I’ve read several articles in the past few years about Christian businessmen and women who refused to cater to homosexual couples’ weddings with their services such as baking the wedding cake with a gay theme, providing the photographers or for a pastor to perform a same-sex wedding ceremony. They did that, not out of hate or lack of love, because true Christians do not hate anybody. On the contrary, they love homosexuals with the love of the Lord Jesus who died for the whole world regardless of what kind of sins they commit. They refused to bend the knee to the Political Correctness relentless pressure of Caesar out of integrity of conscience and their desire to not offend the Holy God that they love and worship.
And for that righteous and courageous stance, they were threatened with heavy fines until they complied with the unjust laws. Some of them ended up losing their family business altogether. After all, why would anyone find a wedding cake offensive when it is a symbol of celebration and of the participation of the guests, family and friends in the deep love and life commitment of two people who chose to unite their lives in the bond of matrimony?
Usually, I stay out of controversial disputes and arguments. I am a peacemaker and try to follow Paul´s admonition to be ambassadors for Christ and bring reconciliation between God and man, and between men themselves by proclaiming the good news of the Gospel of Grace and teaching from the Bible.
As you will see, this study is concerned with the rainbow and its significance in the lives of men.
The rainbow is one of the magnificent signs the Lord God Almighty has placed in the heavens for all of mankind to admire and to worship Him. Characteristic and interesting properties can be deduced from observing this marvelous, heavenly phenomenon.
First, a certain amount of clouds, rain and sunlight has to be present in order for us to witness the glorious appearance.
Secondly, it takes place in the atmosphere which also is the sphere of Satan´s spiritual influence and operations. It helps us understand the reason why God provides signs that are visible to all mankind, and also the lessons we can learn from watching the heavens, especially in these precarious and perilous times in which we live.
Thirdly, like the wind that you cannot take in your hand, you cannot grab and say that you possess it. So it is with the rainbow; it belongs to God, and he uses it as he pleases as a demonstration of his glory, a communication of his faithfulness and his ever-present watchfulness over the earth and the lives of its inhabitants.
Fourthly, it appears only as a half circle, as it takes a very precise angle combination of light, water vapor and the location of the observer according to the position and rotation of the earth.
Anyone can observe and marvel at a rainbow without an extensive knowledge of astronomy or the detailed physical, optical properties of light, water, or earthly position of an object.
An interesting detail is that the counterfeit rainbow has 6 colors – 6 being the number of man, whereas God´s created rainbow has 7 colors – 7 being the number of complete perfection. And this perfection from a holy God can never be duplicated by sinful man in rebellion against his creator.
It becomes even more interesting when I am on the lookout for some verses about the interaction of the different planes and spheres of influence between the visible on the earth, our physical domain, and the invisible or spiritual domain as a subject for encouragement, exhortation or discernment.
The first rainbow
The Scriptures interface between these two domains so that we are reminded by our Lord Jesus to consider earthly things as the fields of wheat, the clouds in the sky, the splendor of the lilies and the seasons, and draw spiritual lessons from them that can help us in understanding the spiritual side of life, and grow in understanding, depth of knowledge and wisdom.
“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Luke 12:24-28).
He also warned the people – especially the hypocrites, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law – with severe tongue lashings:
“And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?” (Luke 12:54-56).
In Matthew 24, the Lord Jesus was answering questions by the apostles about the signs of his coming and of the end of the age. The parable of the fig tree is one of the best and most important prophetic illustrations of the end-times signs given to believers, because everybody on planet Earth is aware of the rapidly succeeding events started by the Jewish people being back in their land of Israel as a nation in 1948.
I believe as it is written that the rainbow, although only in the half shape, is one of those signs that the Lord put in the sky for encouragement since the time he gave it to Noah as a sign of the covenant between him and Noah and his posterity.
“And God said, This is the token (symbol) of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token (symbol) of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, 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 the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
“And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token (symbol) of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth” (Genesis 9:12-17).
Now we have to see the chronological order of the two means of destruction the Lord uses in his punishment of the rebellious and disobedient people on the earth: first comes the water or the flood, then follows the fire for judgment and cleansing.
These two judgments of God punctuate two events: the first one with Noah when he set his rainbow as a sign of grace, hope and encouragement that he will not destroy the earth completely; and the second with Abraham with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, showing Abraham´s merciful requests and the justice of God even after acceding to the requests of the patriarch for the salvation of the cities.
In I Corinthians 15:46-47, the chapter on the resurrection of the body of the believer, we find Paul’s key argument for what I believe will happen soon. “The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.”
These verses tie in with the words of warning of Jesus to watch the heavens, be alert, vigilant, and in prayer so we will not be deceived and be led astray. The first sign, the magnificent rainbow following the destruction by water, is present in the sky to remind us of the general grace and mercy of God, who sends the rain and the sunshine to provide all his creatures with all that they need to live and prosper.
