When Jesus was here on Earth, He favored John; and John in return loved Jesus deeply. In describing the disciple whom Jesus loved, John had so much humility that he did not identify himself as that one. It was John leaning on the breast of Jesus during the Last Supper. The Lord loved John’s personality, his enthusiasm, his faith, his speech.

John was young when he began his discipleship; and after Jesus ascended into Heaven, John endured much. Many years had passed since he looked into the compelling eyes of Jesus. Now well up in years, John is exiled to the small, rocky island of Patmos. In visions Jesus Himself reveals to John events to come throughout the church age and on into the latter days. Based on these visions, the book of Revelation is written. John also is the author of the Gospel of John and of I, II, and III John.

A Door Opens in Heaven

In the fourth chapter of Revelation, we find that in a vision John has been caught up into Heaven, a type of the Rapture of the Bride of Christ. After this I [John] looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne (Revelation 4:1,2). It’s Jesus on the throne talking to John in the vision. Jesus is magnificent in His glorified state, wonderful to look upon. Standing in Heaven before the throne…how thrilled John was! John easily identified the One sitting on the throne, for John had known Him in the flesh. Seeing His beloved Jesus again must have filled John with great joy.

Once in a vision I saw Jesus in His glorified state, and I never have been able to describe Him adequately. Only the Holy Spirit could describe Him. He is the most beautiful sight one could imagine, a vision to study and look upon forever. I just wanted to hold Him and never let go. When you behold His glory it will be the most breathtaking sight you have ever seen.

Three Precious Stones

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald (Revelation 4:3). Face to face with Jesus, surrounded by all the wonder of Heaven, John’s attention is on Him—jasper and sardine in appearance, sitting upon a beautiful throne surrounded by an emerald rainbow. John saw the greatest beauty of Heaven. Circling the figure of Christ, the rainbow was a fitting frame for the most glorious One of all. Of great significance, that emerald rainbow in Heaven belongs to the Church, the body of Christ. One day we will see it, too, if we remain faithful.

Three stones are mentioned in this third verse: the emerald to which the rainbow is compared, the jasper and sardine that describe Jesus. All have a special meaning. Everything God has put in His Book has purpose.

The jasper spoken of in the Scripture is clear, brilliant, transparent—the way Jesus looked to John.

The sardine stone is blood red, much like a ruby. Jesus is clear and beautiful—but there is the blood, the red. The blood must always be there to remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus, the blood for all time and eternity. We can never do away with the blood.

The sardine stone has great significance. God wouldn’t have taken so much time with types and shadows if they weren’t important. In Exodus, the sardine stone is mentioned first and the jasper last; but in Revelation this order is reversed. Why? There is a definite reason. Those in Old Testament days were looking forward to the Cross; we on the other side of history are looking back to it. For that reason the sardine stone is mentioned last in Revelation but first in the Old Testament. God has a purpose for everything.

When Moses and the Children of Israel looked down through time to the future, the red representing the blood was first, pointing to the Cross and the crucified Lamb. The Old Testament saints saw the sardine stone first—the blood—and then the jasper, representing victory over the Cross, the Lord’s power to rule over all in the future. John, reversing the order, saw Jesus first as the jasper, victorious over the Cross, and then as the sardine stone representing His blood spilled on Calvary. The green emerald of the rainbow denotes life, eternal life emanating from the throne. Jesus came to bring eternal life to all who would believe on His name.

The Law of First Mention

The rainbow is mentioned only a few times in the Bible in the first and last books, Genesis and Revelation. God gives us the meaning of the rainbow so that we will recognize its significance whenever we read of it elsewhere. Everything God uses in the Bible is for our understanding; the Bible is not a closed Book.

As we search deeper into the significance of the rainbow, keep in mind the law of first mention. The first mention of a word, an incident or phrase in the Bible gives the key to its meaning elsewhere in the Scripture. The first mention of a rainbow is found in Genesis right after Noah came out of the ark and offered a sacrifice to God. And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:20-22). 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. 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: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud…that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth (Genesis 9:11-14,16). God’s promise was made on the basis of Noah’s sacrifice. As a token of the covenant, God placed a rainbow in the clouds, a reminder of His faithfulness.

