The rainbow was popularized as an official symbol of the gay community in the early 1970s. Consider the two authoritative constructions of the rainbow from the LGBTQ community:
…2. The accepted designation for each color of the rainbow is believed to have originated when a San Francisco artist, Gilbert Baker designed the gay pride flag as having six stripes, each one having its own meaning: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for art, and violet for the human spirit.
…It is remarkable to note the number chosen in each case, the first rainbow had eight colors, the official rainbow has six. This is not a mere coincidence. Theologically, Satan has offered us, again, a counterfeit way and a counterfeit sign that promises a way of happiness apart from God. Read More»
Chris Gordon | “Should Christians Redeem the Rainbow?” | April 30, 3021
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Dr. Clark,
Thank you for reposting Pastor Chris Gordon’s short rap sheet on the counterfeit rainbow.
“It is remarkable to note the number chosen in each case, the first rainbow had eight colors, the official rainbow has six. This is not a mere coincidence. Theologically, Satan has offered us, again, a counterfeit way and a counterfeit sign that promises a way of happiness apart from God.”
God’s Rainbow displays a spectrum of seven colors and the message: God’s Lord and King is our personal Savior – He has the power and will to forgive and justify.
I wouldn’t want to dispute the main part of Chris’s thesis about counterfeit rainbows deliberately avoiding the number 7, but it is not self-evidently Biblical that a rainbow must have seven colors. The history of that idea appears to go back to Isaac Newton, who may have been influenced by Pythagorus to add orange and indigo to his original five colors to get an appropriate” number, seven. But I’m not sure any ancient Hebrew would have seen seven colors when they looked at the rainbow. There are a number of distinct reds and blue-purples in Hebrew, as well as white and black, but no obvious words for the abstract colors yellow, orange, or green (though English translations have sometimes introduced them). Unless there is something that I’m missing here?
Not sure why those colors were selected originally, but a number of years ago some kid took a picture of a rainbow with a camera that was loaded with infrared film. Turned out that there were many more arcs in a rainbow than just the visible colors. Even scientists had never thought to do that and were surprised when they saw the photo.