ICHTHUS
It is a Greek acronym which stands for;
IESOUS, CHRISTOS, THEOU, YIOS, SOTER
Which translates, JESUS CHRIST, SON of GOD, SAVIOR
Maybe you’ve seen this word before, maybe on a bumper sticker, even.
So what is the significance of this word? ICHTHUS, well, one, it’s the GREEK word for… FISH.
Surely we have seen the Jesus fish symbol?
There was high Christian persecution in Ephesus, often in a place called the AGORA.
This was the marketplace area, where vendors would sell their goods, including Christians.
Christians were highly persecuted here and in other places as they tried to worship.
So, how do these two things relate? The Greek word for fish, persecution?
Christians would make discreet markings on their tables in the market or in secret places where they worshiped.
You guessed it, a fish symbol!
The fish symbol was used to secretly communicate to other Christians that they could buy from this vendor, or that, if they had secret worship places, this was a safe place for them to meet together.
In Bible times, this symbol was used discreetly to say, "I am a follower of Christ." Now, it is something we see a lot of people use to say, "I am a follower of Christ." But the origin of this symbol gives us new meaning and appreciation for the liberty we have to worship freely!