The rainbow of Noah’s day came after God had sent a great flood on the earth, destroying everyone but eight souls. God beheld the sacrifice of Noah, a type of Calvary—the altar, the blood being offered for mankind—and He made a promise, a covenant promise. It’s our covenant promise with God, too. When God smelled the sweet savor of faith, He bound Himself with a covenant, guaranteeing he would never destroy the earth with a flood again.

In Genesis 9 we find the interpretation of the rainbow that surrounded the throne in Revelation 4. God’s covenant promise tells us there is a way of escape for those who accept it. The rainbow still means God’s covenant. Very few will be saved from the devastating storm that is coming upon the earth at the end of the age, from the terrible judgment of God in the Tribulation Period; but the Lord will not destroy His obedient. Because of His covenant of grace for all eternity they will be protected. Today Jesus is our sacrifice, our offering. He was offered for the sins of many; and it’s whosoever will, let him come and be cleansed.

God Bound Himself to the Human Race

Just as God bound Himself with a covenant to Noah, He bound Himself by Calvary to the human race with His covenant of grace. All who want God can be delivered from their sins; all can be saved and filled with the Holy Ghost if they want to be. Everyone has the chance to escape judgment. No one ever has to be destroyed in the terrible storm of the Tribulation soon to come. It took the worst storm that has ever been in Heaven to make that covenant of grace’s rainbow possible; it took the storm of Calvary. All hell boiled over at Jesus’ crucifixion, at His dying for mankind. And when He cried through the blackness of that day, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46), how Heaven must have grieved! As you look upon the rainbow, remember not only God’s covenant with Noah, but the covenant of Calvary and what Jesus suffered to impart His righteousness into all who would take Him into their hearts. We’ll rejoice over that covenant for all eternity, for with His shed blood, Jesus made atonement for our sins. The more you study God’s covenant, the more vivid it will become in your mind and accepted in your spirit. Not only with Noah did God make a covenant, but with all mankind and the earth as well.

A Symbol of Receding Judgment

A rainbow is produced by the refraction of light through droplets of water. Refraction: the light rays are deflected from a straight path. The curved surfaces of the raindrops deflect the light rays, breaking them into the solar spectrum, seven visible colors of the rainbow. A storm and a sun are usually required to make a rainbow as we generally think of it.

Life is not all rainbows; life includes the storms, but the rainbow appears after the storm, a symbol of receding judgment.

No need today to build an ark to protect yourself from God’s wrath. Your ark is Jesus Christ. You are safe in Him. The rainbow of God’s covenant promise of Calvary is yours. Jesus said: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:1,2). Go back to your covenant promise at Calvary. Go back to Noah’s covenant promise—your promise too. God’s symbol of receding judgment always lets you know that the storm has ended.

The coming of the Lord means that the storm of God’s wrath will have passed over those who are taken with Him. When you see the rainbow John saw, you will know the Church’s storm is over, the Church composed of those truly born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit, those living holy, on fire for the Lord. We will have escaped; no more storms. (Although the Holy Spirit baptism is not a requirement for salvation, it is a requirement for those who are taken in the Rapture.) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:15-17).

I’ve met many people who have yearned for those words “the storm is over,” who have needed that rainbow of promise. It looked as though they were going through more than any human could endure, that their storm had been endless, grueling, destructive. If they could have only seen the rainbow at the end and held onto God’s promise, they could have been rid of their fear and put their trust in Him.

No More Storms

Noah’s rainbow meant a lot to him, and our covenant rainbow means life to us. Noah couldn’t have lived in peace and joy without that promise of safety from Heaven. Every time he saw a cloud, he and his family would have been frightened because of the approaching storm. But Noah knew the rainbow of God’s promise meant God would keep them safe, and we know that the rainbow of God’s covenant of grace is more than sufficient to keep us safe.

When the Church has endured her last storm, the door of Heaven will open for the children of God to enter. We will see our Savior, our Covenant One who brought us grace, our High Priest sitting on the throne surrounded by the rainbow. All we need do is look to our rainbow, Calvary, God’s covenant rainbow for this dispensation of grace. On that day when we stand before the throne adoring Christ, I’m sure we, like John, will see the glorious emerald rainbow. We will look around, saying one to another, “No more storms! The storm is over! Home at last—we’re safe! Oh glory to God!”

