The Forecast: Understanding the Biblical Parallels of “Wind” and “Spirit”

The Implications of Mistranslating Wind and Spirit

If you read English translations of the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures, you likely have no awareness of how many statements in the original text carry meanings never accurately translated into English. You are probably also unaware that translators lack:

• understanding of both the ancient mind-set and
• the parabolic imagery that gave rise to those statements.

Thus, you cannot know where the Truth remains hidden to this very day—in its original language.

Jesus’ Teachings on pneuma are revealed in His conversation with Nicodemus:

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
(John 3:8) —NASB

The English reader would never suspect that the word translated as “wind” appears twice in this verse. That is because, in the second instance, it’s translated as “Spirit.” The spiritual rebirth mentioned in John 3:8 presents a question that goes to the heart of the issue—does what Jesus said make sense? Be honest with yourself. You’ll go to Hell for lying—especially if you lie to yourself. Here is a more accurate translation of what Jesus actually said:

“The Spirit blows where He wants, and you hear His voice, but you are not aware of where He comes from and where He is going. Anyone who is engendered by the Spirit is going to be like this.”
(John 3:8) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

Why the Greek Word Pneuma Is Translated as Both “Wind” and “Spirit”

The term translated as both “wind” and “Spirit” is the Greek noun pneuma. Furthermore, the word translated as “blows” is a verbal form of that same noun. Translators should provoke readers to question why Jesus used pneuma to compare God’s Spirit to wind. Instead, they intentionally conceal the Truth by prioritizing readability. This practice compounds their ignorance daily, resulting in overwhelming stupidity among Church leaders who’ve never mastered the original biblical languages.

The normal Greek word for wind isn’t pneuma—it’s the one Paul uses in Ephesians 4:14:

(v) so that we would no longer be toddlers who are being

(a) tossed about by billowing waves and
(b) carried around:

(i) by every wind of their teaching,
(ii) by the trickery of men,
(iii) by {the} dishonesty of the tactic of their deception ...

(Ephesians 4:14) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

James employs this same word when he says this:

But

(b) he must request {wisdom} with belief in God’s promise, not doubting at all.

(i) For the one who doubts is analogous to a sea billow that is

(a) being driven by the wind and
(b) tossed about.

(James 1:6) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

Speaking parabolically about Pretenders, Jude declares the following:

(vii) These individuals are the ones who are:

(a) feasting together with {you} as stains at your love {feasts},
(b) shepherding themselves without fear,
(c) clouds without water that are being carried off by winds,
(d) unproductive late-autumn trees that have been uprooted after dying two times,
(e) wild waves of a sea that are churning up their own shame as foam,
(f) wandering stars for whom the nether gloom of the nether darkness has been kept for {the} age to come.

(Jude 1:12–13) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

The parabolic imagery these men are using is The parabolic Teaching found in the Scriptures, and it reveals a profound Truth: People who cannot—or will not—believe the Truth are like water, specifically like the waves of the Sea, which are driven by wind. But the “Sea” they reference isn’t merely metaphorical—it’s the parabolic Prince Sea that the Body of Christ must—like Baal—overcome before entering the Resurrection. This is the same “Sea” that Jesus walked upon—at night, in a parabolic pantomime—on Galilee (Matt. 14:22–32; Mark 6:45–52; John 6:16–21), and the same parabolic Sea He commands to be still when depicting the sleeping Body of Jesus Christ awakening (Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–25).

Jesus explains what the pneuma (“Spirit”) actually is:

“The Spirit is what is going to give life; the flesh is not going to provide {any} benefit at all. The statements that I have made to you is spirit and is life.”
(John 6:63) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

Here, Jesus openly reveals that The Teaching He gave His disciples was pneuma. But understanding this requires knowing how Greeks conceived of pneuma—they considered all teaching to be pneuma. This understanding illuminates Paul’s words:

(1) Now you {are} those who were dead

(a) in your transgressions and
(b) in your sins—in which you walked at one time:

(i) in agreement with the current age of this world,
(ii) in agreement with

(a) the ruler of the authority of the air,
(b) the spirit of the one who is now working in the sons of apathy.

