"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." Acts 2:2.
At one time, I was taught concerning this passage that:
In Exodus 16:4, God promised to "rain bread from heaven" for Israel. This bread, which the Israelites called "manna", fell down on them from above, not merely from nearby trees, as some have alleged.
Rain and snow are described in the Bible as coming down "from heaven" (Isaiah 55:10). Hailstones also fall "from heaaven" (Joshua 10:11).
Thunder comes "from heaven" (I Samuel 2:10; 22:14). Fire came down "from heaven" to consume Solomon's burnt offering and sacrifices at the dedication of the Temple (II Chronicles 7:1), and to burn up the soldiers sent to arrest Elijah (I Kings 1:10-14).
When Jesus heard a voice "from heaven" at his baptism, it did not come from John the Baptist, or anyone else standing around him, even though all their heads were above the ground. Likewise, the voice that answered Jesus "from heaven" (John 12:28) came from above.
What scriptural justification, then, is there for concluding that the "sound from heaven" heard on the day of Pentecost came from the apostles themselves? By that logic, every word I speak while my head is above ground level is a "voice from heaven"; that clearly makes no sense.
What was the sound? The King James Version says it was "a sound... as of a rushing mighty wind". The word "rushing" is the Greek word PHERO, which means "borne or carried along". "Mighty" is BIAIOS, meaning "forcible" or "violent".
The word "wind" is the word PNOE. Literally it means "a blowing"; it is related to PNEO, "to blow". The only other occurance of this word is in Acts 17:25, where it is translated "breath".
Literally, then, the sound heard on the day of Pentecost was "a sound... as of a violent blowing borne along". It could have been a sound like a violent breathing, or a sound like a violent wind, though the adjectives used suggest that the latter is more likely. Whatever it sounded like, though, is definitely NOT what caused the sound! The word clearly states that this was a sound "as of", or LIKE, what was described; therefore it could not have been caused by what was described.
What can we conclude, then? That the sound heard on the day of Pentecost came from above those who were present; that it was supernatural in origin; that it was the audible portion of the phenomenon given by God on that occasion, just as the cloven tongues as of fire (which were definitely NOT made of fire!) made up the visual portion.
I was also taught at one time that the sound in Acts 2:2 called the apostles' attention back to Jesus' words and actions in John 20:22.
"And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, `Receive ye the Holy Ghost.'"
I was taught that Jesus was instructing his apostles to "breathe in" in preparation for receiving holy spirit. Note, however, that nowhere in this verse are the apostles specifically instructed to breathe in; nor is there any indication in Acts 2 that they did so in preparing to receive holy spirit.
In Acts 2:33 we are informed that it was Jesus who "shed forth this which ye now see and hear"; that is, that it was Jesus Christ who gave holy spirit to the believers on the day of Pentecost. I suggest that rather than being the sound of the apostles breathing in, as we have been taught, or even a signal for them to start breathing, the "sound from heaven" was a supernatural sign to those present indicating that just as God had breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, making him a living soul (Genesis 2:7), so also Jesus was about to "breathe" spiritual life into those present, a token of the eternal life that they would receive at his return.