“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head” (Revelation 10:1).
We first learn about a rainbow in Genesis, the very beginning of God’s love story for his people. God gives Noah the sign of a rainbow, a sign of God’s covenant to his creation.
“This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:12-13).
A covenant of love, safety, and grace. I don’t think it is by accident that God uses a rainbow to start and end his journey of reconciling and saving his people. God’s covenant of love for his people remains and is at the very center of the whole Bible.
In Revelation 10, we read about an angel coming down with a rainbow over his head to declare God’s faithfulness in his plan.
“There will be no more delay. When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his servants the prophets” (Revelation 10:6-7).
There will be no more delay. God’s time is coming and it will be right on time. We can live expectant of his return and live in the faithfulness of his promises for our lives today.
Each time we see a rainbow in the sky, we can be reminded of this story. Of God’s story of love and faithfulness to all his creation. A promise that was for Noah and a promise that is for us today.
Reflection:
- Is there something in your life that makes it hard to trust God’s faithfulness?
- Where in your life have you seen God’s faithfulness?
- How can you live expectant of God’s return?