Brian Hedges, Sr. Pastor
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 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. Gen. 9:13, 16
In my office at church I have several mementos. They range from various VBS and vacation photos, to items collected over 30 years that serve of reminders of God’s grace and mercy to me, my family and our church. The most-recent addition to my mementos is a rainbow flag that was mysteriously placed at the end of our driveway this month. I have no idea why HBF was graced with these flags, but I found it fitting reminder of God’s judgment and mercy upon an increasingly sin-wrecked world.
If a rainbow flag is to be displayed, it should be displayed at church because it serves as a reminder of God’s judgment, God’s mercy and God’s glory. In addition to sharing the gospel, it is fitting the church share the rainbow because God expressly intended it to serve as a covenant with all flesh according to Genesis 9:13-17.
The rainbow serves as a reminder of God’s judgment
The rainbow, and therefore the rainbow flag, is certainly an inclusive symbol as the judgment that precipitated the rainbow of Genesis 9:13-16 was a global judgment. I am being very specific with my words here as most scholars and preachers use the word “universal” when referring to Noah’s flood as to avoid any inference that it may have been a localized event.
Anyone who reads the Bible objectively with a faith-based view of scripture understands that the flood of Noah was not a localized event, but a global flood that changed the typography, atmosphere and perhaps even the angle of the axis of the Earth. I can only speculate about the axis, but the clear evidence of scripture is that the condition proceeding the flood for nearly 2,000 years were drastically different from those left after the flood.
God’s judgment of man and the fallen angels who left their first estate to mingle with the human and animal genome was so severe that it forever changed the atmospheric conditions of the planet. We should all remember that sin never leaves us better than it finds us. Though God is merciful in judgment, our future is impacted negatively when we entertain sin.
As catastrophic as the flood of Genesis 6 was, it was not as severe as the flood pre-dating it that is recorded in 2 Peter 3:5. Peter references a generation who will deny the reality of the flood of Noah and the fall of Satan. Because they don’t really believe the scripture is an accurate account of God’s history with both man and angels, they miss the fact that the fall of Satan resulted in a catastrophic flood of the entire universe between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.
Perhaps I can write another article on that flood but suffice is to say, the flood of Genesis 6 was a terrible and comprehensive judgment as was the flood that followed Satan’s fall. Between the flood of Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and the flood of Genesis 6 it is important to note that God elected not to deal with Adam’s sin in the same manner he dealt with Satan’s sin. When Adam fell in the garden, God did not judge the world with water but provided an animal sacrifice to cover Adam’s sin and foreshadow the Lamb of God that would one day come and take away the sin of the world.
As Adam’s fallen seed continued, it is clear to see that man left to himself does not get better, we only grow more callous to God’s mercy and grace. By the time we get to Genesis 6, the scripture records man’s heart was so corrupt that every imagination was only evil continually. It was the condition of man’s sinful heart and his subsequent behavior that hastened the flood of Judgment recorded in Genesis 6.
The environmental conditions of the pre-flood Noahic earth were dramatically different from the environmental conditions recorded in Genesis after the flood of Genesis 6. Prior to Noah’s flood, the vegetation was watered from the earth. It had not rained on the earth prior to Noah’s flood, so Noah’s endeavor to obey God and build an ark was quite a step of faith.
Can you imagine that? Noah was preaching a message of judgment as his gigantic ark was being constructed to God’s specifications in a world that had never seen rain! What a family of faith Noah and his family were. I’m certain Noah, along with his family, were mocked by the giants that dwelled in the earth in those days. Today there are many who mock God’s judgment, even while waving flags that serve as symbols of God’s mercy in judgment.
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Genesis 6:5-8
Things grew so wicked that God elected to destroy the earth in his mercy rather than see it continue to degenerate. In God’s wrath, we see his mercy and grace upon Noah and his family. The rainbow that followed Noah’s flood serves as a reminder of God’s mercy in judgment. It reminds me of the passage written by Jeremiah the weeping prophet when Israel faced God’s judgment for disobedience.
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. Lamentations 3:22
It was the Lord’s mercies God didn’t consume the humanity and the animal kingdom in his just wrath. We find the account of God’s promise in Genesis 9:13-17.
“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. 16 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. 17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” Genesis 9:13-17
The rainbow serves as a reminder of God’s judgment of all creation for man’s sin and the sin of the angels who left their first estate (2 Peter 2:4-7, Revelation 9:1-11).
