The following notes are from the sermon titled "The Seven Rainbow Colors and the Believer" preached at Living Word Tabernacle, by Pastor Bill Ivy. This sermon is archived at the conclusion of these notes.
TEXT
Gen 9:15 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.
THE RAINBOW COLORS AND HOW THEY RELATE TO GOD
It was a token in the heavens regarding two things; judgment and safety.
Here as a sign to never to destroy mankind by water again. Could you imagine the fear in Noah’s family every time in rained?
It also speaks of the cross for our security and safety, Christ will never have to die again for our sins. However, cross is also a symbol of judgement. There are many crosses, but what do they mean to us and God?
I wonder, during the Exodus, how many red crosses were painted on the homes of the Egyptians, or the city of Jerica, how many scarlet-colored garments were hanging out windows.
After the flood of judgment, God put the rainbow in the sky. It was sin, that brought about this seven-color token in the heavens. Sin made a way for God’s redemption. Rom 5:20 But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Gen 6:5-13
5 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. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
This took place 2000 years after creation. 2000 years after the flood Jesus said this; Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
A REPEAT TODAY
We see the conditions of Sodom and the attitude of Lot, his family, Abraham, and the Sodomites repeating.
There would be a repeat of Sodom conditions and the sin that brought a fierier destruction. Even Abraham’s prayers couldn’t stop it.
Notice, down in Sodom, when Lot brought the two angels into his home the men of the city demanded to have sexual intimacy with them. And Lot called them wicked. Look at their response;
Gen 19:9 But they said, Stand back! And they said, This fellow came in to live here temporarily, and now he presumes to be [our] judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them. So they rushed at and pressed violently against Lot and came close to breaking down the door. AMP
1 Cor 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
In Lot’s day, as in Noah’s, no redemption was possible outside of God’s provision for His elected.
The people were violent, perverted, arrogant and "PROUD" with no shame. Another destruction (judgment came), the rainbow kept the water away, but not the fire. Where was Abraham? Safe in the place God had told him to live.
Notice, it was a day of PRIDE! God hates pride!
Prov 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: PRIDE, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Prov 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
1 Tim 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
PRIDE is hardly something to be proud of, as this nation gives a whole month of celebration to it. She is PROUD TO BE IMORALL AND REBELIOUS, proud of a life stile that is an abomination. A celebration of same sex marriage, recognizing and being tolerant of all the sins wrote about in Romans the first chapter. It is thrown in the face of God with the display of their rainbow colored flag that symbolizes inclusion and tolerance of the things that God cannot, and will not, include or tolerate, without bringing it to judgement.
Pride (superbia) is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins. It is the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's own importance.
(The seven deadly sins PRIDE, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth.)
Instead of using the word proud, as in I am proud of you, perhaps it would be better to say, “I glory in you” as Paul said (2 Thessalonians 1:4).
The Apostle Paul spoke of those that were "proud" and "haters of God" (Rom 1:30) – The Greek word meaning, they who are continually exalting themselves and depressing others; magnifying themselves at the expense of their neighbors; and wishing all men to receive their sayings as oracles.
2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
We live in a world that has made a mockery out of God, we don’t ask for destruction, but we cannot stop it even with our sincere prayers, the great Patriarch of Faith, Abraham could not stop it from falling on Sodom and Gomorrah.
THE RAINBOW COLORS BELONG TO GOD, IDENTIFY GOD, NOT A LIFE OF SIN AND PERVERSION. It was a covenant given, to Believers, because of the judgment that God poured out on a PROUD world that rejected Him.
1. NOAH AFTER THE FLOOD first saw the rain-BOW in the clouds (Gen 9:13).
2. Ezek 1:27-28 was the next observation of the rainbow colors.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 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.
3. Brother Willliam Branham’s picture was taken with the rainbow colors.
The Altar Of Fire Appears: July 20-24, 1960, Lakeport, California. Once again the mechanical eye of the camera caught a glimpse of the Supernatural. This time the camera caught exactly what Ezekiel saw (by vision) in his day (Ezekiel 1:26-28), even 'the glory of the Lord'
4. Rev 4:1-3 – the seven colored rainbow around the throne in heaven.
4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 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.
5. Rev 10:1 – the rainbow identifying Christ.
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:
6. Brother William Branham - what did he preach about the rainbow colors?
QUOTES
THE.SEVEN.CHURCH.AGES_ JEFF.IN V-26 N-2 WEDNESDAY_ 54-0512
108 I looked at Him over here in Revelations the 4th chapter. When John turned to see this Voice again, what was speaking to him, "He was sitting upon a throne, and a rainbow was over His head." And the rainbow has got seven perfect colors, and these seven perfect cover--colors represented the Seven Church Ages. That's right again. And what was it? Here it is. Brother, now this is fresh. Look, seven perfect colors, seven, and a rainbow represents a covenant.
