Difference between revisions of "Sign"

<p> The word is used as a type to represent or express some great truth. Here are some of the signs mentioned in Scripture: </p> <p> &nbsp;Exodus 4:8 (a) Moses, taking the serpent by the tail, represents the power of GOD over Satan and the power of the servant of GOD over the evil powers of earth. Moses' hand in his bosom became leprous. Upon removing it from his bosom it became well. This indicates that man is first wicked within and then through the command and work of GOD he becomes right within. </p> <p> &nbsp;Exodus 8:23 (a) The plague of flies demonstrated the power of GOD over nature and the purpose of GOD to punish His enemies. </p> <p> &nbsp;Exodus 13:9 (a) [[Evidently]] this refers to the Word of the Lord which was to be bound both upon the hand and the head as a constant reminder of the fulfillment of GOD's Word in delivering Israel from the bondage of Egypt. (See also &nbsp;Deuteronomy 6:8). </p> <p> &nbsp;Exodus 31:13 (a) The [[Sabbath]] was a sign of that blessed rest which would be offered in its fullness through the Lord [[Jesus]] and in His blessed Person when He came and said, "I will give you rest." </p> <p> &nbsp;Numbers 16:38 (a) The brazen censers (of the rebels). which were beaten into broad plates were to remind Israel and also us today that it is fatal to rebel against the Word and the plan of GOD. </p> <p> &nbsp;Numbers 26:10 (a) The disaster sent upon [[Korah]] and his company was ever to remind Israel and us, too, of the punishment of GOD upon those who rebel against His order. </p> <p> &nbsp;Judges 6:17 (a) GOD saw the genuine desire of [[Gideon]] to really know His will and therefore granted him the evidence he requested. It is not always so. Very few servants of GOD ever have asked for a sign to confirm the Word of GOD. JESUS said about this matter. "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." ( &nbsp;Mark 8:12). We should believe GOD's Word without signs. </p> <p> &nbsp;Isaiah 7:14 (a) The coming of [[Christ]] was a sign to the world that no other remedy for sin would avail. </p> <ul> <li> it was a sign of man's helplessness and inability to save himself. </li> <li> it was a sign of the miraculous gift of a [[Saviour]] without human means or device. </li> <li> it was a sign of GOD's plan and pleasure in sending one who could and would be the [[Mediator]] between GOD and men. </li> <li> It was a sign of GOD's loving interest in the needs of men. </li> <li> in the first sign they had nothing to drink, and in the eighth one they had nothing to eat. Then JESUS came and their needs were satisfied. </li> <li> in the second sign the boy was ready to die, and in the seventh sign the man was dead. Then JESUS came and life, and life more abundant was present to defeat death. </li> <li> in the third sign the man could not walk and in the sixth one the man could not see. </li> <li> in the fourth sign and the fifth one reveal the presence of fear in the heart. In the fourth one they were afraid of dying of hunger, and in the fifth they were afraid of dying by drowning. Then JESUS came and the fear of death was removed. These eight signs are as follows: </li> </ul> <p> Chapter2 (b) [[Water]] into wine. The Lord can take the ordinary things of life and make them unusually profitable for His glory. There can be no joy in the sweetest scenes of earth unless He is present. </p> <p> Chapter4:54 (b) The young man was at the point of death but was not yet dead. The Lord JESUS is able to sustain and to support the life which He gives. He only can keep us from the second death. </p> <p> Chapter5:9 (b) This indicates that those who are unable to walk with GOD and have no power to change their condition need the Saviour to touch them and enable them to walk with GOD and to live for His glory. </p> <p> Chapter6:11 (b) We learn the lesson from this sign that the hunger of the heart and the desires of the soul can only be satisfied and gratified by the presence and power of the Lord JESUS. </p> <p> Chapter6:21 (b) This sign teaches us that the storms of life and fears of the soul may be quickly and surely calmed by the presence and the word of the sovereign Lord. </p> <p> Chapter9:7 (b) This reveals that only the Lord JESUS can open blind eyes to see their need and to see the sufficiency of the Saviour. It is interesting to note that the lame man was by the pool and the blind man went to the pool. The pool may represent the Word of GOD or the Spirit of GOD or both. We should note also that both of these "signs" were given on the sabbath to teach us that