REVELATION

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REVELATION
Module 2º

• The progressive manifestation and Understanding
  of the Holy Spirit

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Outline

• The manifestation of the Spirit in Old Testament
• The name of the Spirit
• The Spirit of Genesis, of creation
• The Spirit came upon some important persons
• The future work of the Spirit
• The Spirit in the Psalms
• Revelation of the Spirit in the New Testament
• The new Genesis
• Upon very important persons
• The Spirit in Jesus
• The sin against the Holy Spirit
• The promise and the gift of the Spirit
• The apocalyptical perspective

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It is quite natural for Christians to think the
Holy Spirit as a new Testament manifestation.
We have not to overlook that the Holy Spirit has
always existed.
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Manifestation of the Spirit in the OT
The writers of the New Testament were steeped in
the Old Testament and looked to it as the divine
revelation of Gods truth. The Old Testament was
their source of knowledge about God, and the
place from which they obtained their ideas.
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The Name
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The name of the Spirit

• The word ruah (xUØrº) appears 398 times in the
  Hebrew Old Testament.
• Three meanings
• 1) wind, and blowing of air
• 2) strength of life in the human being, principle
  of life, the see of knowledge and feelings
• 3) Gods power of life, through which He operates
  and makes operate.

• xUØrº

RUAH
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The name of the Spirit

• xUØrº

• In the Bible ruah (xUØrº)
• is not something disembodied,
• it is the vital principle of the body.
• The spirit is always energy of life.

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The name of the Spirit

• xUØrº

• hUr
• sometimes means wind (John 38 Act 2,1-4.6),
• other times the breathing of God, transmitting
  life (Ex 158-10 Sal 336),
• the breath of human person, principle and sign of
  life (Gen 722).
• the creative inspiration for carrying out an
  artistic work.

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Card. Jean Danielou

• What are we trying to say when we speak about
  the spirit, when we say God is Spirit?
• Do we speak like the Greeks, or like the
  Hebrews?
• If we speak like the Hebrews we are saying that
  God is a storm, a typhoon, an irresistible power.
  The essence of Hebrew spirituality is not to
  become immaterial, but to be animated by the Holy
  Spirit

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Creation and destruction

• Ruah (hUr)
• is a feminine substantive,
• but at times it is used as masculine.
• H. Schüngel-Straumann, theologian women,
• hUr is used in masculine when it contains a
  violent reference the destructive wind of East,
  or the power which overwhelms the prophet.

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Creativity and violence

• Where the meaning is connected with the creative
  action, with life, with creative and spiritual
  energy,
• there ruah ((hUr) is used undoubtedly in its
  feminine form

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The Spirit of Genesis

• "In the beginning God created ()ØfrfB) the
  Heavens and the Earth.
• Now the earth was formless and empty.
• Darkness was over the surface of the deep,
• and the Spirit of God (yêiholE) axUØrºw) was
  hovering over the waters." (Genesis 11-2) .

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The Spirit of Genesis

• The Spirit is seen as present at creation in
  Genesis 1.2
• the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the
  waters,
• and the Psalmist conjoins the ideas of spirit and
  word when he describes the creation in these
  terms -
• By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
• and all their hosts by the breath (spirit) of His
  mouth (Psalm 33.6).

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The Spirit upon central figures

• Joseph - Seventy Elders Joshua
• The Judges temporary experiences
• Two Kings Saul and David (more permanent
  presence)
• The Prophets

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Joseph, the Son of Jacob

• "So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like
  this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God?"
• Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made
  all this known to you, there is no one so
  discerning and wise as you." (Genesis 4138-39)

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Moses and the Seventy Elders

• "The Lord said to Moses, "Bring Me seventy of
  Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders
  and officials among the people. Have them come to
  the Tent Of Meeting, that they may stand there
  with you.
• I will come down and speak with you there, and I
  will take of the Spirit that is on you and put
  the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the
  burden of the people so you will not have to
  carry it alone." (Numbers 1116-17)

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Moses and Joshua

• "So the Lord said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of
  Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your
  hand on him." (Numbers 2718).

