<><     The Sign of the Fish      <><  

                Next to the Cross, our most authentic Christian

        symbol, dating from the time of the Roman persecution is the

        fish.  It can still be found carved on the walls of the catacombs

        and over door lintels.  It was a means of secret identification

        between Christians.  The Greek letters were added in a later

        century and are pronounced ICHTHUS, meaning fish in Greek.

        It is an acronym with the letters standing for "Jesus Christ,

        God's Son, Savior", plus the dual designation of Jesus Christ

        as "Fishers of Men".  

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           The Bible relates a number of accounts where fish were a significant

        aspect of Jesus' ministry. On one occasion (Matthew 14:19), Jesus served

        several thousand families with a meal of bread and fish. On another

        occasion (Matthew 4:19), Jesus called Peter and Andrew, saying, "Follow

        me and I will make you fishers of men." Many early Christians were

        persecuted and forced to worship secretly. The fish symbol served as a

        secret form of communication.  Often the persecuted Christians would

        scratch this symbol on the ground to identify themselves to fellow

        believers. Soon, Christians began to attach meaning to the word "fish"

        itself. The Greek letters for ICHTHUS (meaning"fish" pronounced

        "ICK-THOOS") became an acronym: I=Jesus;X=Christ; O=God's; Y=Son;

        E=Savior. Today, the person who displays the fish symbol has accepted

        the same New Testament teaching that these early Christians accepted:

        that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. By a decision of faith, this

        person has entered into a personal relationship with God and knows the

        reality of God's forgiveness. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus

        is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you

        will be saved" (Romans 10:9, NIV).        

                                       

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