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The action of the Holy Spirit according to the Bible and the Qur’an

The Holy Spirit acts in us and guides us. The action of the Holy Spirit can blossom and intensify in us in measure with our Knowledge that grows, and that we allow ourselves to be modeled by Him. This is also valid throughout history.

The Holy Spirit in the Books of the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, God first wanted to reveal His Grandeur to the Jews in comparison to the pagan idols. The relationship between the believers and the Holy Spirit was a relationship of fear and tension. The Holy Spirit tried to educate them, but there was great resistance. The Psalmist desired to flee far away of the Holy Spirit… The Holy Spirit was in danger of withdrawing itself because of their Zionist, warlike spirit.

“Who could have advised the Spirit of Yahweh, what counselor could have instructed him? Whom has he consulted to enlighten him, and to learn the path of justice… He lives above the circle of the earth, its inhabitants look like grasshoppers… ‘To whom could you liken Me and who could be my equal?’, says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look. Who made these stars…” (Isaiah 40,13-26)

“The Holy Spirit of instruction shuns deceit… is thwarted by the onset of vice…” (Wisdom 1,1-7)

“Where could I go to escape your Spirit? Where could I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139,1-7)

“God, create a clean heart in me, put into me a new and constant spirit, do not banish me from your presence, do not deprive me of your Holy Spirit.” (Psalm 51,10-11)

The Holy Spirit in the Books of the New Testament

Characteristics of the Holy Spirit

Jesus revealed to us the true face of the Holy Spirit:

  • Gabriel announces to Mary that Jesus will be conceived in her by the Holy Spirit: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.” (Luke 1,35)
  • John the Baptist announces that Jesus will baptize the disciples in the Holy Spirit and Fire, and not in water anymore, as John did (Matthew 3,11 / Mark 1,8).
  • He is this “other Consoler”, the Spirit of Truth, through whom Jesus does not leave us orphans. He comes back to us (John 14,16-18).
  • He is the Consoler sent by Jesus and who comes from the Father (John 15,26).
  • He comes from the Father and the Son: “He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine” (John 16,14-15).
  • The Holy Spirit is the greatest Good we can ask the Father for (Luke 11,9-13).
  • It could not have been given before that Jesus “was glorified” (John 7,39). By His Passion and His Resurrection, Jesus had to first destroy the Zionist, nationalist, and exclusive Spirit, which was an obstacle to the coming of the Holy Spirit.

After His Resurrection, Jesus leaves the yield of His Passion in inheritance to the Apostles, the Holy Spirit, and gives them full powers:

“And He said to them again: ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent Me, so I am sending you’. After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained’.” (John 20,21-23)

And then the diffusion: Jesus, just before his Ascension, gives the Apostles the following mandate:

“Go therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” (Matthew 28,19-20)

The action of the Holy Spirit

  • In the Holy Spirit we are born again: John 3,5-6: “No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born through water and the Spirit; what is born of human nature is human; what is born of the Spirit is Spirit”.
  • We are marked by the seal of the Holy Spirit: Ephesians 1,13 / Revelation 7,2 / Revelation 13,18.
  • It is uniquely under the action of the Holy Spirit that we can say “Jesus is Lord” (1 Corinthians 12,3).
  • He speaks through us: Mark 13,11 / 1 Corinthians 2,13-14 (a language taught by the Spirit). It is necessary to be sensible to the voice of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit is internal, subtle and gentle.
  • He makes us jump with joy:
    – Luke 1,46-47: Mary is thrilled with joy as the Holy Spirit came upon her (Luke 1,35).
    – Luke 1,39-42: John the Baptist jumps with joy in his mother’s womb at hearing Mary’s voice.
    – Luke 10,21: Jesus is filled with joy under the action of the Holy Spirit.
  • He confers us strength and power, and takes away all fear: Acts 1,8 / Acts 2,1-36 / Romans 14,13-17: to take into account the faith of others; to know how to be pedagogue.
  • He confers us joy, peace: Romans 15,13 / 1 Thessalonians 1,4-6.
  • He renews us: Titus 3,5: The bath of renovation in the Holy Spirit = cleansing of sins.
  • He comes to the rescue of our weaknesses: Romans 8,26-27.
  • He allows us to kill the letter: John 6,63: The letter kills, the Spirit life-giving / 2 Corinthians 3,4-6.
  • He confers us his charity and produces in us his fruits: Hebrews 2,4 / Galatians 5,22-26
  • He makes us sons of God and coheirs of Christ: Romans 8,14-17:

    “Everyone moved by the Spirit of God is a son of God. The Spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the Spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out: ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit in person adjoins our spirit to attest that we are children of God, and coheirs of Christ, since we suffer with him to also be glorified with him.”

