what does the "fish" emblem mean pertaining to Jesus? does it mean fisher of men? for the longest time

Question

I thought it meant clergy.

Answer 1

It was used as a code by the early church. At a time of religious persecution believers needed a way to identify themselves that was not so obvious as a sign that said "First Baptist Church" and as church was usually held in someones home a traveler could easily identify a believers home by an unobtrusive "alpha" somewhere on the outside of the house. These were also worn as jewelry. Didn't really last all that long as the Romans caught on pretty quick.

Answer 2

From www.gotquestions.org

'The Greek word for fish is "ixthus" or "icthus." The Christian fish symbol that many Christians place on their car is known as the “ixthus.”
Five Greek letters form the word “ixthus,” and those letters inside the fish form an acrostic which is a message that Christians clearly identified with. The first letter represented the word Jesus. The second letter represented the word Christ, the next two, God Son, and the final letter represented the word Savior. This adds up to “Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Savior.”

During early Christianity, Christians were often put to death for practicing their faith, so they worshiped in secret places. A fish painted on the outside door of a house let other Christians know that they would be safe and welcome inside.
The Christian fish symbol is now often used to identify Christians and/or Christian businesses.'

This lines up pretty much with what I have always been taught about the 'fish'.

Answer 3

Waaaaaaaaay back in the days of the early church (first 200 years or so) the followers of the Lord were persecuted. It wasn't always safe to talk about your "odd" beliefs, when such a conversation could get your head cut off! The fish emblem came about as a way for Christians to identify with each other during a regular conversation. One person in the conversation could draw a half-circle in the sand or dust in front of them (with their finger or toe or whatever), and it would look like somebody doodling in the dirt. No biggie. If the other person finished the "fish" picture with another half-circle, then they would know it was safe to talk about Jesus.

The use of a fish symbol may have its roots in the "I will make you fishers of men" quote Jesus gave to several of the apostles.

Answer 4

It means just what it implies. Any time a Christian answers a question on here, we are fishers of men. We cast the net for God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Don''t try to read anything else into it, because that is exactly what it means. When God or Jesus says man or men they mean women too, and children. The entire human race.

Answer 5

Some people say that it represents when Jesus fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish (Matthew 5:13-21) and still had plenty left over. I have also heard that back in those times, christians drew the fish symbol as a stamp to recognize other followers of Jesus Christ. So when you see people with the fish symbol on their car, it signifies that they are Christians.

Answer 6

It is thought to have been a secret symbol drawn in the sand so one Christian could identify another, since they were both Jew and Gentile and could not be recognized by their ethnicity. It is thought that one would draw the top half, or an arch-like figure in the sand, and if the other was a Christian, he would complete the fish by drawing the bottom half.

Not sure if that is documented in the Biblical texts, or even if it is true, but that is my understanding

Answer 7

The fish is an early Christian "secret handshake." "Icthus" is Greek for "fish." During the various persecutions that Christians suffered during the early years of the church, the ichtus was used to identify believers and places of worship.

For example, it was common for people to stop and greet one another along a road. During this conversation, a Christian would draw an arc in the dirt with his sandal or toe. If the other person he was greeting was a Christian, he would draw another arc from his side, with the tail intersecting. This resulted in the fish. If an authority figure were to pass by, they would see a couple of guys with a fish between them, and if he heard the word "ichtus," would likely think they were fishermen.

The Greek letters in the fish symbol you find on cars spell out the word "Ichtus" in the Greek, and each letter means something:

Iota: "Iesous" which means "Jesus"

Chi: "Christos" which means "Christ"

Theta: "Theos" which means "God"

Upsilon: "Uios" which means "Son"

Sigma: "Soter" which means "Savior"

Hope that helps!

Answer 8

The ancient Greek word for fish, which was "ichthus" [pronounced "ich-THOOS"] [think "ichthyologist"] was also an acronym made up of the first letters of each of the Greek words for Jesus Christ, son of God and Savior.

The letters INRI, which were fastened to the cross on which Jesus was crucified, above Jesus' head, formed an acronym in Latin, which had no letter "J," but used the "I" instead. INRI was an acronym for Jesus of Nazareth, King ("Rex") of the Jews. Hence the crown of thorns.

Answer 9

The Ichthys was an ancient secret symbol for the Christian religion. The origins are Pagan (as most things the Christians use are). It was used by the Christians to denote secret meetings during the time of the early Roman Empire.

Answer 10

It refers to the ancient symbol early Christians used to identify themselves to other Christians. In the Greek... Ichthys... is the first letters of Jesus Christ Son of God Savior
Wikipedia puts it like this....Ichthys (Greek: ἰχθύς; also transliterated and latinized as ichthys, icthus, ichthus or ikhthus; ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma), is the Ancient and Classical Greek word for "fish." In English it refers to a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs resembling the profile of a fish, used by early Christians as a secret symbol and is now known colloquially as the "Jesus fish." Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ, Greek for fish) is an acronym or backronym of "Jesus Christ, Son Of God, Saviour (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ)."