The rainbow serves as a reminder of God’s mercy
Second, the rainbow serves an incredible reminder of God’s mercy. God didn’t have to save Noah or the animal kingdom but he chose to spare a remnant from God’s judgment so he could renew his plan his mission in Noah and fulfill the promise he made to Satan in the garden in Genesis after the fall.
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:14-15
One of the reasons God showed mercy to Noah is because his plan for mankind’s redemption and Satan’s destruction intersected with his incarnation and defeat of sin. Satan certainly took God seriously when he made this promise in Genesis 3:15, and is doing everything in his power to destroy humanity before his defeat is consummated and he is cast into the Lake of Fire. Many don’t realize the cosmic conflict sin has caused, nor the great lengths God has gone to redeem mankind from the curse of sin and death. I’m reminded of the scripture in Psalms.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? Psalms 8:3-4
The fact that God spared Noah and his sons, and then signified in the rainbow a covenant of with man and his creation, is an amazing reminder of God’s mercy to Adam’s fallen race. Sure, the rainbow can be explained scientifically as the refraction of light through the moisture in the atmosphere. However, upon further investigation, we recognize some things about the rainbow of Genesis 9 that stand in stark contrast to the other mentions of the brilliantly colored “bow” found in Ezekiel 1:27-28 and Revelation 4:3 and 10:1. The bow on earth is a semi-circle not a complete circle as the brilliant bow that surrounds the throne in Heaven.
This serves to remind us that though God’s judgment with water is complete, there is still more to come. Like the prism divides the spectrum into 7 colors, God has divided time into seven dispensations. Just as each color of the spectrum indicates a different manifestation of light, God reveals his brilliant redemptive plan for the universe, earth and man as he progresses through time. Though his word is sure in Genesis 3:15 to Satan, we don’t know how God will sovereignly work it out until we see it through the lens of scripture. This leads us to our third and final observation of the rainbow in this article.
The rainbow serves as a reminder of God’s glory
What good is a promise without a promise keeper? If human history has shown us anything, it is that man cannot be trusted. Nonetheless, God loves us anyway and has provided one man who is perfect. That man is Christ Jesus. You may say, “OK Brian, but what does that have to do with the rainbow?”
Everything! Jesus isn’t just part of the story, he is the author of the story! The spectrum is not complete until you have Jesus in the center of it. That is where we find him in Ezekiel 1:27-28 and Revelation 4:3 and 10:1. The lamb foreshadowed in Genesis 3 and later in Exodus 12 as God formalized and recorded in writing the law of Moses is manifest on the earth as a full-grown 30-year-old man on the banks of the river Jordan by John the Baptist when he proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” My, my, my, the southern preacher says as he looks on the incredible promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ!
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 1:17-18
Jesus was certainly conceived of the Holy Ghost in the womb of Mary, but he was no mere mortal, though he was all man. He was also God manifest in the flesh. He was the incarnation, the fulfillment of what he was warning Satan would come in Genesis 3:15. He didn’t just come in authority, he is the authority. Just as the religious didn’t like to submit to the authority of Christ at his first coming, today, they minimize his authority to exercise dominion of their own authority.
I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. John 10:30-33
Jesus can be manifest as a lot of things in today’s society, but when one dare says he is the absolute authority, it causes the nations to tremble. He is not Allah, he is not Buddha and he is not a figment of man’s imagination. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no man will find mercy, grace or truth if they don’t come through him (John 14:6).
”So, Brian, I think you are going another direction here, what does this have to do with the rainbow?” I’m glad you asked. You see the rainbow is only half the story. It only deals with God’s deluge of water, and though it was incredible in scope and so catastrophic it can explain everything from sedimentary rock, the fossil record, the hydrogeologic cycle and meteorology, it is still just half the light the prism has for us. The fulfillment of grace and truth is found in the person of Christ and his glory. We see a preview of this in Ezekiel 1, but it is a little hard to make out all the elements of God’s prism without the remainder of the New Testament. That is why not all the light shines through until Jesus comes through for us on the cross.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
Paul was writing to the Corinthians before the Revelation of Jesus Christ given to the apostle John in 96 AD. It is there, in Revelation, the canon of scripture was complete, the punctuation to the 7 dispensations was complete, and not only once but twice to we see Jesus appearing on the throne in his glory encircled with a bow that is as brilliant as the sun.