Our relationship with the Holy Spirit

  • We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 6,17-19 / 1 Corinthians 3,16-17
  • Do not sadden him: Ephesians 4,30
  • Do not extinguish him: 1 Thessalonians 5,19 (as the churches do).
  • In the Spirit we form but one body and we complete one another. Each one has his mission through the Holy Spirit, like one body with its members, and to each its function: 1 Corinthians 12,1-30 / Ephesians 4,1-6.
  • The Holy Spirit spreads the love of God in our hearts (Romans 5,5).
  • He confers us liberty and introduces us in the Glory of our Father:

    “Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3,17-18).

  • He reveals to us “the hidden wisdom of God, a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known… all that God has prepared to those who love him… for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.” (1 Corinthians 2,6-12)
  • He makes us penetrate the Plenitude of God and makes us understand the grandeur of God’s love: Ephesians 3,14-19.

The Holy Spirit in the Qur’an

The following verses show that the Holy Spirit is also very present in the Qur’an:

Jesus is a Spirit eminent from God. He was fortified by the Holy Spirit

“The Christ Jesus son of Mary is indeed the Prophet of God and His Word which He cast into Mary, a Spirit from Him” (Qur’an IV; Women,171).

“We revealed the Book to Moses, and We sent after him messengers in succession; and We granted Jesus son of Mary evident miracles and strengthened Him with the Holy Spirit” (Qur’an II; The Cow,87).

“Remember when God said: ‘O Jesus son of Mary, remember My blessing upon you and your mother, when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit, and how You spoke to people in the cradle and in your manhood’” (Qur’an V; The Table,110).

“Remember when your Lord said to the Angels: ‘I shall create a human being from dry clay, from fetid mud. When I give him the proper shape and breathe into him from My Spirit, you are to fall down prostrate before him’. All the angels then bowed before him except for Satan, who refused to be among the prostrate.” (Qur’an XV; Al-Hijr,29-31)

This mortal in whom God breathed of his Spirit, is Jesus. Paul equally reveals that the Angels prostrate themselves before him (Philippians 2,6-11 / Hebrews 1).

The Spirit was breathed into Mary. Testimony of her virginity. The miracle of Jesus and Mary

“And mention in the Book Mary, when she withdrew from her people to an eastern place… We sent Her Our Spirit, which appeared before her as an immaculate human.” (Qur’an XIX; Mary,16-17)

It speaks of the angel Gabriel who was animated by the Holy Spirit to announce to Mary that she will be pregnant. This verse has ported confusion in the Muslim world between the Holy Spirit and Gabriel. But in the light of all the Biblical-Qur’anic revelation, it is clear that it is Gabriel who was animated by the Holy Spirit, as the apostles were animated by the Holy Spirit some time after (see paragraph 2, The Holy Spirit in the Books of the New Testament).

“Remember also she who preserved her virginity, and We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and made her and her son to be a sign to mankind.” (Qur’an XXI; The Prophets,91)

The Holy Spirit was breathed into Mary to beget Jesus by a miracle. The Qur’an joins the Gospel. According to this Qur’anic verse, the Holy Spirit cannot be Gabriel.

“Then, too, there is Mary, daughter of Imran, she who guarded Her chastity; and We breathed into her of Our Spirit; and she reposed her trust in the words of her Lord and in His Books, and was devout in worship.” (Qur’an LXVI; Making Illicit,12)

This verse is a clear testimony of the Qur’an in favor of Mary’s virginity. It is the Holy Spirit that impregnated Mary (see the text “A Look of faith at the Qur’an”).

God breathed his Spirit into man, at the time of the creation

“Then gave him shape and breathed into him of His Spirit, then granted you hearing, eyesight and hearts – but little thanks do you give in return.” (Qur’an XXXII; The Prostration,9)

God breathed his Spirit into man and makes of him a prophet

“Exalted in degree, Possessor of the throne, He casts down the Spirit, by His command, upon whomever He wishes of His servants, to warn against the Day of Encounter, a Day when they shall come out of their graves, when nothing about them shall be hidden from God. To whom does sovereignty belong this Day? To God, One, All-Conquering!” (Qur’an XL; Forgiver,15-16)

In these verses, God reveals that it is his Spirit who is sent to form the prophets, men who speak and forewarn in his Name. Muhammad announces here, in a veiled fashion, the coming of the Apocalyptic Messenger who has the Mission of preparing men to the encounter with God, the Day of triumph of God’s Kingship on earth. This triumph concerns our times and is announced in St. John’s Apocalypse (Revelation 11,15 / see the text “The Key of the Apocalypse”).