when we are able to walk with GOD and are able to see the things of GOD as we should, then we have rest in our souls. </p> <p> Chapter11:44 (b) This is a blessed sign to teach us that only JESUS CHRIST can give life to a dead sinner and only the Word of CHRIST can break open the grave and cause a resurrection. As the young man in joh4was about to die and needed to be kept alive, so in this case the man was already dead and needed to be restored to life. Only CHRIST JESUS can do either or both of these blessed miracles in our lives today. </p> <p> Chapter21:6 (c) This is to teach us that we cannot be successful in life in the true sense of the word unless the Lord directs our way. We learn also that in the ministry of preaching we shall not gather in a harvest for Him except as He directs both as to the manner and the place. In the first sign, they were lacking wine to drink. Only He could provide. In this, the last sign, they were lacking food to eat and only He could provide. So in these eight signs in John we are told that CHRIST JESUS is GOD's answer to every need of the human heart. </p> <p> &nbsp;Romans 4:11 (a) The circumcision of the Old Testament was a constant testimony to Israel; first, that they belonged to GOD; and second, that they were not to live according to the lusts and desires of the flesh, but according to the will of GOD. (See also &nbsp;Genesis 17:11). </p> <p> &nbsp;1 Corinthians 14:22 (a) The gift of tongues was a gift in which the servants of GOD were enabled to instantly speak in a different language from the one they knew. The Spirit of GOD gave them immediately the power to preach the Gospel in foreign tongues which had never been learned. This has never been repeated since the apostles' day. Those who today claim to have that "gift" must always learn the language of the country to which they go as missionaries. The message was always an intelligent message, and understandable to those to whom it was addressed. The gift was not given for Christians, but for the heathen. If today those from this country could go to China or [[Russia]] and immediately speak freely and fluently in the language of those countries, though they had never learned those languages, that would be a sign to the natives of that country that GOD was working. </p> <p> &nbsp;Revelation 15:1 (a) In almost every case the Lord forewarned the earth of impending judgment. He did so in this case. When John saw those seven angels with the seven plagues he knew there was trouble ahead for the inhabitants of the earth. This is written in the [[Scripture]] so that all men everywhere will today take heed to this sign and repent and turn to GOD. </p>

<div> '''1: σημεῖον ''' (Strong'S #4592 — Noun Neuter — semeion — say-mi'-on ) </div> <p> "a sign, mark, indication, token," is used (a) of that which distinguished a person or thing from others, e.g., &nbsp;Matthew 26:48; &nbsp;Luke 2:12; &nbsp;Romans 4:11; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 12:12 (1st part); &nbsp; 2 Thessalonians 3:17 , "token," i.e., his autograph attesting the authenticity of his letters; (b) of a "sign" as a warning or admonition, e.g., &nbsp;Matthew 12:39 , "the sign of (i.e., consisting of) the prophet Jonas;" &nbsp;Matthew 16:4; &nbsp;Luke 2:34; &nbsp;11:29,30; (c) of miraculous acts (1) as tokens of [[Divine]] authority and power, e.g., &nbsp;Matthew 12:38,39 (1st part); &nbsp; John 2:11 , RV, "signs;" &nbsp;John 3:2 (ditto); 4:54, "(the second) sign," RV; &nbsp; John 10:41 (ditto); 20:30; in &nbsp; 1 Corinthians 1:22 , "the [[Jews]] ask for signs," RV, indicates that the [[Apostles]] were met with the same demand from Jews as Christ had been: "signs were vouchsafed in plenty, signs of God's power and love, but these were not the signs which they sought ... They wanted signs of an outward Messianic Kingdom, of temporal triumph, of material greatness for the chosen people. ... With such cravings the Gospel of a 'crucified Messiah' was to them a stumblingblock indeed" (Lightfoot); &nbsp;1 Corinthians 14:22; (2) by demons, &nbsp;Revelation 16:14; (3) by false teachers or prophets, indications of assumed authority, e.g., &nbsp;Matthew 24:24; &nbsp;Mark 13:22; (4) by Satan through his special agents, &nbsp;2 Thessalonians 2:9; &nbsp;Revelation 13:13,14; &nbsp;19:20; (d) of tokens portending future events, e.g., &nbsp;Matthew 24:3 , where "the sign of the Son of Man" signifies, subjectively, that the Son of Man is Himself the "sign" of what He is about to do; &nbsp;Mark 13:4; &nbsp;Luke 21:7,11,25; &nbsp;Acts 2:19; &nbsp;Revelation 12:1 , RV; 12:3, RV; 15:1. </p> &nbsp;Acts 19:1-20 <div> '''2: παράσημος ''' (Strong'S #3902 — Adjective — parasemos — par-as'-ay-mos ) </div> <p> an adjective meaning "marked at the side" (para, "beside," sema, "mark"), is used in &nbsp;Acts 28:11 as a noun denoting the figurehead of a vessel. </p>