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Judges of Israel temporary experiences

• Othniel
• The Spirit of the Lord came upon him (Othniel),
  so that he became Israel's judge and went to war.
  The Lord gave Cushan Rishathaim king of Aram into
  the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him
  (Judges 310).
• Gideon
• The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he
  blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to
  follow him (Judges 634).
• "Samson.
• He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit
  of the Lord began to stir him..." (Judges
  1324-25)
• The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power so
  that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands
  as he might have torn a young goat. (Judges 146).

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King Saul

• "The Spirit of the Lord
• will come upon you Saul in power,
• and you will prophesy with them
• and you will be changed into a different person.
• (1 Samuel 106)

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King David

• "So Samuel
• took the horn of oil
• and anointed him in the presence of his brothers,
• and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came
  upon David in power." (1 Samuel 1613)

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The Spirit on the Prophets Voices of the Spirit

• Ezekiel 115
• Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he
  told me to say "This is what the LORD says That
  is what you are saying
• Daniel 247 49
• "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord
  of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you
  were able to reveal this mystery ... I know that
  the Spirit of the Holy God is in you."

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The future work of the Spirit

• The continual failure of Gods people showed that
  only by an act of divine power could His purposes
  be fulfilled Isaiah, Ezekiel and Joel.

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Isaiah "the Fifth Gospel of the OT"

• The Spirit will first visit Israel and Judah as a
  Spirit of judgment and of burning (Isaiah 4.4),
  through foreign armies.
• There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of
  Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
  And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
• the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
• the spirit of counsel and might,
• the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord
  (Isaiah 11,1-2).

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Isaiah "the Fifth Gospel of the OT"

• I will pour
• water on him who is thirsty,
• and floods upon the dry ground.
• I will pour
• My Spirit upon your children,
• and my blessing upon your offspring (Isaiah 44,
  4-5).

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Ezekiel

• Vision
• A valley full of dry bones, unresponsive to the
  prophets message even though they become covered
  with flesh, for there is no life in them (Ezekiel
  37.1-10).
• Then he is told to call on the Spirit of God, so
  that the Spirit will breathe life into them
  (v10). The dry bones will come to life by the
  action of the Spirit.

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Ezekiel 3525-27

• Then will I sprinkle clean (cleansed) water upon
  you,
• and you will be clean.
• A new heart I will give you, and a new Spirit I
  will put within you.
• I will take away the stony heart from your flesh,
  and I will give you a fleshy heart.
• I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to
  walk in my statutes, and you will keep my
  judgments

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I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your
sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old
men will dream dreams and your young men will see
visions, and also on the servants and
maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those
days (Joel 2.18-29).
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The Holy Spirit in the Psalm 5110-12

• Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new
  and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away
  from your presence, and do not take your holy
  spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your
  salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
• The righteous can thus enjoy the blessing of the
  Spirit in any age.

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The Holy Spirit in the Psalm 1397

• Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I
  flee from Your presence?
• The answer is nowhere, for God has him under
  control (v.13).

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The Holy Spirit in the Psalm 14310

• Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
  Your Spirit is good. Lead me into the land of
  uprightness.
• The psalmist, overwhelmed by a sense of his own
  weakness and prays

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To summarise

• The Holy RUAH carries forward successfully and
  continuously the purposes of God.
• Failure comes when the Spirit departs.
• She is always invisible but known by Her
  effectiveness.
• We are never told of people experiencing
  particular feelings.
• His presence is known by success, or proclamation
  of Gods message.
• Sometimes She comes on people temporarily,
  sometimes more permanently.

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To summarise

• People do not seek the Spirit, She comes as God
  wills.
• The idea behind the use of the term is
• the invisible,
• powerful presence of God
• carrying forward His purposes in history.

