Outline
B
The three primary colors of the rainbow around God’s throne are blue (the color of the sapphire throne, which signifies God’s righteousness—Ezek. 1:26; Psa. 89:14), red (the color of the sanctifying fire, which signifies God’s holiness—Ezek. 1:4, 13, 27; Heb. 12:29), and yellow (the color of the glowing electrum, which signifies God’s glory—Ezek. 1:4, 27; Heb. 1:3).
C
The rainbow around God’s throne signifies that God is the covenanting God, the faithful God, who will keep His new covenant to impart the newness of life into His chosen ones to make them the New Jerusalem while executing His judgment upon the earth—Gen. 9:8-17; Rev. 4:3; 21:2; Rom. 6:4; Ezek. 1:26-28; 36:26-27:
１
The rainbow is a sign of God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant that there will be no more judgment of death; we must live under the new covenant and not believe in any failure, weakness, darkness, or negative thing; we are the covenanted people, who have a verse of promise to meet every situation—Lam. 3:22-23; Rom. 8:1; 2 Cor. 12:9; 2 Tim. 1:10; 2:1; Jude 24; 1 John 1:9; 1 Cor. 1:9.
２
We may be assured and at peace in the church life, for there is no more death; the more we say, “No more,” the more we realize that we have no death, no failure, no weakness, and no darkness because we are living under God’s covenant, not under our feelings, our convictions, or any environment.
３
We are secured, guaranteed, and protected by the great and precious promises in God’s covenant (2 Pet. 1:4); God’s covenant declares that whenever the sky is cloudy, we must call God’s faithfulness to come, which means that we “call out the rainbow.”
４
God is faithful to His Word, and His Word is the testament, the covenant (1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 1:9); the church people are a people under the covenant; thus, we can actually be called “the church of the covenant.”
Morning Nourishment
Ezek. 1:28 Like the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud on a day of rain, such was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah…Psa. 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
lovingkindness and truth go before Your face.
As a result of having a clear sky with the throne and of experiencing a man who has the appearance of electrum and a consuming fire, we will have the appearance of a rainbow (Ezek. 1:28)…A rainbow is the brightness around the man who is sitting on the throne. This brightness signifies the splendor and glory around the Lord on the throne.
In order to understand the significance of the rainbow, we need to remember the rainbow at the time of Noah. A flood had destroyed the whole earth, and only eight people were spared from that judgment. After that, when people saw storm clouds in the sky, they might have been afraid of being destroyed. Therefore, God made a covenant in which He promised never again to destroy all living things by a flood, and He set the rainbow in the cloud as a sign of this covenant. “I set My bow in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. And when I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living animal of all flesh, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow will be in the clouds, and I will look upon it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living animal of all flesh that is upon the earth” (Gen. 9:13-16). The rainbow, therefore, was a sign of God’s faithfulness and promise not to destroy the fallen human race with a flood. (Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 133-134)
Today’s Reading
In the rainbow there are several different colors, but the basic colors are only three—red, yellow, and blue. When these colors are shining and blending, they produce other colors, such as orange, green, and violet…By their shining and refracting, these three colors combine to make a rainbow.Now we need to see the spiritual significance of these three colors. Blue signifies the throne. According to Psalm 89:14, the foundation of God’s throne is righteousness. This indicates that the blue throne signifies the righteousness of God. Fire signifies the sanctifying, separating, and consuming fire. This means that red here refers to God’s holiness. Yellow signifies God’s glory in the glowing electrum.
Before we were saved, we were kept away from God by His righteousness, holiness, and glory. But the Lord Jesus came, died on the cross to satisfy the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory, and was resurrected, and He is now our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). He is also now our glory. In ourselves we are short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23), we are under God’s righteous judgment, and we are kept away by God’s holiness. But now, as believers, we are in Christ, and He has become our righteousness, holiness, and glory. Moreover, because we are in Christ, we even bear Christ as righteousness, holiness, and glory. Because we are in Christ, in the sight of God we look like righteousness, holiness, and glory.
We need to experience Christ in such a way that when others contact us, they can sense righteousness, holiness, and glory. This means that they should be able to sense that we have a clear sky, that we have a throne, and that we are righteous and proper, not careless or loose in any way. We should also have the electrum, glowing, shining, and weighty. Then we will have the appearance of a rainbow, and the angels, the demons, and Satan will be able to see it…As those who were fallen but who have now been saved, we have become a testimony of God’s faithfulness in saving us. Every local church should bear the testimony of such a rainbow. (Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 134-135)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ezekiel, msg. 12