<p> <em> 'Ôth </em> (אוֹת, Strong'S #226), “sign; mark.” Cognates of this word appear in [[Aramaic]] and Arabic. It occurs 78 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods of the language. </p> <p> This word represents something by which a person or group is characteristically marked. This is its emphasis in Gen. 4:15: “And the Lord set a mark [NASB, “sign”] upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.” In Exod. 8:23 God promises to “put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be” (cf. Exod. 12:13). Num. 2:2 uses <em> 'ôth </em> to represent a military banner, while Job 21:29 uses the word of the identifying banners of nomadic tribes. [[Rahab]] asked her [[Israelite]] guests for a trustworthy “mark” (NASB, “pledge of truth”), which they stipulated to be the scarlet cord by which she lowered them out of her window and outside Jericho’s walls (Josh. 2:12, 18). </p> <p> The word means “sign” as a reminder of one’s duty. This usage first appears in Gen. 9:12: “This [the rainbow] is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature …” (cf. vv. 4-15). </p> <p> A reminding token is represented by <em> 'ôth </em> : “And it [the observance of the Feast of [[Unleavened]] Bread] shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth …” (Exod. 13:9). </p> <p> A “sign” eventually showing the truth of a statement is indicated by <em> 'ôth </em> : “Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain (Exod. 3:12). </p> <p> In passages such as Exod. 4:8 <em> 'Ôth </em> represents a miraculous “sign”: “And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.” “Signs” are attestations of the validity of a prophetic message, but they are not the highest or final test of a prophet; he must speak in conformity to past revelation (cf. Deut. 13:1-5). </p> <p> Several passages use <em> 'ôth </em> of omens and/or indications of future events: “But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us (1 Sam. 14:10). </p> <p> An <em> 'ôth </em> can be a “warning sign”: “The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel” (Num. 16:38). </p> <p> The first occurrence of <em> 'ôth </em> is in Gen. 1:14. Here it refers to the stars, indicators of the time of day and seasons. </p>

<p> is the rendering in the A. V. of several Heb. and Gr. words, especially אות, 6th, σημεῖον '','' which usually denote ''A'' miraculous or, at least, divine or extraordinary token of an event, generally in the future. (See Miracle). In Biblical language a sign is a token, or whatever serves to express or represent another thing. Thus the Lord gave to Noah the rainbow as a sign of his covenant (&nbsp;Genesis 9:12-13), and for the same purpose he appointed circumcision to Abraham (&nbsp;Genesis 17:11; see also &nbsp;Exodus 3:12; &nbsp;Judges 6:17). In &nbsp;Isaiah 7:18 the word is used for a prophetic similitude Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel" (see also &nbsp;Ezekiel 4:3).Signs and wonders, as they are usually connected, sometimes denote those proofs or demonstrations of power and authority which were furnished by miracles, and by other tokens of the divine presence (&nbsp;John 4:48; &nbsp;Matthew 12:38; &nbsp;Acts 2:22); sometimes those unusual appearances which betoken the approach of great events (&nbsp;Luke 21:11; &nbsp;Luke 21:25), and at other times tokens or pledges as evidences of fulfilment (&nbsp;Luke 2:12; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 1:22). This word is emphatically used in Scripture for a miraculous appearance, which would attest the divine authority of a prophet or teacher. The Jews asked our Lord for "a sign from heaven" (&nbsp;Matthew 16:1),' meaning, thereby, the appearance of the Messiah coming in the clouds of heaven, which Daniel had foretold (&nbsp;Daniel 7:13), and which '',"The'' traditions of the elders," as appears from the Talmud, had declared to be the only certain sign of the advent of the promised inheritor of David's throne and deliverer of the [[Jewish]] nation. So our Lord refers to ''"The'' sign of the Son of man" (&nbsp;Matthew 24:30), as prefigured by the national overthrow of the Jews (see Zettner, ''De Astre. Judceis Quondam Ominoso'' [Alt. 1724], and the monographs cited by Hase, ''Leben Jesu,'' p. 187). (See [[Eschatology]]). </p>