God has kept his promise until now; but, according to the Bible, the second judgment is close to happening – the judgment by fire just as the one that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. Now comes the encouraging part that gives me hope and helps me not to fall into the trap of discouragement when reading the news of the tide of evil engulfing the nations of the earth and our lives.
Satan, knowing that his time is short, uses the beautiful things of God as weapons against us to try to keep us discouraged, defeated and divided, keeping us busy and distracted from the main things.
The rainbow, emblem of the LGBT
Have you ever wondered why the rainbow has become the banner emblem of the LGBT? At first I thought nothing of it; but in the last 10 or more years, its growing popularity worldwide has had me thinking more about what it represents. And witnessing the growing, ensuing ravages in the families and societies all over the world, I concluded that it´s Satan´s stratagem to counterfeit and try stealing the very glory of God, the reminder of his glorious promises to us.
So instead of being discouraged and giving in to the trap of the deceiver, the father of lies, I choose to use the mind that is protected by the helmet of salvation and reject the notion that the adversary has won the battle – first and foremost, because he cannot steal what does not belong to him. Try as he may, Satan will not be able to make the beautiful rainbow of promise a permanent symbol for his cause and his evil schemes.
He is not a creator, but a poor imitator at best. His followers, most of them unaware of what they are doing and of the spiritual nature of the rainbow, will try to rally after a pied piper who is leading them with a false banner that can be burned to ashes, just as any man-made flag would.
The symbol of the goodness and promise of God has been turned into a travesty – an idol, if you will – standing for debauchery, immorality and human depravity parading in the streets of the world cities.
God must be laughing, besides being angry when he sees mere humans thinking they can appropriate for themselves a symbol that belongs to God only. Instead they should be humbling themselves and asking for pardon for their sins of pride, haughtiness, self-sufficiency and rebellion, offending a Holy God and rejecting the only way by which we can be made acceptable to and be reconciled with him, namely His Son Jesus Christ.
We can choose to not be intimidated by the hordes of people following the devil, and not giving in to hate, to vengeance or using the carnal weapons of the world, political scheming and illegitimate alliances that the Lord has forbidden. Thinking that we can appease the enemy and redress injustice and rule the world in our own strength, joining forces with anybody and preaching peace and unity between light and darkness, good and evil at whatever cost and consequences – while ignoring and neglecting the whole counsel of his eternal, immutable, powerful and pure word – is counterproductive and doomed to failure.
Sadly, this is what a majority of churches are choosing to do in their desire to adjust with the changing times and the ways of the world.
The world´s armies might have their banner, and fight for their countries and their beliefs, as we now see the black banners of Islamic States unfurl in the wind of conquest in the name of Allah.
The cross of Jesus-Christ, our banner
But we believers in and followers of Jesus Christ have only one: namely the cross of Jesus Christ on which the Savior of the world hung between two common criminals. This is our banner of his love—a banner that leads us to be overcomers more than conquerors; because our Lord and King Jesus has won the battle against the devil, the world and the grave, giving us peace in this life and the hope of being with him when he comes back to take us to be with him forever.
The Lord Jesus said in John 12:32, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
And to us, the Church—His bride, the Scripture states what I think as prophetic, the celebration of our wedding feast in heaven: “He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4).
Have you ever read a book starting with the end because you were anxious to know the denouement (the ending)?
The last rainbow
We have such a preview at the end of the Bible. In Revelation 4:3, John the Revelator describes the scene around the throne of God: “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.”
What an incredible heavenly spectacle! What a privilege to witness the glory and majesty of our God and the complete rainbow, a perfect circle shining without the incomplete, diminished earthly vision of the atmospheric rainbow depending on the sunshine, the rain and our local position. This ought to stir our heart into faith, action and obedience to Christ as we see the time of the end approaching.
To conclude, listen to Peter praising God for the living hope that we as Christians experience as we patiently wait for our returning Savior:
I Peter 1:3-9: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, go to him in prayer and ask him to save you. He promised that anyone who asks will be answered. He said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
John the Apostle writes: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
If you want to receive salvation and the Spirit of Jesus, the living God, humble yourself and ask for his forgiveness. You need him to show to you who you really are, as he sees you, not as what yourself or other people think you are. He loves you, died for you on the cross and took the penalty for your sins so you would not have to suffer an eternity in hell separated from God. It really is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.
Romans 10:9 states “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Maranatha; come Lord Jesus.
If you want to become born again of the Spirit of God and know God the Father and Jesus Christ, click on the following link for a simple explanation of what it means to be saved, or born again. Keep it simple