The Everlasting Covenant connected to the rainbow after the flood  explains why the coming judgments upon the earth are warranted.

THE RAINBOW CONNECTION

 

In Revelation 4 we find a complete change of scene from the discussion of church matters (previously and today) in chapters 2 & 3. Now in chapter 4 the true church has been called up to heaven to witness a magnificent scene that will take place sometime in the future. Christ is before the throne as a slain lamb surrounded by 24 elders on 24 thrones, 4 living creatures, and a rainbow. Before the Lord’s throne is a sea of glass and 7 lamps of fire.

God’s Promise

As fascinating as all these items are, today’s discussion focuses on the rainbow. It takes us back to Genesis 9 when the flood had subsided, and Noah, his family, and the animals left the ark to become land dwellers once again. In response, Noah built an altar to the Lord of every clean animal and bird. Upon smelling the soothing aroma, God promises never again to curse the ground because of man’s heart which is on evil from his youth. Never again would He destroy every living thing as He did with the flood.

Man’s Responsibilities

God proceeds to enter into an Everlasting Covenant between Himself and Noah, his family, and every living thing for perpetual generations. God plainly outlined man’s responsibilities:

  1. To be fruitful and multiply (9:1)
  2. To eat animal food as well as vegetable (9:3)
  3. To abstain from eating blood (9:4)
  4. To shed the blood of murders (capital punishment) (9:6) because to strike at man (in a murder) was to strike at the image of God in which he was made.

God warned of the consequences of breaking this Everlasting Covenant in the first 13 verses of Isaiah 24 where He speaks of the coming Judgments during the Tribulation period. You can read of these judgments for yourself, but today I want to focus on some of the ways man has violated the “laws and statutes” contained in this Covenant. They all show how right God was in seeing man’s heart as being continually on evil.

Man’s Own Laws

Man in his perverted wisdom, has set up his own laws and statutes, written and assumed, reenacting the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, making the perversions of Romans 1 into our new normal. Except for a few rare exceptions, we all viewed birth control as an acceptable option since our convenience and “responsible family planning” methods are more important than God’s call to be fruitful and multiply. Large families are looked down on instead of being applauded. Europe is about to pay a heavy price for this as Muslims, through birth rates, will soon be the majority.

Regarding eating meat, God wouldn’t command it if it weren’t for our own good. To flaunt a vegetarian or vegan diet is to deny God’s wisdom. While an occasional all-vegetable diet can be beneficial as it was for Daniel and his three friends, avoiding animal food sources altogether does not have God’s blessing.

Regarding not eating blood, consider that 1.2 billion people worldwide regularly violate this mandate as Roman Catholics partake of what they are told is actually the blood of Christ. Is this really any different from the blood-drinking practices of Satanic cults? Regarding capital punishment, consider how it has been outlawed throughout our nation, once again flaunting man’s supposed compassion and wisdom over God’s command. We really don’t care what God thinks.

Don’t we all to some degree, pick and choose the things we will obey? Our sin natures will always find a way to rationalize away every command of God.

The Rainbow Connection

Now let’s look at the rainbow—the symbol of God’s promise to uphold His obligation, to keep His promise—no more worldwide floods. In His omniscience, He knew man would fail, but He would remain faithful to His Word. The rainbow after a rainstorm was a reminder that although the rains (trials) would come, they would stop for those who were His.

So, what has man done with God symbol of His faithfulness? He has made it into a flag symbolizing man’s ultimate rejection of God Himself, exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for an image reflecting the epitome of man’s depravity. He proudly flaunts it and demands that it be celebrated.

Satan the Corrupter

Remember that Satan is a corrupter, not an innovator. He takes delight in taking something sacred and perverting it. That’s what he does. He, of course is behind all of man’s failures to live up to God’s simply-stated requirements. Never forget that. He is, indeed, the god of this world, but the day of judgment for him and his followers is coming. His doom is sure, but in God’s unfathomable mercy, He still offers forgiveness to those who will repent and turn to Him through His Son.

Believers should also remember His mercy to us as we see our own guilt in violating the conditions of God’s Eternal Covenant. I hope this new perspective will make your next rainbow cause for some soul searching.

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Why do people duck their heads when running through rain? Do they expect the rain to suddenly come in a horizontal sheet aimed right at their heads? What other explanation is there?

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