When the Lord smelled a sweet savor of sacrifice and saw the blood of His Son Jesus, He made and sealed a covenant of deliverance for each man, woman, boy and girl who would take Jesus into his or her heart. Deliverance for time and eternity. The storm had passed.

Jesus told one of the seven churches of Revelation that He would keep them from the hour of the storm coming upon the earth in the Tribulation Period. When our storms of afflictions, of persecutions, trials and tribulations pass, there will be no more storms, no more tests or trials. Thank God for Jesus our High Priest, for the Son of the Living God, for the Old Rugged Cross, for the power of Calvary, the blood, the blood, the blood! Praises to the Lord will echo and re-echo in Heaven. People will forever praise God for the blood and sing the songs of the redeemed, the blood songs that even the angels cannot sing. Why can’t angels sing the redemption songs? Because they have never sinned, never needed to be reclaimed. Those steeped in sins who then found their way to salvation through the blood of Jesus will be the ones who will sing the redemption songs, those who needed a High Priest called Jesus the Son of the Living God.

No crosses in Heaven, but a rainbow. John didn’t see a cross around the throne but a rainbow of hope, eternal hope, courage, deliverance, a covenant with God. I repeat, just like Noah’s rainbow was a covenant, our rainbow is an eternal covenant through Jesus Christ and His blood. Receive Him and be on the rainbow side of God’s wrath because down on Earth during the Great Tribulation, the storm will be raging like it’s never raged before, a storm of God’s wrath continuing seven years, the last part of the storm the worst. But those who are saved and Holy Spirit filled will be in Heaven; no night, no storm, no ill winds can reach them there. They will be on the side of peace and love, eternal love. Remember, Jesus made it all possible.

The Precious Stones of the Breastplate of Judgment

The high priest under the Law of the Old Testament was a type and shadow of the High Priest to come, Jesus Christ. In great detail the Lord told Moses how the High Priest was to be dressed. Exodus 28:15,17-21, And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their enclosings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. Note the four rows of stones, three in a row, totaling twelve. These twelve stones represent the twelve tribes of the Children of Israel, starting with the blood-red sardius stone for Reuben. The last stone, the clear, brilliant jasper is for Benjamin the twelfth son of Israel. Again it points to the Cross that would bring our victory because Christ was victorious on it. Without the Cross would be no victory.

The emerald is Judah’s stone, green, the first stone in the second row of the priest’s breastplate. Judah was the tribe from which King Jesus came. The name Judah means praise, and the emerald rainbow will bring praise for eternity when the storm is over. What praise will go up to Heaven in the Perfect Age!

Green, remember, denotes eternal life, freshness, endurance, the green of life that will never fade away. The roses will have no thorns; they will never wither because of the eternal fresh life. The Garden of Eden was green, green, green; and Judah’s stone could certainly represent the Garden of Eden as well as the life of Heaven that our High Priest has made possible for us. In ancient times, the emerald was also the wedding stone, a fitting jewel for the Bride of Christ to see circling the throne.

The breastplate, the garments of the High Priest, the curiously wrought cloth all were made according to the instructions of God; and all had meaning. The stones on the priest’s breastplate were part of the diligently followed plan of the Tabernacle given by Moses according to the orders of God.

After a detailed description of how every part of this breastplate was to be made and bound to the ephod, or robe, of the priest, the Lord gives the meaning of the mysterious provisions: And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually (Exodus 28:29). The twelve tribes of Israel were represented by the high priest. When he entered the Tabernacle, he carried on his robe over his heart the breastplate of judgment bearing the stones of the twelve tribes of Israel. The high priest in this way kept the people before the judgment seat, before God, as offerings to Him were made. These offerings by the high priests were the protection of the Israelites. Although the Israelites did not always live right—they often became vile, ugly and steeped in sin—the intercession of the holy priests held back God’s judgment.

The lengths to which God went to establish the priesthood’s many meaningful symbols of salvation demonstrate the extent God hates sin. Daily the priest made intercession for the sins of his people, averting judgment by the constant application of blood from the burnt offerings of the altar.

