Genesis 9:14

"And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud."

Keil summed up this passage by writing that:

"This presupposes that the rainbow then appeared for the first time in the vault of heaven. From this it may not be inferred that it did not rain on the earth before the flood, but that the atmosphere was differently constituted, a supposition in perfect harmony with the facts of natural history."[16]

The spiritual application of this is profound. Every cloud of our earthly existence is adorned with a rainbow of hope and promise. Against the dark clouds of human depression and sorrow, this symbol of the throne of God and of the Rainbow Angel holding forth the Redemptive word shines through the gloom of human fears and frustrations. The proverb that, "Every cloud has a silver lining" is but a variable statement of inherent promise contained in the rainbow. It would also appear to illuminate prophecy. The primary and secondary rainbows are a perfect illustration of how divine prophecies carry within them both a primary, or immediate, and secondary, or ultimate fulfillment. Examples of this are seen in Matthew 2:15,18 and in numerous other Biblical texts.