You see, when it comes to mercy and judgment, the judge has the authority to write the story any way he chooses. And like Paul Harvey would say, Jesus is the rest of the story! Don’t lose me now because here comes the conclusion of the matter. John the Baptist had some insight that brought the fulness of the spectrum to light.
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Matthew 3:11
You see, baptism in water is a picture. It has always been intended to identify the individual, nation, planet or universe with the someone and something. In every case in the Bible, that would be the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. While the rainbow is a reminder of God’s judgment and mercy, all baptism, except the baptism by fire mentioned in Matthew 3:11 and spoken of in 2 Peter 3:11 and alluded to in Revelation 21:1, point to the one true baptism of Ephesians 4:5. When John mentions he baptized with water but he (Jesus) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, he was saying something. Water cannot save you, but Jesus can, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost is the means by which we experience the new birth and are therefore “born again.”
So, we see three baptisms in Matthew 3:11:
- A baptism in water for identification with the message John preached in preparation for the Messiah.
- A baptism of the Holy Ghost which will be administered by the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
- A baptism of fire that references a coming judgment. A baptism of fire that replicates what we saw in Genesis 1-6.
So, what is in a rainbow? A lot! In conclusion we see that the bow is only half the story. There are two other ways one can complete the rainbow and bring if full circle. The preferred method is to realize the message in the rainbow and heed the call to submit to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Believing the gospel and placing your faith in Jesus Christ is what will usher in the new birth and baptism of the Spirit. It is upon that “one true baptism” that one then follows in identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection through “believers baptism.”
Believers baptism is not what saves you, faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice for your sin saves you, Believers baptism is simply the first act of obedience after one has called upon the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved. This is the preferred way to honor the fact that God’s judgment was placed on his only begotten Son on Calvary for our sin and the sin of the entire world.
Sadly, some prefer to complete the circle of the rainbow in rebellion against Jesus Christ as they fit themselves for destruction in his just wrath. If they do not repent while there is opportunity, they, like the fallen angels of which hell was created, will reserve for themselves a place in condemnation and fire. Just as John prophesied on the banks of the Jordan nearly 2,000 years ago, it will come. And just as it unfolded in the Old Testament, it will unfold first on earth in a time of judgment in the tribulation period, then in its final fulfillment as God purges the universe after casting the dead both small and great, Satan and the fallen angels into the lake of fire (See Revelation 20). After that, he will have a New Heaven and a New Earth that the redeemed of the Lord will inherit for eternity.
So, there is a lot in a rainbow and a rainbow flag. Remember, it is a universal symbol of God’s Judgment, his mercy and Jesus Christ’s glory. Realize that anyone who displays it as some sort of endorsement of lascivious sexual behavior is misguided at best, and perhaps even defiant of the covenant God has made with his creation (Romans 1:19-32). We should be kind and pray for those who choose to complete the rainbow with a baptism of fire instead of a baptism of the Holy Ghost. I’m reminded as well as all who are baptized in the Spirit, that were it not for God’s mercy and grace, I too would still be dead in trespass and sin.
Perhaps you are reading this, and you need a fresh start. Maybe you feel like your life has been under the judgment of God and you don’t know if God could or would forgive you. The great news is that God’s mercy and grace are available through Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross.
The rainbow serves as a reminder that God makes a way through grace to those who believe upon his word. If you understand you are a sinner. An individual that that has willingly and unknowingly by nature come short of God’s righteous standard of holiness, then you understand you are a sinner. If you believe that Jesus Christ truly is God manifest in the flesh and he died on the cross for your sin and the sin of the world so the wrath of God’s judgment would not abide upon those who call upon his name, then all you need to do is the best way you know how, cry out to Jesus and ask him to forgive you of your unbelief and sin, thank him for giving Jesus Christ as your sacrifice for sin, and in humble contrition and repentance receive the gift of eternal life.
The grace of God is sufficient. God loves you and has provided an owner’s manual for life called the bible. He has provided a loving and caring family in the local church and we would love to walk with you in your first steps as a new creature in Christ. If you would like to know more about God’s love and grace and how to be baptized in the Spirit so you are not baptized in fire, please contact HBF at contact@hbfcass.org.
God loves you and there is no sin Jesus blood is not sufficient to cleanse. The next time we see a rainbow or a rainbow flag, may we be reminded of its significance in reminding us of God’s love for his creation and his redemptive plan for Adam’s fallen race.