![]() In antiquity, this meant that soldiers could expect a hail of rocks, arrows and foul stinking animal waste to be rained down on their heads from above before the front lines ever met in conflict.Ī more apt image of spiritual assault is difficult to imagine. In combat, the helmet was essential in part because most battles, then as now, began with an artillery attack. A centurion’s plume was worn sideways, left to right, as a sign of his rank. In art they are often shown with a large ridged red plume on top, but this was probably not used in combat, but for parade and ceremonies.Ī private soldier’s plume was worn straight, with the ridge pointing forward. The helmet of salvation refers to the galea, of which many varieties have been discovered. It is an interesting metaphor for the faith of the church, which, like any organized body, is more powerful when working in harmony than as individuals. A single shield was of some utility in knocking down a foe, but the shields’ real power was when they were used in unity with the corps. In combat the shields were always linked together, so the many soldiers in the lines had a wall of metal in front of them to resist the often disorganized barbarian enemy. It could serve as an emergency stretcher for the dead and wounded. A Roman battle shield was called the scutum and it was long, square shaped and decorated, and it covered about three-quarters of a man’s body. The reference to using faith as a shield is a powerful one. The solider - actual or spiritual - wearing them could be fast moving and well protected.Īs a religious symbol, they suggest one who is well prepared for the fight. They provided all the protection of modern boots, but were more flexible and would not fill with water when men marched through streams or marshes. When a solider dressed, he wove the straps around his feet and ankles, which completely covered the feet, ankles and lower legs. This ingenious footwear was a leather sole with dozens of sandal straps. The shod feet of the Bible refer to the caligae, or the boot sandals worn by the military. The Bible’s use of the breastplate image presents a grand and formal image of faith, like dress uniforms of the modern military. The older breastplate seems to have been used on ceremonial occasions and the emperors were often depicted in statues wearing the older, more traditional armor. It was more flexible, with better protection than a breastplate. Soldiers in Jesus’ day wore chain mail and lorica segmentata, or a leather jacket, which had long flaps of metal hanging down in layers, like a modern flak jacket. Front and back were held together with leather straps.īut the breastplate had gone out of general use by the time of Christ, because when a man fell wearing it, he was helpless, like a turtle on its back. In Greek and early Roman times, a breastplate was a solid piece of metal, formed in the shape of a man’s chest with a second piece of fitted metal across the back. The “breastplate of righteousness” is an odd reference because it refers to an antique piece of armor. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. “Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, attributed to the Apostle Paul, we read the following. In the Gospels, they asked Christ for miracles and they were the ones who crucified him.Īnd yet, in the New Testament, they are held up as a metaphor for the spiritual life of the believer. One-quarter of the world’s population lived under their watchful eyes. ![]() The Roman army of the caesars numbered between a quarter of a million men and up to 350,000, depending on the period. Clothed in heavy metal and leather battle armor and their blood-red military cloaks, they were a law unto themselves They were loved, hated, respected and feared. Outside the gates of every one of the empire’s 2,000 cities, they crucified all those who opposed the regime. They patrolled the cities of the empire as the police, they accompanied all messengers, they guarded every food delivery and they stood on the borders of the empire to defend. The “milites” or the legionary soldiers of the Roman emperor were an omnipresent fact of life. In the days of the New Testament, you could see them everywhere and you could not avoid them.
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