(Ephesians 2:1–2) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

The “air” that Paul references in that statement is the “spirit” that “blows” on “the sons of apathy” whenever they choose to believe a lie. Those who have been born of the gently blowing Spirit of God will understand this, though it makes no sense at all to “the sons of apathy.”

The Truth About Spiritual Authority and Being Tossed About by Satan’s Lies

Consider what Paul writes about spiritual leadership:

And He gave:

(a) some as Apostles,
(b) others as Prophets,
(c) others as Evangelists,
(d) others as shepherds and as Teachers:

(i) for the equipping of the holy ones,
(ii) for a work of serving,
(iii) for edification of the body of the Anointed One,
(iv) until we—every last one—come down:

(a) to the unity

(i) on the basis of our belief in God’s promise and
(ii) on the basis of our full knowledge of the truth concerning the Son of the {living} God,

(b) to a complete man,
(c) to a measure of {the} stature of the fullness of the Anointed One;

(v) so that we would no longer be toddlers who are being

(a) tossed about by billowing waves and
(b) carried around:

(i) by every wind of their teaching,
(ii) by the trickery of men,
(iii) by {the} dishonesty of the tactic of their deception.

(Ephesians 4:11–14) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

If you remain uncertain about what to believe as a Believer in Christ, you’re clearly still being “carried around by every wind of their teaching, by the trickery of men, by {the} dishonesty of the tactic of their deception.” This is tragic, considering you would know exactly what to believe if you had an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor (Shepherd), or Teacher who could confirm the Truth of the pneuma by what they teach.

The connection between angels and winds (pneuma) appears in Scripture: “ Who makes His messengers spirits and His priestly ministers a flame of fire.” (Heb. 1:7b). This verse quotes Psalm 104:4, where the Hebrew word ruach parallels the Greek pneuma, which is capable of meaning both “wind” and “spirit.” So let me put it to you plainly: the original Greek meaning of pneuma refers to not just a “wind,” but to every kind of “wind.”

God’s People will remain in bondage to Satan’s lies until they become strong in faith (belief). But the faith God desires isn’t about the fact that they believe—it’s about what they believe. How can God’s People be strong in faith without knowing what to believe? James addresses this:

And then,

(3) if any of you lacks wisdom,

(a) he must request {it} from the {living} God—Who

(i) gives to everyone generously and
(ii) does not ridicule—and it will be given to him. But

(b) he must request {wisdom} with belief in God’s promise, not doubting at all.

(i) For the one who doubts is analogous to a sea billow that is

(a) being driven by the wind and
(b) tossed about.

(James 1:5) —Harper’s Standardized Study Bible

For those still doubting these explanations, prepare yourselves:

The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,
But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind,
Or like whirling dust before a gale.
(Isaiah 17:13) —NASB

Conclusion

The profound connection between wind (pneuma) and Spirit reveals a deeper Truth about God’s Word and Teaching. Just as wind drives the waves of the sea, spiritual Teachings—both true and false—drive the beliefs and actions of people. Those who lack proper spiritual guidance from true Teachers of the Word remain tossed about by every wind of doctrine, while those born of the Spirit understand the Truth that Jesus taught His disciples. The parabolic imagery throughout Scripture of wind, spirit, and teaching points to the fundamental nature of spiritual reality that most modern Believers fail to grasp.

This blog post provides just a glimpse into the insights available in our ebook, “The Forecast, October 1999.” The full publication explains the parabolic imagery of wind and spirit, offering key Scripture passages and revealing connections that remain hidden to most readers of English translations.

For more insights into these and other biblical Truths, visit our Online Library, where you’ll find a wealth of free resources to aid your understanding of God’s Word.