THE SOUND AND WIND
The sound and wind symbolize the awesome power the Holy Spirit possesses! The Holy Spirit fills every believer with the same force and strength that was evidenced that day at Pentecost.
I have seen the power of the wind. I remember as a teenager in Okinawa, about once every couple of years we would experience a typhoon on that little Pacific island. A typhoon is essentially a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean. I can vividly remember seeing firsthand the awesome, destructive power of the wind in a typhoon.
It's hard to describe the force of the wind during such a storm. In a typhoon, the wind keeps increasing in intensity and strength. Just when you think it couldn't blow any harder, that the windows couldn't rattle any louder, that the house couldn't shake any more violently--then the wind unleashes its greatest fury! Our concrete house in Okinawa would literally tremble and quake at the mighty wind around us.
I recall going outside with a friend during one typhoon when it seemed at its greatest force. I could see huge boards, tree limbs, and various other debris, both large and small, blowing about everywhere. It was really incredible. And the SOUND! During a typhoon, the sound of the wind swirling and crashing outside is deafening! Our text notes that there was a "sound from heaven" that accompanied the wind.
As I was reminded of the experiences of my childhood, I was able to see the reason for the symbolism of the sound and the wind. God's power is often symbolized in Scripture with mighty, awesome SOUNDS and with WIND. For instance, in John 3:8, Jesus compared the Holy Spirit to the wind -- He said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth (that is, "where it wills"), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but cant not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
So the sound and wind speak of the Holy Spirit's spiritual power and force.