Word from Jerusalem
Monday, December 01, 2008
The Symbol of the First Christians in Jerusalem
Today, the early Jerusalem-Messianic symbol is recognized by Christians around the world | Ludwig Schneider
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JOINED TOGETHER: Judaism is linked to Christianity by the Star of David It is not only the “ichthys” fish that is widely recognized as the secret identifying symbol of the early Christians in the Roman Empire. The Greek word for fish is ichthys—IXΘYΣ—which became an acronym for Iesous Christos Theou Hyios Soter—Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

As the first church of Jewish believers had their own bishop during the first two centuries—a man who had to be full of the Holy Spirit and also a descendant of the house of David so that he was physically linked to the Messiah—they had their own identifying symbol. However, after the non-Jewish Christians grew throughout the world and began to outnumber the small group of Jewish Christians, it was not only the bishop that disappeared but also the Messianic congregation together with its early Christian symbol.

This symbol, discovered in Jerusalem, shows how the beliefs of the first Christians were distinctly Jewish.