Now that we have resolved how Gabriel transmits the Holy Spirit to Mary in his visit to her, let's turn around and look at the other verses where the Holy Spirit shows up, and how they are also misunderstood:
Acts 2 describes the Pentecost. Someone lacking understanding might well say,
look, here is an example where the Holy Spirit is transmitted w/o contact. However, let's look closer at the verse:
"Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw
what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Revelations 2:2
Most people dismiss these "tongues of fire" as meaningless. However, let's look a little closer at where "what seemed to be tongues of fire" also show up in scripture:
"The living beings
looked like bright coals of fire or brilliant torches, and
lightning seemed to flash back and forth among them." Ezekiel 1
"Seraphim"--the name of the highest order of Angels--means "the burning ones" or "burning serpent." Here is a quote:
"The
root of Seraphim comes either from the Hebrew verb saraph ('to burn') or the Hebrew noun saraph (a fiery, flying serpent)."
It is clear from the text that Angels visited the 12 Apostles on Pentecost.
The NEXT MYTH to be debunked is the appearance of the Dove at the Baptism of Christ.
Luke:
"and the Holy Spirit descended on him
in bodily form like/similar to a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Matthew:
"After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, immediately the heavens were opened and he saw
the Spirit of God descending like/similar to a dove and settling on him."
Mark:
"Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and
the Spirit like/similar to a dove descending upon Him"
Notice that Luke is even specifies that the Spirit is
in bodily form like/similar to a dove. Every single one of the Gospels verifies that it is
like a dove, but not that it is a dove. Moreover, 2/3 of the Gospels states that the dove descends
immediately/without delay upon Christ's surfacing from the water--"euthus".
What do you know of that moves faster than anything else and is often seen in bodily form that looks like a dove? Angels! Wings, hellooooooooo!
As you can see, Angels have
always been connected with the transmission of the Holy Spirit, and the carrying of it from Heaven to men on earth. Praise be to God that he has re-established the true nature of the "paraclete" in this thread.
Shalom Aleichem