Why We Wave Flags
Flags, Banners & Streamers
The Lord is my banner. Exodus 17:15
His banner over me is love. Song of Songs 2:4
Throughout scripture, God calls His people to raise a banner (standard, flag, ensign) in His name. He does this for several reasons:
Flags gather the people:
The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family. Numbers 2:2
He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Isaiah 11:12
Flags are a signal or form of communication:
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. Isaiah 11:10
Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep
nothing back. Jeremiah 50:2
Flags are a signal for battle:
Lift up a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her. Jeremiah 51:27
How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? Jeremiah 4:21
Flags proclaim victory:
We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of
our God. Psalm 20:5
The waving of flags is also symbolic of the wave offerings that were given to the Lord in the Old Testament (Leviticus) and the palms that were waved before Christ in the New Testament. The colors themselves are also symbolic of many things, just as the rainbow of colors is a symbol of God’s promise to Noah. As we wave different colors before the Lord, we are standing in the promises and proclaiming them over our lives and over the body of believers.
Silver: redemption, faith, truth, strength
Genesis 20:16; Exodus 25:3: Leviticus 5:15; Numbers 18:15-16; Psalm 12:6, 66:10; Proverbs 25:4;
Hosea 3:2; Matthew 26:15, 27:3, 9
Gold: divinity, glory of God
Exodus 37, 40:34-35; Psalm 21:3; Hebrew 9:4-5; Revelation 1:13-14
Bronze/brass: judgment, strength, perseverance (from refiner’s fire), feet of God
Exodus 27, 30:17-21; Numbers 21:9; Ezekiel 40:3; Daniel 10:5-6; Micah 4:13; Revelation 1:15, 2:18
Red: blood covering, blood of the Lamb, atonement, warfare, celebration, love of God
Exodus 26:14; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 1:18; Nahum 2:2-4; Hebrews 9:12-14
Orange: praise, fire of God
Hebrews 12:29
Yellow/amber: presence of God’s glory; celebration, joy
Ezekial 1:4, 8:2; Isaiah 51:11, 61:3; Hebrews 1:9
Green: healing, new beginnings, new life, everlasting life, hope, restoration
Psalm 23:2-3, 92:12-14; Proverbs 11:28; Jeremiah 17:8; Joel 2:22; Hosea 14:8; Revelation 22:2
Blue: grace, mercy, Holy Spirit, remembrance of God’s commands, heaven, living water, River of Life
Exodus 24:10; Numbers 15:38-40; Ezekial 47:1-12; Revelation 22:1-2
Purple: royalty, kingship, honor, authority of believers
Judges 8:26; Esther 8:15; Mark 15:17-18
Plum: richness, abundance, infilling of the Holy Spirit
Hosea 2:22; Joel 2:24
Violet: Shekinah glory, purity, invisible, supernatural
Exodus 35:6; Ezekial 1:4, 8:2; Psalm 68:13; Daniel 12:10; Ephesians 2:7
Pink: passion for Jesus, compassion, joy
1 Samuel 18:6; Nehemiah 12:43
Iridescent: overcoming
Revelation 21:11-19
White: purity, innocence, holiness, light
Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18; Matthew 17:2; Revelation 3:4, 7:9
Black: righteous judgment, sin and death
Exodus 10:15; Deuteronomy 4:11-13; Psalm 23:4; Is 1:18; Lamentations 4:8, 5:10; Ephesians 5:11;
Revelation 6:5
Brown/gray: repentance, humility
Esther 4:3; Daniel 9:3-5
There are many other scriptures related to banners in the Bible. For further study, see: Numbers 1:52; chpt. 2 & 10; Psalms 74:4; Song of Songs 6:4; Isaiah 5:26; 11:10-12; 13:2; 18:3; 30:17; 31:9; 49:22; 59:19; 62:10; Jeremiah 4:6, 21; 50:2; 51:12, 27; Zechariah 9:16.
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By Jody Thomae, Creative Arts Director, 5 Stones Community Church, Ashland, OH (2006)
For more information, contact Jody Thomae [jody@5stones.org].
