ICHTHYS- Fish Symbol of Peace
Noah's Dove
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys
Ichthys (more commonly spelled Ichthus, or sometimes Ikhthus, from
Greek: ἰχθύς, capitalized ΙΧΘΥΣ or ΙΧΘΥC) is the ancient and classical
Greek word for "fish". In English it refers to a symbol consisting of
two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the
meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish, used by Early
Christians as a secret symbol[1] and now known colloquially as the
"sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish."[2] - Wikipedia
Symbolic meaning
An early circular ichthys symbol, created by combining the Greek
letters ΙΧΘΥΣ, Ephesus.
Ichthys can be read as an acrostic, a word formed from the first
letters of several words. It compiles to "Jesus Christ God's son
Savior" in ancient Greek "Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ", Iēsous
Christos, Theou Huios, Sōtēr.
Iota (i) is the first letter of Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), Greek for "Jesus".
Chi (ch) is the first letter of Christos (Χριστός), Greek for
"anointed".
Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou (Θεοῦ), Greek for "God's", the
genitive case of Θεóς, Theos, Greek for "God".
Upsilon (u) is the first letter of huios (Υἱός), Greek for "Son".
Sigma (s) is the first letter of sōtēr (Σωτήρ), Greek for "Savior".
Historians say the 20th-century use of the ichthys motif is an
adaptation based on an Early Christian symbol which included a small
cross for the eye or the Greek letters "ΙΧΘΥΣ".
An ancient adaptation of ichthys is a wheel which contains the letters
ΙΧΘΥΣ superimposed such that the result resembles an eight-spoked
wheel.
Fish in the Gospels
Fish are mentioned and given symbolic meaning several times in the
Gospels. Several of Jesus' twelve Apostles were fishermen. He
commissions them with the words "I will make you fishers of men".
At the feeding of the five thousand, a boy is brought to Jesus with
"five small loaves and two fish". The question is asked, "But what are
they, among so many?" Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish to feed the
multitude.
In Matthew 13:47-50, the Parable of Drawing in the Net, Jesus compares
God's decision on who will go to heaven or to hell ("the fiery
furnace") at the end of this world to fishers sorting out their catch,
keeping the good fish and throwing the bad fish away.
In John 21:11, it is related that the disciples fished all night but
caught nothing. Jesus instructed them to cast the nets on the other
side of the boat, and they drew in 153 fish.
A less commonly cited use of fish in Christ's life may be found in the
words of Matthew 17:24-27, in which, upon being asked if his Teacher
does not pay the temple (two-drachma) tax, Simon Peter answers, "Yes."
Christ tells Peter to go to the water and cast a line. He says that a
coin sufficient for the tax will be found in the fish's mouth. Peter
does as told and finds the coin.
The early church
The ichthys is seen in 1st-century catacombs in Rome.
According to tradition, ancient Christians, during their persecution
by the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after Christ, used the
fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish
friends from foes:
…when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes
drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger
drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company.
Current bumper-sticker and business-card uses of the fish hearken back
to this practice. The symbol is still used today to show that the
bearer is a practicing Christian.
—Christianity Today, Elesha Coffman, "Ask the Editors", [3]
Funerary stele with the inscription ΙΧΘΥC ΖΩΝΤΩΝ ("fish of the
living"), early 3rd century, National Roman Museum
There are several other hypotheses as to why the fish was chosen. Some
sources indicate that the earliest literary references came from the
recommendation of Clement of Alexandria to his readers (Paedagogus,
III, xi) to engrave their seals with the dove or fish. However, it can
be inferred from Roman monumental sources such as the Capella Greca
and the Sacrament Chapels of the catacomb of St. Callistus that the
fish symbol was known to Christians much earlier. Another probable
explanation is that it is a reference to the scripture in which Jesus
miraculously feeds 5,000 people with fish and bread (Matthew 14:15-21,
Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:4-13). The ichthys may also
relate to Jesus or his disciples as "fishers of men" (e.g., Mark
1:17). Tertullian, in his treatise On Baptism, makes a pun on the
word, writing that "we, little fishes, after the example of our ΙΧΘΥΣ
Jesus Christ, are born in water."[4] Still another explanation could
be the reference to The Sign of Jonah. Just like he was in the belly
of a prehistoric fish so Christ was crusified, was entombed for three
days, and then rose from the dead.
Isa.53
[5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.
Eph.2
[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down
the middle wall of partition between us;
Flying fish in slow motion on Youtube- symbolic parable for believers
in Christ in the last days.