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A Sign Over Ground Zero

On the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks — a date permanently etched into our national consciousness as a symbol of sudden tragedy, distress, and urgent calls for rescue — something truly extraordinary occurred. As people gathered in New York City to remember that painful morning, the clouds parted above One World Trade Center. And there, stretching across the sky, appeared a brilliant, perfect rainbow.[1] New York affiliate WNBC's Steven Bognar said it was more than just one: "Incredible double rainbow over #NYC… providing light on a dark day."

Some might say it was a coincidence. Friends, let me tell you plainly, it was not a coincidence. It was a sign. In fact, it was an ancient sign — a sacred visual guarantee that Almighty God originally spoke into existence over 4,300 years ago to a patriarch named Noah.[2] When our nation was looking at the ashes of earthly vulnerability, God painted His eternal promise across the heavens to remind us that He is still on the throne and His Word can still be trusted!

The Scrutiny: The Hijacking of the Bow

Over the years, however, that eternal picture in the sky has been skyjacked! When we examine culture today, we cannot ignore what certain individuals have done to this majestic emblem. The rainbow has undergone a tremendous unraveling — a cultural dismantling and fabricated lies! The very symbol that Almighty God established in the heavens as an everlasting memorial of His mercy has been systematically hijacked and humanized.[3]

Where God designed the rainbow to declare His righteousness, sovereignty, mercy, divine grace, and new beginnings, modern secular culture has inverted it to promote human sovereignty, moral redefinition, and pride. Think about it: the first rainbow pride flag was designed and hand-dyed by Gilbert Baker, an American artist, drag performer, and LGBTQ+ rights activist. It made its debut at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. Clearly, man has usurped God's authority, taken what belonged to the Creator, stripped it of its holy grandeur, and refashioned it into a banner for human desires. But hear me clearly, beloved: man cannot overwrite what God has written in the skies! When puny individuals raise "their" flag in complete defiance of God, their plans will ultimately end in defeat. Some will attempt to undo the divine narrative, but God's truth remains unshakeable! And His banner in the sky will remain eternally, long after pride flags are gone.

The Scriptures: God's Original 911

But let's dig a bit deeper, and I want to share an eye-opening mystery about the rainbow. To gain a correct understanding of the rainbow — who really created it, the purpose it has, as well as its promise — you will never look at the rainbow the same way again. But in order to do that, we must leave the shifting sands of modern opinion and turn back to where the rainbow first appeared. It began in God's story, and beloved, you will soon see it is God's rainbow.[4]

Let's set the background of Genesis chapter 9. Human wickedness had reached catastrophic proportions. Genesis 6:5 tells us that every intent of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. Combined with these evil intents of the heart and mind, we find the outworking of evil in Genesis 6:11 and 6:13. "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence" (Genesis 6:11, 6:13). Take special note of that word "violence." It is the Hebrew word hamas. It was because of all the hamas that God brought a global deluge in judgment, sweeping away the ancient world. In the midst of all of that taxing sin, evil, and hamas, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. As a result, he and his family were saved. When the floodwaters finally receded and the ark rested on dry ground, Noah stepped out into a changed world.

Now friends, I don't want you to miss this incredible, hidden secret! It's right here in this story, just a few chapters after the flood. And it is right here that we come to a glorious promise — God's Original "911" — the very first 911 ever written in sacred Scripture, along with many other "911" declarations! Pause and think about that: long before 9-1-1 became an emergency rescue code in our culture, Almighty God put together His own rescue call and everlasting covenant.

Beloved, look at God's very first 911 message in Genesis 9:11:

"...I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."[5]

In other words, God is saying: "I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood" (CEV). That was a promise made over 4,300 years ago. God pledged that despite man's continued frailty, He would never again destroy the earth with a global flood.

Centuries later, Jesus Himself referenced this monumental period. In Matthew 24:37, our Savior declared:

"But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."[6]

Jesus pointed out that in the end times, individuals would mirror those in the days of Noah — carefree, self-absorbed, flagrantly sinning, and oblivious to impending judgment. Yet — and you cannot miss this — embedded within Christ's warning is the enduring reality of God's covenant. Think about when that promise was originally made — over 4,300 years ago. And in all that time, God has never once violated His promise! From the moment Noah stepped off the ark down to this very hour, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter have not ceased.[7] Not a single drop of global judgment floodwater has broken that sacred oath. That's God's first 911, my friends, and it can never be drowned!

The Sign in the Sky

But God decided He would do more than just give that promise. He decided He would stamp it with an everlasting visual expression. He gives us that visual expression just a few verses down in Genesis 9:16: "When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."[8] Notice, the promise wasn't a temporary promise, but "the eternal covenant" He made to both Noah and all the people of the earth. God makes an everlasting promise that comes with a visual picture — the rainbow!

Security for the Believer

When you and I, believers in Messiah Jesus, see the rainbow in the sky, it has a much deeper, spiritual, and abiding meaning. Oh, this should give your heart such security, beloved! In a world where treaties are broken, promises are forgotten, and human systems collapse, we can trust God's Word wholly! Jesus promised: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words cannot pass away" (Mark 13:31). And to hear Him live and in person? It's no wonder the Bible says: "all the people hung on every word he said" (Luke 19:48).[9] He is the truth, and His promises are anchored in His unchangeable, holy character.

The Bible tells us it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). He cannot speak even a single "white lie." It is not in His nature to lie. Why? Because He is wholly truth. And friends, if God kept His word to Noah through the catastrophic upheaval of a world-ending flood, He will keep His promises to you through whatever storm you are facing today! Because you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

Safe in the Ark: Another Picture of Jesus

Let's go back to the Ark for a moment. Was it simply a story for us to grow our faith, or is there a deeper, spiritual reality to the Ark? Beloved, the picture God has given us points to a Person. The Ark is a picture of Jesus' saving work. He is the Ark of Salvation, and all who are in Him will be brought to the glorious dwelling place in heaven.

