Where was the rainbow first mentioned and by Who?
The Rainbow was first mentioned by God, when He made a covenant with man after ending the world because of how evil the hearts of men had become. One man Noah and his family were the ones whom God said were blameless before Him and He chose to start over with them.
Genesis 6 (NIV)
1When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
5The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
11Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch…
17For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” 22Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
The first account of the Rainbow was recorded during the first account of the first covenant God established with man after ending the world with Floods during Noah’s time.
The Ark that Noah built took like 75 years to complete and in those years while building the Ark, Noah had to keep his belief up for what God spoke about concerning distractions to come through rain, something he had never seen. Can you imagine God telling you of something concerning your future and staying quiet as you obey it for about that kind of year’s? Well, what has God spoken to you and has taken time to come to pass, because it will be just like how it was for Noah, that is, it will come to pass.
Noah tried to convince everyone on earth of what God was about to do, but because none of them had seen such a thing, they didn’t believe it. It’s more of like what we Christains are saying to everyone, “Repent and Turn to God and you will be saved, and have eternal life otherwise, you will condemn yourself to hell with the fallen angels, because Christ Jesus is coming back again” and people say, “They have been saying that Jesus is coming back since He resurrected, and 2000 years later that are still saying the same thing” Jesus is not a liar, God is not a lair, Whatever Jesus says will happen.
Genesis 8 (NIV)
20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
Genesis 9(NIV)
8Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.
11I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
Genesis 9 (NASB)
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10and with every living creature that was with you–the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you–every living creature on earth. 11I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’
12And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,
15I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’
17So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.’
It is in God’s Wisdom that He chose to reveal something that is in His Throne in Heaven to us (Mankind and creation) and make a covenant with us, Rainbow → A Glimse of Heaven (We get to see Heaven every time it appears and are reminded of God’s love and mercy to us. A Creation that leans towards evil and God still chooses to show us Agape Love)
How could such a beautiful thing be turned and corrupted by us(man) in our day and age?
Revelation 12:9
This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
Revelation 12:7
And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.
Genesis 1,4-5 AMP
1Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened [that is, you will have greater awareness], and you will be like God, knowing [the difference between] good and evil.”
From the beginning of time, we see that the devil, Satan, has always been against us and God. That is, our relationship with God. God created us because He loved us, and wanted to spend eternity with us (you and me)
Genesis 1 (NASB)
26Then God said, ‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.’ 27So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
John 3:16 (NASB)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
John 17 (NASB)
13But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, 21that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; 23I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. 24Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
We can clearly see how God has loved us before and after creation. Satan is a deceiver and schemer, and he will always try to turn you and me against God and each other. He copies the things of God and corrupts them. For Mankind God made the rainbow as a sign of an eternal covenant with us, a reminder of Who He is, and the love He has of us. Whenever there is a heavy rain or storm and you see the rainbow, it shows peace, hope and life forever more. Satan,the devil, knows that the Rainbow is a sign of the covenant between man and God, but the way he defiled it is by corrupting men and started to use the rainbow as a sign of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance, LGBT community. What was meant for good, being turned to evil.
Clearly the Rainbow is Majestic, when we see it, we pause to think about how it was formed, more than what science tells us, Because the Rainbow is in the throne of God before time and even after time.
Of all the things that God would have used to represent the sign of the covenant Why did God use a rainbow? Why was it so significant for us in our first covenant with God?
As you are reading this post, you may be struggling to accept the truths from God’s Word because of how the enemy, Satan has filled your mind with lies. I remember when God started to use this Rainbow as a sign of confirmation in my life and when He placed a desire in me to write this post concerning how the rainbow is being misused today, I really struggled with it, I was fearful, how will people receive it? What if it closes more doors for me in my career? Maybe a friend or neighbour is someone who is part of this community that stands proud with the rainbow flag?
One thing is clear now,
Acts 5:29 (NIV) Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
Acts 5:29 (NLT) But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.
Everyday, I have to remind myself that I am not ashamed of God and His Word and Ways.
Romans 1:16 (NLT) For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
What will it be for you? Will you choose to accept what God says or what men and the devil say?
Clearly God shows us of the Rainbow in scripture from Genesis to Revelation:
Genesis 8:20-21 AMP
And Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every [ceremonially] clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma [a soothing, satisfying scent] and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent (strong inclination, desire) of man’s heart is wicked from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
Genesis 9:8-9 AMP
Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I am establishing My covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that is with you—the birds, the livestock, and the wild animals of the earth along with you, of everything that comes out of the ark—every living creature of the earth. I will establish My covenant with you:
Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the water of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to destroy and ruin the earth.” And God said, “This is the token (visible symbol, memorial) of the [solemn] covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations; I set My rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
Revelation 4:2-3 AMP
At once I was in [special communication with] the Spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne. And He who sat there appeared like [the crystalline sparkle of] a jasper stone and [the fiery redness of] a sardius stone, and encircling the throne *there was a rainbow that looked like [the color of an] emerald.
Revelation 10:1-3 NLT
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. And in his hand was a small scroll that had been opened. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. And he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders answered.
Bible Quotations:
https://www.bibleref.com
Rainbow Symbolism In Christianity And Its Meaning
Photo Credit:
Photo by Edwin Njoroge
Photo by Elias Null on Unsplash
Photo by Rob Maxwell on Unsplash
Photo by Pavel Nekoranec on Unsplash
Photo by Roberto Sorin on Unsplash