Jesus, Our High Priest

In this day of grace, the blood of Christ flows over the souls of born-again Christians. No longer is a man offering intercession to God for the sins of the people; now the intercession is offered by divinity, by Jesus our High Priest who shed His blood once for all, divine blood. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:11-14). By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (verse 10). The blood of Jesus is available for you to use. The high priest in the Old Testament used the blood of animals over and over to symbolize the atonement for sins. All that blood-letting day after day could not have been pleasant, but atonement was necessary because man had sinned against his God. Had there not been an intercessor, judgment would have fallen. Aaron held back the judgments of God again and again from the tribes of Israel. Think what he went through, but then think what Jesus suffered. Aaron suffered much to keep blood before the throne of God constantly, and God suffered the most distressing sacrifice He had ever experienced when He saw His Son die on Calvary.

The Price of Our Protection

Aaron needed great love for his people in order to daily offer those sacrifices. He was called by God to do it, and he was willing. Aaron’s daily offering gave a great picture to the Israelites of peace and security: offerings were their protection. They knew as long as Aaron was in the proper place, they had the promise of protection. Today we have Jesus our High Priest at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. With Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father, we have protection. The devil cannot take over our souls, our souls cannot be destroyed—as long as we do not willfully sin. We have protection—but a great price was paid for it.

The Israelites were not worthy of the protection provided them by Aaron, and we are not worthy of the protection provided us by Jesus. Yet when Aaron stood with that breastplate of judgment on which every tribes’ name was engraved on a precious stone, the intercession of Christ Jesus was represented.

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22). No remission for sins without the shedding of blood.

Following Jesus is to be done in great simplicity. He is the One making intercession; He is our High Priest. We do not have to depend upon man for intercession as people did under the Law, but on the blood of Jesus, the blood-red sardine stone.

We know from the New Testament, especially the book of Hebrews, the importance of the blood and the function of the high priest. Aaron in his priestly office, remember, was a type of Jesus Christ’s priestly intercession for us. All the symbols in the Old Testament are shadows of living realities to come, but the type and shadow is never as strong as the real thing.

The book of Hebrews makes the distinction between the types and the living realities. Jesus did away with the ritual and ceremony of Old Testament intercession. All the greatness is in Jesus, not in the form. He is Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This is the Jesus that John the Revelator is seeing.

An Exacting God

Are you willing to do whatever God calls you to do in just the way He wants it done? Aaron fulfilled his office, and we ought to be able to do that which the Lord calls on us to do today.

The Bible was given to show us God’s will for humanity. Think of the patience of God over these hundreds and hundreds of years it took to give us the Bible, our instruction Book, our lifeline. How long He worked to get men ready in order to pour His pure and clean Word through them so His will could be done exactly as He wanted! It took God eighty years to prepare a Moses. God had to have a man completely obedient; God depended on Moses not only to lead His people out of the wilderness, but to build a Tabernacle. God’s instructions about the Tabernacle were to be followed precisely, and they involved requirements that puzzled the human mind. Study the twenty-eighth chapter of Exodus. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). Why would the great God of the universe be so exacting? He is an exacting God, exacting in His salvation, in expecting holy living and upright moral character. We must be exacting, too. We can have no sin in our lives. Jesus is coming after the Glorious Church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. John the Revelator was without spot or wrinkle when he was caught up to meet the Lord in the air in this vision. He is a type, just a type of the Bride of Christ, and he had to be spotless.

Experiencing wonderful things in a vision of Heaven, John saw the victorious Christ. One day we will live in the reality of what he saw. Our reality will take us into eternity, but John’s vision ended; he had to come back down from Heaven. Think how desolate the barren Isle of Patmos must have looked to him after seeing Heaven! What a great adjustment he had to make.

Names Mean a Lot to God

The name “Reuben” points to the Cross. The name is derived from two Hebrew words meaning “behold the son.” Reuben represented the One to whom John was referring when he said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Behold the Son!