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Revelation of the Spirit in the NT
With the coming of the Spirit, Jesus is shown as
the one anointed. He proclaims with power the
Gospel of the Kingdom and works signs of the new
creation in favor of many. It is through the
power of the creative Spirit that Jesus restores
to health this sickly world and restores to
liberty those who are enslaved.
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Outline The Spirit in the NT

• The new Genesis
• Upon very important persons
• The Spirit in Jesus
• The sin against the Holy Spirit
• The Promise of the Spirit and the new birth
• The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost
• The Apocaliptic Spirit

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1. The new Genesis (Matthew 11-18-20)

• Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in
  this way
• When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph,
  but before they lived together, she was found to
  be with child from the Holy Spirit
• "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take
  Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her
  is from the Holy Spirit.

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1. The new Genesis (Lk 135)

• The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
  power of the Most High will overshadow you
  therefore the child to be born will be holy he
  will be called Son of God
• The Holy Spirit produced the human body for the
  Son of God by a creative act. Of that body the
  Son of God spoke as a prepared body (Heb. 105).

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2. Upon very important persons
John, the forerunner was filled with the Holy
Spirit from his mother's womb. Elisabeth, the
mother of John, was filled with the Holy Spirit,
and so was Zechariah when he prophesied. The
same is said of Simeon, who had received a
special revelation by the Spirit and was led by
Him to the temple (Luke 225).
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3. The Spirit in Jesus

• Baptism of fire and of Spirit
• The Baptism of Jesus
• Ministry of Jesus in the power of the Spirit

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The Baptism of Fire and Spirit

• I have baptized you with water but he (The one
  who is more powerful than I) will baptize you
  with the Holy Spirit. (Mark 17)
• "For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall
  be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days
  hence." (Acts 15).

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The Baptism of Jesus
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In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee
and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just
as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the
heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like
a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven,
"You are my Son, the Beloved with you I am well
pleased." And the Spirit immediately drove him
out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness
forty days, tempted by Satan.
Mk 19-13
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In the Jordan, Jesus was baptized with the
Spirit, not as a private person, but as the one
representing the whole of humanity. He received
the Spirit for the sick persons he cured, for the
sinners he pardoned, for the poor and
marginalized whose company always sought out, for
the disciples called to follow him. He received
the Spirit as a collective person, as the Messiah
of the new Creation.
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• God the Father
• anointed Jesus with his Spirit and force (Act
  1038)
• granted Him the Spirit without measure (Joh
  334).
• With the power and energy of the Spirit-Ruah
  Jesus
• spoke,
• acted,
• healed the sick,
• expelled demons.
• Was the human face of God the Father

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To die was for Jesus to give the Spirit It was
necessary that He left of this world so that the
Spirit could be sent to us. Jesus says that he
leaves, that is to say that he dies, for asking
to the Father that he gives us another Advocate
(Jn 1416)
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In the death and in the glory, the intimacy
between Christ and the Spirit is such that it
seems that both of them become one being Christ
has become Spirit (1 Cor 15 45).
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4. The sin against the Holy Spirit

• Matthew 1231-33
• Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for
  every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against
  the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a
  word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but
  whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not
  be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to
  come.
• Mark 328-30
• "Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for
  their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter
  but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
  can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an
  eternal sin" for they had said, "He has an
  unclean spirit."
• Luke 129-10
• "And I tell you whoever denies me before others
  will be denied before the angels of God. And
  everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man
  will be forgiven but whoever blasphemes against
  the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

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The sin against the Holy Spirit

• The context explains what that sin is
• The scribes which charged the Lord that He had
  the spirit of Beelzebub, used his power, and not
  the power of the Spirit of God, were guilty of
  that blasphemy.
• They did so against their better knowledge

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Eph 429-31
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but
only what is useful for building up, as there is
need, so that your words may give grace to those
who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, with which you were marked with a seal for
the day of redemption. Put away from you all
bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and
slander, together with all malice, and be kind to
one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
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Having believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit
guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption
of those who are God's possession--to the praise
of his glory (Ephesians 113-14).
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At the service of the Reign of God

• The demons
• are the forces destroying life, represented in a
  personalized way.
• They enslave people,
• destroying their personality,
• tormenting the individuals and
• stimulating in the persons the tendencies of
  death.
• Jesus is the messenger of the Father to
  de-demonize the world and to restore people to
  health.

