I’m hosting a Bible Study covering the Book of Ezekiel on my “Faith” podcast (spotify link), or (apple link). Incredible angelic visions and the throne of God are described by Ezekiel, but not only that, the Spirit of God significantly interacts with Ezekiel; “the Spirit came into me” this was around 571 BC!
A Christian will know that after Jesus’ crucifixion (around 30 AD) and his ascension 40 days later, the Holy Spirit came from God the Father, in the name of Jesus to his disciples; Jesus told them in advance of this happening as John, one of his disciples (students/followers):
[Jhn 14:26 NIV] 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
[Jhn 15:26 NIV] 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father–the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father–he will testify about me.
[Jhn 16:7 NIV] 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
Then the Holy Spirit did come, at Pentecost (50 days after Jesus’ -“the Lamb of God” sacrifice– crucifixion, which occurred on Passover). (Link with more detail of how Passover and Jesus’ crucifixion are significant). This is what was written about the event in the book of Acts Chapter 2 (link) as documented by Luke, a doctor who interviewed the people who saw this.
So I was curious and searched the Bible to find verses where the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) interacted with people from the beginning of the Bible in the Book of Genesis to the last book of the Bible Revelation. This interested me because I wanted to understand the difference between what happened at Pentecost compared to what had been happening since what scholars suggest was around 1915-1805 BC when Joseph at age 17 had his first dream documented in Genesis 37 and thereafter the Pharoah of Egypt recognized that he had “the spirit in him”.
The Holy Spirit was present on the earth earlier than this at the beginning of creation, Genesis 1:2, but I was looking for interaction with people. Why does this matter? It matters to me because Jesus said, we must have this interaction if we will be in the future Kingdom of God; that is to come, God’s kingdom coming to earth.
[Jhn 3:5 NIV] 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. (link) There are (2) baptisms: water and spiritual!
From studying the Bible, I learned:
- That the Holy Spirit may come before someone is baptized: [Act 10:47 NIV] 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” (see link),
- The Holy Spirit may come at baptism [Luk 3:22 NIV] 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (see link)
- The Holy Spirit may come after baptism [Act 19:2 NIV] 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” (link)
The water Baptism symbolizes a commitment of “repentance,” a commitment to “get right” with God, a commitment to live the way God wants us to from that point forward (obedience). It symbolizes “burying” our past when we are submerged and “rising up” out of the water to become “a new creation.”
[Act 19:4 NIV] 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
It is symbolic of being “born again” (is when we receive the Holy Spirit) which Jesus said we must do to enter the Kingdom:
[Jhn 3:3, 7 NIV] 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” … 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
[1Pe 1:23 NIV] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
When we truly believe in Jesus, have faith in Jesus ([Rom 10:17 NIV] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Reading the Bible is important to have faith!) then we will receive:
[Eph 1:13-14 NIV] 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.
This is important information for all of us to know! What I found about the Holy Spirit interacting with people I put into a PDF document that you can download here:
Reading the word of God directly often has more personal impact, and it’s 21 pages long so posting the document seemed like a better way of doing this rather than copying and pasting it to this post. I hope it’s helpful to you!
Please share this with others, if you find it helpful, subscribe to this website for more faith content, or subscribe to Spotify or Apple to join me as I read the bible (daily is the goal). I hope 2026 is a year of blessings for you!
S.A.I.L. 