God inspires the Qur’an through his Spirit

“The Night of Qadr (the decree) is better than a thousand months. In it, the Angels and the Spirit are sent swarming down, by their Lord’s leave, attending to every command.” (Qur’an XCVII; Qadr,3-4)

It is the night the Qur’an “descended”. The Qur’an is therefore inspired by the Spirit.

“The Qur’an is indeed a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds, brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit, upon your heart, so that you may be a warner, in manifest Arabic speech; it is also in the Books of the ancients (the Bible)…” (Qur’an XXVI; The Poets,193-196)

This verse underlines the continuity between the Bible and the Qur’an. From the optic of God, it is the same Message.

“Say: It is the Holy Spirit that sends it (a Qur’anic verse) down from your Lord with the Truth, to confirm the believers, and as guidance and glad tidings to the Muslims.” (Qur’an XVI; The Bees,102)

After the Qur’anic inspiration, God thus sends his Spirit to inspire the Qur’an, or some Qur’anic verses since “the Holy Spirit brought it down from your Lord”.

The Qur’an thus well-distinguishes between God and his Spirit. It would be inappropriate, however, to accuse Muslims of worshiping two Gods because of this distinction. It refers to God and his Spirit, forming the one and same Entity.

The Qur’an also distinguishes between God and His “Word which He cast into Mary” (Qur’an IV; The Women,171). Jesus is the Word of God. This Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is why Muhammad so insisted on the fact that Jesus was fortified by the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit that was breathed into Mary “to make her and her son a miracle to all mankind” (Qur’an XXI; The Prophets,91).

Given the level of spiritual knowledge of the Arabs of the time, who were still immersed in idolatry and a polytheistic environment, and who did not have all the preparation of the Old Testament, God could not have said more. Besides, God said to Muhammad:

“They ask you about the Spirit. Say: ‘The Spirit belongs to the realm of my Lord, and of knowledge you have been granted but little’.” (Qur’an XVII; The Night Journey,85)

In order to have more knowledge, Muslims are invited to consult the Bible, since “it was surely foretold in the Books of the ancients” (Qur’an XXVI; The Poets,193-196).

God, His Spirit and His Word form the Unique God under the form of three facets, three manifestations of His Unique Being (see “The Key of the Apocalypse”).

The Qur’an and the Bible are in perfect agreement. How can it be otherwise, since it is the Spirit of God who has brought down the Qur’an, and it is the Spirit of God who inspired the Gospel: “The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life.” (John 6,63) And also: “Since he whom God has sent speaks God’s own words: God gives him the Spirit without reserve.” (John 3,34)

The Holy Spirit in the Book of Revelation

The Heavenly Jerusalem and the Spirit

In the Heavenly Jerusalem, the independent believers, who believe in the Apocalyptic Message revealed by Jesus Himself to his Messenger on the 13th of May 1970, let themselves be totally guided by the Holy Spirit: Ezekiel 1,20-28 (the four Living creatures are the four evangelists, and the wheels are the Apostles of the End of Times): “Where the spirit urged them, there the wheels went, since the spirit of the animal was in the wheels”.

Meanwhile, Joel prophesies: “‘After this I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men see visions. Even on the slaves, men and women, will I pour out my Spirit in those days. I will display portents in heaven and on earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.’ The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the Day of God dawns, the great and terrible Day. All who call on the name of Yahweh will be saved” (Joel 3,1-5).
It is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in abundance in the end of times. These times are symbolized by “the sun which turned into darkness” (see Revelation 6,12).

