
Early one morning whilst Debbie was walking on the beach in France she noticed a rainbow which seemed to be coming out of a lighthouse, as she watched it grew both in length and beauty until it spanned the whole sky and even reflected in the wet sand at her feet. It’s brightness and beauty could not be fully captured with her phone camera and left her spontaneously dancing and praising God on the beach. As we pondered these things over the next few days we felt the Lord speaking to us about the coming outpouring of God’s Spirit.
Biblical foundations and Context.
The things I am about to share will seem like foolishness to the natural man, indeed many will only see a natural phenomenon of sunlight split into the colours of the rainbow. However those who know and believe the Bible realise that God has said that signs will follow those who believe.(Mk 16:17) He has promised that some of those signs will be in the heavens (Acts 2 : 19). The first identified sign in the Bible is the rainbow which which God tells us is a sign of the covenant between Himself and “All Flesh”. The rainbow, placed in the clouds, is a sign of the covenant between God and “All Flesh” (note this expression) that never again will there be an out pouring that destroys and then renews the earth. However, as the story of the Bible goes on we see that in God’s unfolding plan of redemption of the earth another outpouring is promised, which like the first outpouring will renew the earth, like the first out pouring it’s scope will be global, universal and it appears it may even change the very ecology of our planet.
This out pouring is not going to be of the waters of the deep and the rain of the skies but rather an outpouring of the knowledge of glory of the Lord. (Is 9:11, Hab 2:14). Using language that echoes the earlier biblical passages describing the deluge Isaiah and Habakuk say the knowledge of the glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The prophet Joel spoke about this outpouring and tells us it will be an outpouring of the Spirit of God on “all flesh” which would result in a massive increase in prophetic revelation, dreams, visions, and great signs and wonders, leading to a great number of salvations. In the book of Acts (2:17-21) Peter references this passage to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit fell on the early church on that first Pentecost it was the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise of God to fill the earth with the “Knowledge of the Glory of the Lord”. There is much more I can say but for the sake of brevity let’s jump to the back of the book to one of the greatest prophetic visions in history given to the apostle John. In Revelation 10 v 1-7. we are given a glimpse “behind the curtain” and we see an angel clothed in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, which is the sign of God’s covenant that God has made between himself and “all flesh”, so he is carrying the authority of that covenant and he stands with one foot on the earth and one foot on the sea. Two possible interpretations for this are that his message is global for both Land and sea or it incorporates Israel (“The Land”) and the Gentiles (the Sea). Both interpretations would essentially amount to the same thing. The Angel comes and announces “there will be no more delay” and that the “Mystery of God” would be fulfilled.
What is this Mystery that is about to be fulfilled?
The answer to that is revealed both by studying the angel’s final instruction to John and by seeking out the meaning of “Mystery” in the Biblical history. The Angel says to John “(ESV Strong’s) You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
Why? It’s because that is what the Mystery is all about. In the Bible we first hear of Mystery in the book of Daniel. When King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream but it’s meaning was hidden from both the King and the wise men of the age but God revealed it to Daniel (1 Cor 2: 6-11 teaches God hides Mysteries and secrets from the kings and wise men of this age but reveals them to us by his Spirit.) The meaning of the dream was literally hidden for Daniel to find. Daniel prays for this “Mystery to be revealed” and when it is he prophesies about many peoples and nations and languages and Kings, the same expression John heard from the Angel in Revelation 10. Daniel spoke of Empires and Kingdoms that at that time were unborn but which today we study in our history text books with astonishing accuracy but the most exciting thing to see is the conclusion of this interpretation in Daniel 2:44 we read
(ESV Strong’s) 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.
In the time of the Roman Empire the King of Kings, Jesus came bringing the Kingdom of God with him. Since that time the Kingdom has been steadily advancing and filling the earth with the “knowledge of the Glory of the Lord”. This is the Mystery of God, hidden by God for our glory and redemption that the Kingdom of God is filling the earth, it is a Kingdom in which “All Flesh” Jew and Gentile, Male and female, young and old, of every culture and ethnicity share equally. The outpouring began at Pentecost and it will continue and even accelerate until “the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea”
Standing on that beach in St. George de Didonne as that Rainbow swept over the sky Debbie wasn’t just seeing a beautiful wonder in the sky but a covenantal reminder that the God of History has not forgotten his love and promises over France, over Europe and the Earth.The Rainbow started from the lighthouse and covered the sky, we are his lighthouse. Get ready for the light of God to pour through your life to touch the world around you with love, joy, faith and hope. The rainbow is a reminder that no matter how powerful Kings look on the earth, or great an empire seems to be there is another King, and another Kingdom that is filling the earth and will never be destroyed. Get ready for a global outpouring. Standing under that Rainbow, once again reminded of God’s unfailing love and his faithfulness Debbie just stopped and danced and gave praise to the one who sits on the only throne that truly matters.