God gave Noah the rainbow first, as a covenant. And those elements are still in the earth, as God's promise before him; when it rains, he sees the bow. He said, "I'll never destroy it with water no more."
110 And then he looked upon Jesus, had seven rainbow colors above Him; He was in this, which was God's covenant. And He was standing in the midst of Seven Golden Candlesticks. And He was to look upon as jasper and sardius stone. Jasper was Reuben, and sardius stone was Benjamin; that was the first and the last of the patriarchs. That Alpha and Omega; the Beginning and the Ending, and the seven rainbow colors, Seven Church Ages, the covenant with Him, and the Seven Golden Candlesticks with the seven stars... Oh, what a picture, if we get to it after while, maybe, the Lord willing. All right.
... Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending saith the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Who is He? What's this the revelation of? Jesus Christ. And here He's not a prophet. Here He is the Almighty, God manifested, the Alpha, Omega. "I'm from A to Z. I'm He That Was, Which Is, and Shall Come. I am the Almighty." Pretty clear, isn't it? No chance of controversy there. "Lord, which Was, which Is, and shall come, the Almighty."
THE REFLECTION OF SEVEN COLORS FROM A DIAMOND
REVELATION.CHAPTER.FOUR.2_ JEFF.IN ROJC 585-643 SUNDAY_ 61-0101
193 That great Jewel. What was it? It was perfect. It was at the age of thirty-three and a half years old when God put It through the big bumping machine, when He took It over and begin to shape it up. He cut It; He mashed It; He bruised It.
... he was wounded for our transgressions,... bruised for our iniquity: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with His stripes we were healed.
What did God do to that perfect Man? There's only One of them in the world, only One in the world, and that was Him. And God chiseled Him off here, "And He was wounded for our transgressions." Because I was a sinner, He let the rainbow Light of His seven church ages flash upon me, to know that He was wounded for my transgressions.
There's your seven-colored rainbow. "He was bruised for our iniquity; the chastisement of our peace upon Him; with His stripes we're healed." God cut Him, and bruised Him, and mashed Him, and cut Him, that He might reflect through His dying wounds, forgiveness of sins, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness. The seven Spirits of God are the seven fruits of the Spirit that would reflect back in His people. He was bruised, shaped, and formed, that the Light of God shining through that one Man's body might redeem the whole world; "I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all men unto Me." Watch those rainbow colors as they reflect.
196 But when John saw Him here, what was it? The day of redeeming was over. It was all over, so he seen Him back in His original condition, an amber color. Not only just half the world, it can only... The sun can only shines on half the world at a time (See?), as it goes around. But when John saw Him, He was setting to look upon as jasper and sardius stone, amber colors; mix the two together, you got amber. "And a amber color around the throne." Oh, my. Oh, I--I tell you, that just... We could just go on and on.
Seven Spirits, seven colors, seven church ages, seven ministers, seven lights, everything's in a seven. God's perfect in seven. God worked six days; the seventh day He rested. The world will exist six thousand years, and the seventh thousand is the millennium.
198 Notice, in a half circle, half's not yet been known. Now, surely these things represent something.
IT IS A PROMISE TO THE BELIEVER, NOT THE SINFUL UNBELIEVER
REVELATION.CHAPTER.FOUR.2_ JEFF.IN ROJC 585-643 SUNDAY_ 61-0101
202 So we see Him in the circle bow of green, amber color. This greenish, what does green represent? Life. Green is the evergreen, always stays green, is life. What does it mean? That God has promised, as He took a oath back there in Genesis, that He would no--put the rainbow in the sky, that He would no more destroy this world by water. He also takes His oath and swears by Himself, that all the Seed of Abraham He'll raise up, and this world will stand all of its shaking judgments. The judgments we're going through on the future lessons we got coming, will show you where that this world will belch and turn into volcanics, and blow to pieces, and upside down and everything. But He swears by Himself that He'll not destroy it, but He'll smooth her off again and put His children on the earth for that millennium. Oh, my.
I'm watching for the coming of that glad millennium day,
When our blessed Lord shall come and catch His waiting Bride away;
Oh, my heart is longing, crying for that day of sweet release,
When our Saviour shall come back to earth again.
Oh, how we are longing to see that day; He promised the great millennium would come. And another thing, the reason He was surrounded, He is a covenant-keeping God. He will keep His covenant.
QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.ON.HEBREWS.2_ JEFF.IN COD WEDNESDAY_ 57-1002
272-383 And God was this great Spirit. We pictured Him like the seven colors of the rainbow that covers... The bow would actually cover the earth if it didn't strike the earth.
UNQUOTE
The Bible promise of a burning judgment to the PROUD and wicked of this day. Along with a promise of healing to those that are not proud but FEAR His name.
A BIBLE QUOTE
Mal 4:1-3
4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Sermon notes - preached by Pastor Bill Ivy - Wednesday 6-22-2022 at Living Word Tabernacle, Campbell Missouri www.livingwordtabernacle.com