were mocking said, ‘They are full of new wine’"(Act2:12,13). At the beginning of St. Peter's speech that day, he said, "Let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy… And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy" (v.14-18).

This is also obvious by the saying of the Apostle Paul, "Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph5:18). Being filled by the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual joy, not as the joy of the world, but it is a sample of the eternal heavenly joy. The Christian, whose heart is filled by the joy of the Holy Spirit (Gal5:22), does not need the ecstasy of the wine of this vanishing world. Moreover, the wine of the spirit also wakes the drunks (Jn 2:9,10).

Ordinary wine destroys the life of the human being, while the Psalmist says about the wine of the Holy Spirit that it is “… wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine" (Ps104:15; c.f. Ecc10:9)... It is obvious here that the Psalmist used two symbols of the Holy Spirit, i.e. wine and oil. This may also remind us of the wine and oil of the Samaritan used for healing (psychological, physical and spiritual healing) and the restoration of joy (Lk10:34).

Other Biblical Events contain some of these symbols

The Lord spoke to His people from the midst of fire and clouds and the sound of thunder "It came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled... Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice” (Exud19:16-19), “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of fire, the clouds, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me" (Deut5:22).

When the Lord spoke to Elijah, there were wind, cloud and fire "Behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a still small voice" (1King19:11,12).

Ezekiel’s vision of the divine throne, carried on the four living creatures, accompanied by a stormy wind, clouds and fire, “I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it" (Eze1:4).