Excellent piece! Alastair Fowler has a good footnote on this, from the 2nd ed. of his PL.
triple-coloured: Cp. xi 866. For the belief that the rainbow's blue shows the Flood past, the fiery colour what is yet to come, see Svendsen (1956) 98. It stems from 2 Pet. 3:6ff, 13f, linking the Flood with a final conflagration, against those taking for granted the world's continuance: 'The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.' Then 'the elements shall melt with fervent heat, but those within the covenant may look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness'. Expectation that the present world will perish by fire was common; cp. viii 323-33n; De Doctrina i 33, YP vi 627f. An apocalypse aptly ends the vision of the first world' (xii 6).
Excellent piece! Alastair Fowler has a good footnote on this, from the 2nd ed. of his PL.
triple-coloured: Cp. xi 866. For the belief that the rainbow's blue shows the Flood past, the fiery colour what is yet to come, see Svendsen (1956) 98. It stems from 2 Pet. 3:6ff, 13f, linking the Flood with a final conflagration, against those taking for granted the world's continuance: 'The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.' Then 'the elements shall melt with fervent heat, but those within the covenant may look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness'. Expectation that the present world will perish by fire was common; cp. viii 323-33n; De Doctrina i 33, YP vi 627f. An apocalypse aptly ends the vision of the first world' (xii 6).
Wow, this is fascinating! Thanks.