Unchangeable Light

When we think of visible light, what we’re really talking about is pure white light. Sir Issac Newton was the first person to scientifically identify that white light (visible light) also contains colors. Newton placed a prism in a room and passed a beam of light through it. He discovered what we now know as the spectrum—think colors of the rainbow—starting at red and ending at violet.

He then took another prism and redirected all of the beams back through it, recombining them back into pure white light.

This ultimately proved that white light is a merger of all colors that can be freely separated and recombined. Newton secluded each color one at a time and proved that nothing could be done to change them in any way.

(Note: Newton named a seventh color and called it indigo; however, most historical documents denote that this was based on his desire to connect colors with musical notes and his belief that seven was a perfect number. The point is somewhat moot since the spectrum is a continuum of colors defined by their wavelength.)

In the Bible, we see the rainbow (represented by the visible light spectrum) as a symbol of God’s promises (Genesis 9:12-13)—nothing can ever be done to change His promises that He’s made to us. One of the most beautiful promises comes from Jesus’ words in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”