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5. The promise of the Spirit

• If you then, who are evil, know how to give good
  gifts to your children, how much more will the
  heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who
  ask him (Luke 1113).
• And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
  another Advocate, to be with you forever.
• This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world
  cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor
  knows him. You know him, because he abides with
  you, and he will be in you.
• "I will not leave you orphaned I am coming to
  you (John 1416-18.).

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The other Comforter

• During the absence of the Lord Jesus Christ She
  is to take His place
• The other comforter, the Holy Spirit, is the gift
  of the Father through the Son, for our Lord says,
• I will pray the Father and He shall give you
  another comforter
• The Lord gives a promise which was to be
  fulfilled in the future on the day of Pentecost.

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5. Revelation of the Spirit
The icon of Pentecost
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The icon of Pentecost (1)

• And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like
  the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the
  entire house where they were sitting. Divided
  tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a
  tongue rested on each of them. All of them were
  filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
  other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability
  (Act 2,2-4).

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The icon of Pentecost (2)

• All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one
  another,
• "What does this mean?...
• Then Peter said
• 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that
• I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
• and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
  and your young men shall see visions, and your
  old men shall dream dreams... everyone who calls
  on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (Act
  2,2-4).

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When the Holy Spirit is sent, She comes like a
tempest she pours out over all the alive beings,
as the waters of a flood, invading everything. If
the Spirit is really the Ruah of God, the whole
reality invaded by the Spirit, is deified.
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The Ruah arrives to us and assumes diverse forms.
She is as the water that first it is source,
then river, and finally lake. One is the water,
but the forms of their flow are different and
gradual.
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The work of the Spirit is the bringing about the
vision of God... It enables us to 'see visions'
and 'dream dreams'. The Kingdom of God is the
miracle of ocular newness the blind see. The
Kingdom creates a visionary community . The
tongues were the language of the world to come...
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It's the time of the MISSION OF THE SPIRIT
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The Holy Spirit in the book of Revelation
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The seven Spirits of God

• Rev 14 John to the seven churches that are in
  Asia Grace to you and peace from him who is and
  who was and who is to come, and from the seven
  spirits who are before his throne
• Rev 31 And to the angel of the church in
  Sardis write These are the words of him who has
  the seven spirits of God and the seven stars "I
  know your works you have a name of being alive,
  but you are dead.
• Rev. 45 Coming from the throne are flashes of
  lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder,
  and in front of the throne burn seven flaming
  torches, which are the seven spirits of God

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What the Spirit is saying to the Churches

• In the Chapter 2 and 3 of Revelation we read
  seven times
• Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the
  Spirit is saying to the churches. .
• The seven church messages are prophecies about
  the history of the Church on earth

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Life and new Jerusalem

• But after the three and a half days, the breath
  of life from God entered them, and they stood on
  their feet, and those who saw them were
  terrified. (Rev 1111).
• The Spirit of life is the Holy Spirit active in
  resurrection.

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Life and new Jerusalem

• And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
• And let everyone who hears say, "Come."
• And let everyone who is thirsty come.
• Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as
  a gift. (Rev 2217)

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Christology of the Spirit

• The history of Jesus does not begin with Jesus
  himself, but with the Holy Spirit
• Jesus is moved and anointed by he Spirit
• The presence of the Spirit is the most important
  factor of the Christology
• The Holy Spirit comes from the Father, it remains
  in the Son and from the Son it is irradiated in
  the world

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Questions

• What do you think about the Holy Spirit after
  this study?
• What are the names of the Spirit you prefer?
• How to explain who the Holy Spirit is?
• What consequences for Christian Spirituality
• What are your feelings about the presence and
  mission of the Holy Spirit
• What practical consequences can be drawn?