Bible Dictionaries
Sign

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

"a sign, mark, indication, token," is used (a) of that which distinguished a person or thing from others, e.g., Matthew 26:48; Luke 2:12; Romans 4:11; 2 Corinthians 12:12 (1st part); 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., Matthew 12:39 , "the sign of (i.e., consisting of) the prophet Jonas;" Matthew 16:4; Luke 2:34; 11:29,30; (c) of miraculous acts (1) as tokens of Divine authority and power, e.g., Matthew 12:38,39 (1st part); John 2:11 , RV, "signs;" John 3:2 (ditto); 4:54, "(the second) sign," RV; John 10:41 (ditto); 20:30; in 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); 1 Corinthians 14:22; (2) by demons, Revelation 16:14; (3) by false teachers or prophets, indications of assumed authority, e.g., Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; (4) by Satan through his special agents, 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:13,14; 19:20; (d) of tokens portending future events, e.g., 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; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7,11,25; Acts 2:19; Revelation 12:1 , RV; 12:3, RV; 15:1.

"Signs" confirmatory of what God had accomplished in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, His resurrection and ascension, and of the sending of the Holy Spirit, were given to the Jews for their recognition, as at Pentecost, and supernatural acts by apostolic ministry, as well as by the supernatural operations in the churches, such as the gift of tongues and prophesyings; there is no record of the continuance of these latter after the circumstances recorded in Acts 19:1-20 .

an adjective meaning "marked at the side" (para, "beside," sema, "mark"), is used in Acts 28:11 as a noun denoting the figurehead of a vessel.