Have you ever wondered what a double rainbow means?
If you’ve ever seen a double rainbow, you’re blessed as they are scarce.
I’ve seen two of them! The first one was three years ago. At that time, I postulated the meaning. I was stuck on Psalm 19. After seeing the double rainbow, a second perfect rainbow in the same place in the sky, and a third, partial rainbow, I came up with this:
The first two rainbows were impeccable and complete. They represent the first two parts of Psalm 19 scripture:
Recognizing the majesty and glory of God
A celebration of the perfection of the word of God
And the third, partially complete rainbow?
Contemplating life with God in light of our imperfections
Fast forward three years…
The second double rainbow that I saw was a few weeks ago while waiting for repairs to the ferry returning from my work trip to Ocean Cay. The funny thing was that I was the only person present at the dock who saw it!
How are double rainbows formed?
Somehow I knew you were wondering that!
When you look at a double rainbow, you will notice that the color pattern is reversed from the first to the second rainbow. Let’s dig in deeper.
Rainbows occur when light from the sun hits a raindrop. The light refracts, or bends, when it hits the raindrop, reflects off the back from the drop, and then bends again as it exits the raindrop. Through a process called dispersion, longer wavelengths of light (those we see as red) bend less than the shorter (blue to violet) ones [source: Mass]. That’s why red is at the top of the rainbow in a longer arch, and violet is at the bottom in a shorter, tighter one.
A double rainbow occurs in the sky when the sunlight is reflected twice in the same drop! That means you can see two different reflections, coming from different angles [source: Plait]. The result is something super cool — instead of seeing red at the top and violet at the bottom like a regular, everyday rainbow, the second, or double rainbow (which is always higher in the sky and lighter in color than the primary) has the colors reversed!
What does a double rainbow mean?
Hang on; we’re almost there!
At the time I saw the second double, God was urging me to write this article. He had recently revealed to me that I needed to change a few things up and that He had a new gift for me. How new I don’t know because, in hindsight, He has been communicating to me in this way for a while now. I didn’t recognize the gift.
If you search the internet on the meaning of the double rainbow, you’ll find several intriguing ideas. Eastern culture believes they’re a sign of good fortune. Some also say the first rainbow represents the material world and the second the spiritual. Hmm…
So what do the scriptures say about a double rainbow? Nada. In Genesis, God placed a single rainbow in the sky after flooding the earth (a storm that only Noah’s family and a chosen few animals survived in the ark). The rainbow represented God’s promise to humanity that He would never flood the earth again.
Now, as for that query about the double rainbow.
I believe the first rainbow represents the first coming of Jesus.
So the first color at the bottom of a rainbow is violet. And what does violet represent in the Bible? Royalty and great worth. And who is worthy? Yep, Jesus. And on the third day, He was resurrected. That’s what 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 says. So that’s my take on the first rainbow.
And what about the second rainbow? I think it leads to the second coming; that Jesus will return. The second double with violet on top represents Jesus taking all the believers back to heaven with Him, at the second coming and the end of the church age.
And the Bible verse that leads me to this conclusion?
This one came to me from the Lord at the same time that I saw the second double:
Preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14-14
Here, we translate the Greek, kairos, as a strategic opportunity! It’s the right, critical, or opportune time!!
That’s what Jesus told us 2,000 years ago. The end is near, so repent and believe. That sounds like an urgent message to me!
This all went down at the time of a spiritual awakening at my church. So I considered it an urgent message from God, and one that He was prompting me to share with you!
So that’s it, folks!