Allow me to illustrate this with the remarkable true story of the Squalus — a United States Navy submarine that suffered a catastrophic failure and sank over two hundred feet down to the cold, pitch-black floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Trapped inside that sunken vessel, thirty-three men found themselves shrouded in heavy, suffocating darkness, facing what seemed like inevitable death. (Insert more about what they were suffering). But topside, a daring rescue operation was set into motion using a newly engineered, experimental Rescue Chamber.

Lowered deep into the abyss, and by God's grace, that Rescue Chamber locked onto the hatch of the sunken submarine. The hatch was opened by [?] inside the Rescue Chamber; then, one by one, those men stepped out of the cold, hopeless gloom of the deep sea and into the sanctuary of that Rescue Chamber. Slowly, it lifted them out of the watery depths, and at the end of [?], all thirty-three men were brought safely up into the marvelous light of day!

Friends, Jesus Christ is the ultimate Rescue Chamber![10]

Just like those men trapped in the crushing darkness of the ocean floor, we too were trapped in the suffocating darkness of sin, completely unable to save ourselves. But Jesus lowered Himself into the abyss of our broken world. He stepped into our darkness so that He might carry us out! Hallelujah! He has delivered us from the power and dominion of darkness and transferred us — in Himself, the ultimate Rescue Chamber — out of the depths and into the portals of glory and marvelous light! (see Colossians 1:13) And just as those men found safety because they were inside the Rescue Chamber, we too have safety because "...your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). Hallelujah! You, dear saint, are anchored inside the true Rescue Chamber.

So, when the floodwaters of sin, judgment, and earthly tribulation threaten to overwhelm us, Christ envelopes us in His righteousness. He enters the depths of our fallen world, places us securely inside Himself, and says to our weary hearts: "Beloved, you are Mine and I am yours. Your life is hid inside Mine. You are safe in Me." Hallelujah! Jesus is the Ark that takes the full brunt of God's holy judgment against sin so that those inside remain completely untouched. And just as He brought Noah safely to dry ground, Jesus Christ will bring you safely to the other side![11]

The Sequel in Heaven: The Eternal Witness around the Throne

Beloved, I want to show you what is yet to come for you and me. I want to share with you what the Apostle John saw with his very own eyes. In Revelation chapter 4, verse 3, the Apostle John is granted a door opened in heaven to see the ultimate high tower of divine sovereignty. John writes:

"And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald."[12]

Notice that! The rainbow doesn't just belong to the clouds over Earth; John says it encircles the very throne of Jesus Christ in heaven! Why? Because God's redemption is a multicolored salvation!

The rainbow is composed of every distinct spectrum of light blending together into one glorious display. In the same way, the salvation found in Jesus Christ is not reserved for one nation, one culture, or one background. It is a Tower of Colors — a gospel woven for every tribe, every tongue, every nation, and every race![13]

Gathered around that emerald throne, clothed in white robes, will be a vast, beautiful mosaic of humanity redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.[14] The world tried to hijack the rainbow to divide us and glorify human pride, but God gives us another beautiful visual display of His faithfulness encircling Him! It's as if that heavenly, eternal rainbow around the throne speaks and says: "See, I have kept My word. I have not altered the thing that has gone out of My mouth. What I have spoken, I made sure to fulfill. There has not been one good word of all that I have spoken that has not come to pass. My word is eternal. And now, every tongue, every nation of people, can witness it full circle! My first 911 promise is still valid in eternity and encircles My throne!"

A Summons to Enter the Ark

Friend, I don't know which side of the rainbow you stand on today, but this one thing I do know: what you have read is now and will be forever stamped on your soul. There is no avoiding the truth, just as we cannot avoid the reality of the rainbow in the sky. God has placed it there as an emblem that He can be trusted, that His Word is true, that you can hang on every word He says, and embrace the gift of salvation, just as Noah and his family did. Have you entered the true Ark of Salvation? Have you stepped into the ultimate Rescue Chamber by His grace? If not, then I urge you to do what the Bible says: repent of your sins, trust in the finished work of the Cross, and call on Jesus — asking Him to save you. And He will! The Bible says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord (JESUS) WILL be saved" (Romans 10:13). Call on Him today, and He will bring you into the Ark and show you the multifaceted wonders of His Word.

Friend, when you look at the cross and when you look at the throne, you see that God's love embraces every color, every race, and every soul who runs to Jesus for refuge. He is our Ark; He is our Covenant, and He is our multicolored King!

Hallelujah!

End Notes

  1. Reports recorded on September 11, 2016, of a full rainbow appearing over Ground Zero and One World Trade Center on the 15th anniversary of 9/11.

  2. Genesis 9:12–13, "And God said: 'This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you... I set My rainbow in the cloud.'"

  3. Romans 1:25, "Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator."

  4. Ezekiel 1:28, "Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."

  5. Genesis 9:11, New King James Version (NKJV).

  6. Matthew 24:37, NKJV.

  7. Genesis 8:22, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease."

  8. Genesis 9:16, NKJV.

  9. Luke 19:48, NKJV.

  10. 1 Peter 3:20–21, detailing how the ark was a type and prefiguring of salvation in Christ Jesus; Colossians 1:13, "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love."

  11. John 10:28, "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."

  12. Revelation 4:3, NKJV.

  13. Revelation 5:9, "And they sang a new song, saying: 'You are worthy... for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.'"

  14. Revelation 7:9, "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."