There are many wonderful symbols in Revelation, which the Christians love. Here are some references to explain the significance of the rainbow.
Genesis 8 v 20 - 22
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 9 v 8 - 17
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 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.
From the above two passage we see that the rainbow speaks of God's everlasting covenant with man in that He is gracious and loving. It is important to note that God only made this covenant only after Noah had made a sacrifice, which implies that God only shows grace after a Sacrifice has been made. The fact that the rainbow in heaven is an emerald shows that it is a better covenant than that He made with Noah because an emerald is a very valuable and precious stone, which is why Jesus is the only allowable sacrifice to atone for sins.
The throne speaks of God's and Christ's (Who is God) authority and His Lordship to which we all must submit ourselves to become saved and to continue in the fellowship of God once we are saved (we will never lose our salvation because the rainbow is forever before God).
The seven thunders are part of God's secrets. Deuteronomy 29 v 29 says "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." which shows that there are certain things that God has not found necessary to reveal to us.
2007-01-16 02:41:35
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answer #1
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answered by Creationist 1
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The rainbow upon his head reminds us of John’s earlier vision of Jehovah’s throne, with its “rainbow like an emerald in appearance.” (Revelation 4:3; compare Ezekiel 1:28.) That rainbow suggested the serenity and peace surrounding God’s throne.
John has previously heard thunders proceeding from the very throne of Jehovah. (Revelation 4:5 - Back in David’s day, literal thunder was at times spoken of as “the voice of Jehovah.” (Psalm 29:3.) When Jehovah audibly proclaimed his purpose to glorify his own name in the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, to many it sounded like thunder. (John 12:28, 29) Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the ‘voices of the seven thunders’ are Jehovah’s own expression of his purposes. When Jehovah fought for David against his enemies, thunder was said to come from Him. (2 Samuel 22:14; Psalm 18:13.) Elihu told Job that Jehovah’s voice sounded like thunder, as He does “great things that we cannot know.” (Job 37:4, 5 - The fact that there were “seven” thunders suggests the completeness of what John heard.
If you would like further information or a free home Bible study, please contact Jehovah's Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or visit http://www.watchtower.org
They offer a wonderful publication: "Revelation: Its Grand Climax at Hand!" The worldwide work of Jehovah's Witnesses is supported by voluntary contributions.
2007-01-12 07:38:35
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answer #2
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answered by Jeremy Callahan 4
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