The following texts testify to the plenitude of the Holy Spirit accorded in the Apocalyptic times:

  • The Angel who has as a mission to open the Book of Revelation (Revelation 10), flies in the zenith (Revelation 14,6). This means that he rose very very high in the Spirit.
  • It is the time of the “Marriage of the Lamb”, it is the time of the Total Union, of the accomplishment. God gives Himself entirely (Revelation 19,7-9).
  • The Holy City made itself “beautiful as a bride all dressed for her Husband.” (Revelation 21,2) The countless trials have purified and cleansed us. We are dressed in “dazzling white linen” (Revelation 19,8) to welcome in the Spirit, Jesus in Return amongst us.
  • “And the city did not need the sun (traditional churches) or the moon (mosques) for light, since it was lit by the radiant Glory of God” (Revelation 21,23). As Isaiah had prophesied: “All your children will be taught by God” (Isaiah 54,13).
    To compare with Paul, who said to have received “the first-fruits of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 8,23).
  • The Lamb had “seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits God has sent out all over the world” (Revelation 5,6). These seven eyes, are us, in mission all around the world to denounce the Antichrist and to announce Jesus’ Return. The mention of the “seven Spirits” indicates the plenitude of the Spirit that guides us.
  • The Qur’an expresses the same thing under another form: “The Day of Separation shall be the date appointed, a Day when the Trumpet shall be blown… when Heaven shall be opened… That Day, the Spirit and the Angels shall stand in rows…” (Qur’an LXXVIII; The Proclamation,17-40).
    “The Day of Separation” is a very clear reference to the Apocalyptic times when God is “going to sit in judgement on all the nations around”, in the “Valley of Decision” (Joel 4,9-16). These Angels, or Messengers, are the Apostles of the end of Times who will be on the same wavelength, “on range” with the Holy Spirit. They are sent by Jesus Himself: “He will send His angels with a loud trumpet to gather His elect from the four winds” (Matthew 24,31). The “trumpet” which Muhammad also speaks of, is the “open” Book of Revelation (Revelation 10,2).
  • The Ark of the Covenant could be seen inside the Sanctuary (Revelation 11,19). The modern Ark of the Covenant is Jesus, who manifests himself in us by the action of the Holy Spirit. It is the accomplishment of John 14,23: “Anyone who loves Me will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We shall come to him and make a home in him”. See Revelation 21,3

In the Apocalyptic times, the River of the Spirit gushes up. In Jesus’ time, it was still the source that began to spring up: John 4,12-14 (spring of water springing up to eternal life) / John 7,37-39 (the rivers of living water) / Revelation 22,1-2 (the river of life limpid as crystal). Ezekiel already had a vision of the source which transformed into a torrent and “wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live” (Ezekiel 47,1-12). He designated the Apocalyptic times, as John picks up the same symbols again in the Apocalypse (the tree of Life which bears fruits, the River which rises from the throne) (Revelation 22,1-2).
We are submerged by the River of Life, which flows out from the Bread of Life.

Those who have the Spirit listen

“But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth.” (John 16,13)

It is in the Apocalyptic times that this prophecy of Jesus is accomplished. The Book of Revelation has been “open” (Revelation 10,2) by the Apocalyptic Messenger, that is to say explained, and all the Bible and the Qur’an have been explained: “The book of life was opened, and other books opened…” (Revelation 20,12) This “book of life” is the Apocalypse (see “The Key of the Apocalypse”).

The Revelation addresses itself to those who have the Spirit:

“Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 2,7 / 2,17).

Only those who have the Spirit will be able to recognize the Beast and fight it. It is uniquely under the action of the Holy Spirit that we can say “the Beast is Israel” (compare with 1 Corinthians 12,3):

“There is need for shrewdness here: if anyone is clever enough he may interpret the number of the beast: it is the number of a man, the number 666.” (Revelation 13,18; compare with 1 Kings 10,14).

Those who have the Spirit listen and understand. It is thus that our Father “probes the hearts and minds” of believers (Psalms 7,10).

The Spirit promises Rest to those who commit themselves:

“Happy are those who die in the Lord! Happy indeed, the Spirit says; now they can rest for ever after their work, since their good deeds go with them.” (Revelation 14,13)

The Spirit and the Bride call Jesus

The Spirit and the Bride call the Return of Jesus:

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let everyone who listens answer, ‘Come!’ Then let all who are thirsty come: all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free.” (Revelation 22,17)

The Bride, it is Mary, and it is us. It is in union with Mary, our Mother, the Woman “robed with the sun” of the Truth (Revelation 12,1), and by the Spirit that we call Jesus, so that He will come to restore all.

The Bible begins with the promise of the Woman who crushes the head of the serpent (Genesis 3) and finishes with Mary, the triumphant Bride who says ‘Come!’ It is her, who through Her Compassionate Intercession, obtain to us the grace of the Plenitude of the Holy Spirit.

The Joy of the Holy Spirit is for it to pour out in the minds of his children “from every nation, race, tribe and language” (Revelation 7,9).

BR (04.05.2009)

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