Where have all the Rainbows gone?

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

This morning I found a very comprehensive site
on the subject of Rainbows and the Bible, and sacred art.

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~colmusic/rainbow.htm

But landscapes with rainbows were extremely rare in both secular and religious art - even as late as the 17th century, those of Rubens, and in Jacob van Ruisdael's "The Jewish Cemetery", were exceptions.    In religious art, the rainbow throne was fading from prominence as a new iconography emerged. Images of the bow had begun to lose their colour, often reduced to a pale or golden band with minimal indication of its stripes. So it also appeared in scenes of classical mythology, catering to the interests of private clients. No longer would sacred figures front the viewer in the time-honoured Byzantine fashion, sitting on a rainbow, and confined by borders to their heavenly sphere. They began to disport themselves more freely about the sky, walking among the clouds, with not a rainbow in sight. The new arrangement could be applied to the Last Judgement, justified by the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. On the last day, mankind would see "the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory". This glory of the resurrected Christ was shown as a burst of golden light, if at all. It no longer manifested in perfected colour, "just as variously coloured glass derives its splendour from the sun's radiance", as Thomas Aquinas had put it (evidently, drawing his analogy from 13th century stained glass.) As the Bible was read afresh during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, its stories took on a new appearance.

It appears to this observer that the Reformation
fundamentally broke the back of the rainbow
as it relates to God's covenant. 

King Henry VIII probably hated them too! 

So now we know why it is so easy for the forces in the world
who are trying to destroy the covenant of marriage
to proudly march under the rainbow banner.

The Fullness of Truth
will set them free.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,

Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for: Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas; St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael