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Bible Question: What
is the meaning of the rainbow?
Bible Answer: The
Bible tells us that the rainbow did not occur until after Noah's
flood. God gave it to us as a promise that He would never destroy
the earth with a flood again.
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And
I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never
again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall
there again be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This
is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me
and you and every living creature that is with you, for all
successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it
shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth,
that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will
remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every
living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water
become a flood to destroy all flesh. (NASB) Genesis 9:11-15 |
The
rainbow was not only a promise from God but it was a reminder. That
is the meaning of the rainbow.
The
Rainbow. At
first these words seem unimportant. But there is a surprise for us
- a scientific fact - when we realize the Bible tells us that there
was no rain before the flood (Gen. 2:5 and Gen. 7:4, 12). When God
caused the flood to occur, He also brought the first rain. Then
God caused rainbows to start appearing in the sky when rain occurs.
This is a remarkable statement that is consistent with science, since
rainbows will appear only when water droplets are airborne. That
is why we can see rainbows in water fountains and in the mist after
a rain storm.
When
rain or mist is
present a rainbow can appear. When it does appear, it is actually
a full circle. A
rainbow appears when sunlight reflects off the inside of a water
drop. The full circle cannot usually be seen from the ground but
only from above the earth. Someone in an airplane can see the full
bow. This means that we may not see the full bow, but God will always
see it. It is also interesting to discover that rainbows contain
all of the colors of the spectrum with the inner part of the bow
being violet and the outer red. What a light show for God!
Something
Significant. From a scientific viewpoint, this is a surprising
statement. The Bible did not say the rainbow occurred before rain
starting appearing on the earth but afterwards. Clouds did not appear
before the flood but after the flood. God's design for a rainbow
requires rain. The Bible and science are consistent.
Conclusion: Why
did God place violet in the inner portion of the rainbow and red
in the outer portion? Is it possible that God uses red as a reminder
of Jesus' blood which was shed when He died and violet as a reminder
of His future eternal Kingdom? Whatever the reason, God has created
a wonderful wonder in the sky to remind us of His faithfulness to
us. |
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