THE NARTHEX WINDOW
SYMBOLS



SYMBOL *DESCRIPTION
Alpha:  The first letter of Abraham's name. In Genesis 3, Abraham was called by God to leave his country and kin and cross a vast wilderness to a land God promised him.  There he was to become the father of God's chosen people.  The expanse of solid glass represents both Abraham's journey into the unknown and the'40 years the Hebrews wandered in the desert under the leadership of Moses.

God's chosen earthly beings (A in Abraham), and the spiritual beings which attend God (Angels).

Alpha & Omega:  the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  They arc used to refer to Christ's person and work in the book of Revelation and they are often depicted as a monogram or emblem of his comprehensive revelation.  His eternal reign is expressed in the phrase "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end." (Rev. 22:13).

Omega:  The end; Dust we are to dust we return; this is a broken symbol. Life ends. God does not - God is represented by the circle.
Blue Pyramid:  Abraham's only son Isaac had 2 sons, one of whom became the father of 12 sons, the beginning of the 12 tribes of Israel. Through one of thes sons, Joseph, God's people ended up in Egypt, land of the pyramids. (There are only 12 primary colored pieces of glass in this window, 6 blue and 2 each in the 3 gold letters IHS, representing those 12 tribes and the 12 disciples of Jesus.)

When Jesus was born, Joseph was told in a dream not to go home but to flee to Egypt ,which he did.

Symbol for a mountain. Mount Horeb was the mountain on which Moses received the 10 Commandments and where the two tablets of the law were put int the ark. Jesus prayed the last hours of his life at Mt. Olivet, and died on Golgotha, "a hill far away".
The Fish:  The figure of the fish was first drawn by early Christians in the time of persecution as a mark of identity and it appears in early Christian iconography.  The first letters of the Greek words "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior" also make up the word fish or ichthus in Greek.

Jesus selected fishermen for his first disciples - Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John.

The blue water pattern in fish.  (See Baptism on the main stained glass windows page.)
IHS:  The first three letters of Jesus in Greek (IHSOUS).

The Three Symbols Together:  (Alpha & Omega, Fish and IHS) represent the three activities fo Jesus three years on earth:  preaching, leading, establishing God's church on earth.
Gold: Gold color in letters:  The color of wealth and royalty; the New Testament teaches that our spiritual wealth depends on our trust in our Lord as King in our lives.
Gold Circle (dot of I) - Coins:  Several of Jesus' parables deal with gold coins (talents, denaari, mite, etc.), which he used to teach many lessons.
The Chi Rho:  A chief form of sacred monogram signifying Jesus Christ by using the first two letters of the Greek word Christos. It has appeared in many forms since the fourth century. It is sometimes shortened to only the X.

The cross embedded in the Chi Rho is probably the most recognizable of all Christian symbols, representing both human sin and God's unfathomably great sacrifice and love.


*Definitions:  The definitions for the symbols in the Narthex window like the definitions for the stained glass windows in the main church come directly from the Service of Dedication bulletin and are the words of Reverend Judith Donaldson who was minister of the Battle Mountain United Methodist Church at the time of dedication.


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