Whose Bow Is It?

Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14). We’re all familiar with the rainbow. It’s a beautiful arch of colors we often see during or after a rainstorm. It’s formed as a result of circumstances such as the refraction and dispersion of visible (white) light by rain or water droplets in the atmosphere.

Now, you can break up white light into its rainbow of colors using a prism to disperse the light rays. So the rainbow is actually a result of the properties of light (refraction and dispersion) that God created on day one of creation week, when he said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). He obviously created the entire electromagnetic spectrum, of which visible light is just a part. Now our eyes are designed to see seven colors with specific wavelengths divided out of visible light—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Of course, there are many other visible colors made by mixing various combinations of these colors—such as pink, which can be made with the right mix of red and blue wavelengths. And if we consider all frequencies, there are as many colors (invisible to us) as the stars in the universe.

In the twenty-first century, when people talk about a rainbow, two very different associations come to mind: the flood of Noah’s day and the LGBTQ (Gay Pride) movement.

LGBTQ and the Rainbow

It’s well known that gay people historically used bright colors to signal their homosexuality to each other. Various colors were used in different countries. Out of that came the idea of a rainbow flag.

A rainbow of colors has been used as a symbol of the LGBTQ movement since the 1970s. The original flag was made for the Gay Freedom Pride Parade in San Francisco in 1978. Originally it consisted of eight colors (pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, indigo, and violet).

Since that time, pink was dropped (it was difficult to find pink fabric), and indigo and turquoise became one color, royal blue. So now the “rainbow” flag symbolic of the LGBTQ movement has six colors and has been adopted internationally.

The Flood of Noah’s Day

After the global flood of Noah’s day about 4,300 years ago, God made a promise. Pay close attention to what he says about ownership of the “[rain]bow”:

“I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh” (Genesis 9:11–15).

The one who created light and its properties designated that from that time onward the rainbow, “my bow” (resulting from light’s created properties of refraction and dispersion), would serve as a reminder that God would never again judge the earth with a global flood.

So the one who created light—and who created our eyes so we could see the colors that make up visible light—declared that the rainbow would have a special meaning after the flood. God said, “I have set my bow in the cloud.” Yes, God owns the rainbow.

The true meaning of the rainbow was given to us 4,300 years ago by the one who created the universe.

The LGBTQ movement can arbitrarily determine that six colors, which they call a “rainbow,” are a symbol of their unbiblical movement. In doing this, they think they’ve hijacked the rainbow for their immoral cause. But they can never change the fact that the true meaning of the rainbow was given to us 4,300 years ago by the one who created the universe and thus owns everything—including the rainbow.

When you visit the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum attractions, you will be reminded of God’s reminder. At the new Ark playground, kids will enjoy a rainbow maze. During the Creation Museum’s walk through history and on the third deck of the Ark Encounter, you will learn about the rainbow covenant. And you can purchase various items that declare we’re taking back the rainbow—meaning we are going to remind the world about the true meaning of the rainbow, given to us by the one who owns it.

Let’s remind the world that the one true God declared, “[It’s] my bow”!