texts:
At a recent bible study with some lay missionaries, the lay sister leading the study indicated that the lambs in John 21:15 represent the apostles.  She was unable to explain why we might think that to be the case, though.  Is there a tradition or other source of support for the idea that the lambs in this verse represent the apostles?

I'm specifically interested in her claim, not the verse itself, and it the claim's relation to traditional Catholic interpretation of this passage.  I do not care what you think the passage means or why.  I do not care if the interpretation presented is reasonable.  I do not care what the connotations of the word used in the Septuagint or Jerome's Vulgate are, except inasmuch as they represent Church teaching as regards the claim.

I do care what the Church Fathers, both Eastern and Western, said about the verse inasmuch as it relates to Peter's relationship with the apostles.  I do care about Papal bulls, encyclicals, etc that assert the same claim with or without support.  I care about documents giving biblical support for the Papacy which cite this verse or conspicuously do not cite the verse with support for that being conspicuous.

In sum, I am interested in knowing what support, if any, exists for this specific claim (i.e. that the Catholic Church teaches that in this passage the 'lambs' are the apostles) but not other claims about this verse in general.


texts:
Numbers 22:20-22 NIV

  That night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to
  summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you." Balaam got up
  in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite
  officials. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the
  LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey,
  and his two servants were with him.

God said to Balaam to go with them. But when he went, God became angry with him.
Why did God become angry with him?


texts: How old was Zedekiah when he became king?

texts:
1 Chronicles 3:15 says Jehoiakim was born 2nd, Zedekiah was born 3rd, and Shallum [Jehoahaz] was born 4th.

Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king 3 months later. So how is it that 11 years later Zedekiah is only 21 years old when he becomes king? Shouldn't he be 35 years old according to 1 Chron. 3:15?


texts:
Genesis 30:25-43 is the story about Jacob's flock increasing by making streaks on Laban's goats using wood branches, so that

  they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. (Genesis 30:39, NIV)

This just doesn't make sense. It doesn't even come close to the Lamarck's Evolution Theory. How is this possible?


texts: What is the significance of colour purple in the robe that Jesus was made to wear?

texts: Was there any significance to the colour purple, as described by the evangelists while mentioning the robe that Jesus was made to put on before His crucifixion? Both John 19:2 and Mark 15:7 mentioning the colour, would seem to signify that the colour did convey something, but what?


texts: Where in Scripture is the Holy Spirit said to be speaking directly?

texts:
God the Son speaks in Luke 5:31-32:

  Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

God the Father speaks in Mark 1:10-11:

  On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Paul tells, in 1Timothy 4:1-2, of what the Spirit says:

  Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will turn away from the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and demonic instructions through the hypocrisy of liars with branded consciences.

...another example of this sort of speaking, in Acts 8:29:

  The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with that chariot.”

I do not have much of an issue thinking of either the Father or the Son as speaking, but I do not seem to have that same attitude towards the Holy Spirit. Obviously, the Holy Spirit speaks directly at any chosen time, that certainly is not at issue; and any differences that I see between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not true differences in any merely-human sense in a way that is an absolute and glorious mystery, and all that I might confidently say now is that they are three distinct and divine persons. So I have the following question:

I'm not exactly looking for quotation marks like in the first two passages above, but where are the places in Scripture where the Holy Spirit is said to be speaking directly?

To clarify, when we say the Nicene Creed, we say: "He has spoken through the Prophets". I confess this, but here I am looking for something different. What are the verses that mention the "Holy Spirit" and then mark a passage of text as His words? I expect that there are a number of such verses.

I would like a pretty dry answer that looks like the first half of this question. If something is unsure or controversial, saying "might be" is fine, but please nothing too contrived, and I would not like any commentary. I would just like to know where in Scripture I may look if I would like to reflect on the manner in which the Holy Spirit speaks.