The rainbow is scientific, historical, and biblical

Have you seen a real rainbow? It is a beauty to behold in the sky after the rain. It is especially wonderful when you spot a full rainbow or even a double rainbow. The colors in the rainbow are always red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Today we see the rainbow and the colors represent something entirely different from the original meaning. Read on to learn what the rainbow really symbolizes.

The Original Rainbow and Science

After the great flood, God set the rainbow in the sky as a promise to Noah and all mankind, that He would not destroy the earth again with water. We see this in Genesis:

Genesis 9:11-17. “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.”

A Definition

When we look up “rainbow” in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary we find:

RA’INBOW, noun A bow, or an arch of a circle, consisting of all the colors formed by the refraction and reflection of rays of light from drops of rain or vapor, appearing in the part of the hemisphere opposite to the sun. When the sun is at the horizon, the rainbow is a semicircle. The rainbow is called also iris.

The moon sometimes forms a bow or arch of light, more faint than that formed by the sun, and called lunar rainbow. Similar bows at sea are called marine rainbows or sea bows. [1]

Scientifically

Anyone who knows me, knows I did not study physics in school. So, I looked it up! Scientifically, physics.com says, “Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another. When light enters a medium where its speed changes—such as from air to water—it bends. In the case of rainbows, sunlight encounters millions of tiny water droplets in the atmosphere after a rain shower or within misty environments. As the light enters each droplet, it slows down and refracts. The process begins when sunlight enters the upper surface of a water droplet, which acts as a prism. Here, the light splits into its component colours because different wavelengths of light refract at slightly different angles. This separation of colours is called dispersion and results in the spectrum of colours that make up a rainbow.” [2]

While this seems like allot to absorb, let’s just say God set the rainbow in the sky and He made it beautiful for us to see! He even gave us science to explain the physics of it all.

Organizations that Claim the Rainbow

A Name for Girls

The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls (IORG or Rainbow) is for girls ages 11-20. It is affiliated only with the Masonic Lodges, Order of the Eastern Star Chapters, and Courts of Amaranth. It is not a religion, cult or secret order. It was established by W. Mark Sexson (a 33-degree Mason) in 1922.

Rainbow teaches leadership skills, service to the community, and respect for all. Girls have a chance to achieve and excel, fostering self-esteem in fun and exciting ways.

Members of Rainbow are active in their schools, communities and churches. They raise money for various charities, and they extend themselves in service to their communities and their sponsoring organizations. Many girls go on to become leaders in all fields of employment.

The name Rainbow gets its name from the Book of Genesis where God showed his love to humankind by placing the rainbow in the sky. The lessons in the Rainbow for girls’ organization are based upon the colors of the rainbow: Red: Love; Orange: Religion; Yellow: Nature; Green Immortality; Blue: Fidelity; Indigo: Patriotism; and Violet: Service. [6] [7]

A Name for Equal Rights

The Rev. Jesse Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition to seek equal rights for all Americans. This was in response to President Reagan’s policies for reducing domestic spending. Jackson declared that the President’s investment outside of inner cities resulted in high unemployment in minority communities and other social problems.

Presently the Rainbow Coalition has merged with Operation PUSH (an organization dedicated to improving the economic conditions of black communities across the US). Now known as Rainbow PUSH Coalition, this platform works to protect black homeowners, workers and businesses. [4]

When Rev. Jackson sought the Democratic nomination for the Presidential race, “The Rainbow” was used in Jackson’s speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in California where he said, “Our flag is red, white and blue, but our nation is a rainbow — red, yellow, brown, black and white — and we’re all precious in God’s sight.” He went on to say the “Rainbow” makes room for Native Americans, Asian Americans, young Americans, disabled veterans, small farmers, lesbians and gays. [5]

A Symbol of LGBTQ Pride

The month of June has been known as Gay Pride Month since 1969 as a memorial to riots that erupted in New York City between police and gay rights activists. In 1978 an openly gay man and drag queen designed the first rainbow flag. At first there were eight colors in the flag (hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit). The flag’s colors were later paired down to just 6 colors (removing hot pink and turquoise) and the flag was established and recognized internationally as the official symbol for LGBTQ pride in 1994. [3]

Final Thoughts

I suppose if I keep looking, I can find many other things for which the rainbow is used. We see the rainbow used in ungodly ways and in some cases in ways that encourage young people to develop great character traits. The truth of the matter is that God gave us the rainbow as a beautiful promise, and it has been distorted in so many ways that He did not intend.

I challenge you to remember only that promise from God whenever you see a rainbow – it is an everlasting covenant! And I challenge you further to share the truth of the Bible with someone who may not know what the rainbow really symbolizes.

References:

[1] “Websters Dictionary 1828 – Webster’s Dictionary 1828 – Rainbow.” 2025. Websters Dictionary 1828. 2025. https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/rainbow.

[‌2] “Why We See Rainbows: The Physics of Light Refraction.” 2024. Physics.com.sg. 2024. https://www.physics.com.sg/why-we-see-rainbows-the-physics-of-light-refraction.htm.

‌[3] https://www.britannica.com/story/how-did-the-rainbow-flag-become-a-symbol-of-lgbt-pride

[4] “Brief History.” n.d. Rainbow PUSH Coalition. https://www.rainbowpush.org/brief-history.

[5] BlackPast. 2008. “(1984) Rev. Jesse Jackson, ‘the Rainbow Coalition.’” September 24, 2008. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1984-jesse-jackson-rainbow-coalition/.

[6] “International Order of Rainbow for Girls.” 2009. Freemason Information | Freemasonry Is a Post-Collegiate Mostly-All Male Fraternity Dedicated to the Social Development of the Member to Form a Broader Sense of the Self and Their Community. February 24, 2009. https://freemasoninformation.com/what-is-freemasonry/family-of-freemasonry/international-order-of-rainbow-for-girls/.

[‌7] “What Is Rainbow?” 2025. Nviorg.org. 2025. https://nviorg.org/aboutRainbow/whatIsRainbow.html.