Rainbow

RAINBOW

In the words of a gospel song the origin of the rainbow is truly expressed: “When it looked like the sun wouldn’t shine anymore, God put a rainbow in the sky.” I suppose, standing beside the settled ark on Mount Ararat, Noah was devastated. As he watched the animals God had rescued along with him and his family disburse, many thoughts of defeat surly paraded through his mind. Would the rain return? When it did would it stop. What life means was still available? His solution was to turn to the ways before the flood. He built an altar and called upon God.

Genesis 9:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis 10:12 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

And so it was in the new beginning and so it remains and will remain until we see His rainbow around the throne. God’s covenants can be replaced by another promise but not voided. It reminded Noah’s generations to fear not destruction by water. It remains a reminder for succeeding generations to beware of the fire and brimstone. and sign but do not pass away.

God apparently appears often within or without a rainbow. Tthe color and appearance may change from time to time. The rainbow He gave as a sign to Noah was of seven colors. That is significant to God. Completeness is indicated. Ezekiel saw it connected to a wheel within a wheel. There it shined:

Ezekiel 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

John the Revelator was lifted up much as we the children of God will be lifted up. When he appeared before the mercy seat where God sat on His throne, he saw a rainbow and described it later in his writings:

Revelation 4:3 “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Revelation 10:1 “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

Though we cherish and awe at the appearance of a rainbow, it is not what we base our salvation upon. We have a promise of fire and brimstone. Jesus is our life boat. If you choose to refuse his offer for eternal life, you will see the final destruction of all things known to mankind.

Luke 13:28 “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. Ephesians 5:15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Know God, know peace. 02-19-2020 BLL