"a sign, mark, indication, token," is used (a) of that which distinguished a person or thing from others, e.g., Mat 26:48, Luk 2:12, Rom 4:11, 2Co 12:12 (1st part); 2Th 3:17, "token," i.e., his autograph attesting the authenticity of his letters; (b) of a "sign" as a warning or admonition, e.g., Mat 12:39, "the sign of (i.e., consisting of) the prophet Jonas;" Mat 16:4, Luk 2:34, Luk 1:11-30; (c) of miraculous acts (1) as tokens of Divine authority and power, e.g., Mat 1:12-39 (1st part); Joh 2:11, RV, "signs;" Joh 3:2 (ditto); Joh 4:54, "(the second) sign," RV; Joh 10:41 (ditto); Joh 20:30; in 1Co 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); 1Co 14:22; (2) by demons, Rev 16:14; (3) by false teachers or prophets, indications of assumed authority, e.g., Mat 24:24, Mar 13:22; (4) by Satan through his special agents, 2Th 2:9, Rev 1:13-14, Rev 19:20; (d) of tokens portending future events, e.g., Mat 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; Mar 13:4, Luk 21:7, Luk 21:11, Luk 21:25, Act 2:19, Rev 12:1, RV; Rev 12:3, RV; Rev 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 1:19-20.
<2,,3902, parasemos>
an adjective meaning "marked at the side" (para, "beside," sema, "mark"), is used in Act 28:11 as a noun denoting the figurehead of a vessel.