Benjamin’s name is a combination of two Hebrew words meaning “the son of my right hand,” or “the son of my power.” Jesus Christ, the Son of God’s power, the Son of His right hand, came to bring deliverance, to reconcile man to his God. Keep in mind that the first and last stones in the priest’s breastplate pointed to our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God that He brought a better plan than the Law for us!

Liberty in the Lord Means Dedication

This is the greatest time to live since man left the Garden of Eden. This dispensation of grace brings with it liberty and close communion with the Lord. We are told in Galatians 5:13, Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. Don’t misuse your liberties and thus enter into bondage. Many, because of their liberty and freedom from ritual under the Law, sometimes forget to be steadfast in their dedications, their praying, fasting and living in the Word of God. Such little is required of us compared to the rigors of obedience to the Law. It is easy for us to forget to be dedicated to the Lord; certainly the devil would like our dedication to be wiped away.

When you truly remember Jesus, you gladly stand by your obligations and commitments to Him. You’re dedicated. When you forget Jesus, when Jesus is not fresh in your mind, neither are your obligations. Only the Holy Spirit and your obedience to God can keep Jesus fresh and alive in your spirit; then it is easy to keep your commitments, to remember the path you are to walk with God.

Jesus fulfilled the types and shadows of Himself in the Old Testament, and He continues to do so today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, the changing, changeless Christ. He changes lives, but He Himself never changes.

Calvary cannot fail. Calvary with its death of the divine Son of God brought about the resurrection of life for all who will walk with the Lord, all who will love Him and accept Him as their High Priest. Earth’s storms will pass because God has promised, because Calvary is our rainbow of His eternal grace.

Where Are You with Your Life?

Where are you in Bible prophecy? Where are you with your life? Are you going to be one of the chosen few the Lord will pick? Will you be taken in the Rapture? God has a plan to get you out of here, just as He had other plans of escape for people down through the years. He had a plan for Noah to escape the awful judgment that was about to fall. There were things on Noah’s part to do, preparations to be made—and he made them. Multitudes who neglected to make preparations perished. Preparations for the Rapture must be made also.

Will you let the devil deceive you, convincing you that you can live an unholy life in any way, that you can commit sin—even a little sin—and still be ready for Heaven? That’s the deceit of Lucifer, poison to the soul. No sinner will get into Heaven, much less be taken in the Rapture. In that moment, the twinkling of the eye when the Rapture takes place, you will have to be ready, without sin and filled with the Holy Ghost. There will be no time to prepare, no warning signal.

To be careless, to gamble with your eternal soul is a terrible risk. The Lord is warning people daily. It’s time to take heed and serve God, to look unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of your faith. It’s time to walk holy, time to know that Jesus will soon come just before the Great Tribulation sets in. Don’t be without God in these dangerous times. You don’t know when you will enter eternity.

Come to Jesus today and let Him help you. Come to the Lord and let Him cleanse your soul, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who has worked so patiently to help you, the God who gave His Only Begotten Son. Ask Him to forgive all of your sins, and then invite Him into your heart. If you mean it, He will come. He is waiting to deliver you. All who are born again, cleansed of all sin will enter Heaven—as long as they remain sin-free. However, I say again, more than salvation is required to be eligible for the Rapture: the Holy Ghost baptism. It’s so crucial for you to get out of here before the Tribulation Period begins that Jesus came, not only giving His blood to save you, but sending the Holy Ghost to set up His abode in your heart, to baptize you in His Spirit. The Holy Ghost, the Third Person in the Trinity of the Godhead will then live and dwell on the inside of you, preparing you who are totally obedient for the second coming of the Lord.

A Prophecy of the Holy Spirit

Yea, saith the Lord: Lift up your heads, my children, redemption draweth nigh! Be strong in my Spirit. Use my Word. Live in my promises. Know that I am faithful: I will never leave you; I will never forsake you—I have promised you. I will walk with you in the valleys, and I will be with you in time of storm. I will be there with my rainbow. At the end of each storm I will reveal my greatness unto you, and you will know that I am the Lord thy God. You will know that I live, and you will know that I am truth and righteousness. You will know that I am your victory. You will know that I will do battle for you and no power can defeat you. Be faithful unto me. Deliverance will come. It will come again and again; but then it will be eternal victory, eternal deliverance because I keep my promises, saith the Lord.