[121-180] no Christian became a soldier; and no soldier, after becoming a Christian, remained in military service.” (The Rise of Christianity, 1947, E. W. Barnes, p. 333) “It will be seen presently that the evidence for the existence of a single Christian soldier between 60 and about 165 A.D. is exceedingly slight; . . . up to the reign of Marcus Aurelius at least, no Christian would become a soldier after his baptism.” (The Early Church and the World, 1955, C. J. Cadoux, pp. 275, 276) “In the second century, Christianity . . . had affirmed the incompatibility of military service with Christianity.” (A Short History of Rome, 1919, G. Ferrero and C. Barbagallo, p. 382) “The behavior of the Christians was very different from that of the Romans. . . . Since Christ had preached peace, they refused to become soldiers.” (Our World Through the Ages, 1961, N. Platt and M. J. Drummond, p. 125) “The first Christians thought it was wrong to fight, and would not serve in the army even when the Empire needed soldiers.” (The New World’s Foundations in the Old, 1929, R. and W. M. West, p. 131) “The Christians . . . shrank from public office and military service.” (“Persecution of the Christians in Gaul, A.D. 177,” F. P. G. Guizot) “Zealous Christians did not serve in the armed forces or accept political offices.” (World History, The Story of Man’s Achievements, Habberton, Roth and Spears, 1962, p. 117) “While they [the Christians] inculcated the maxims of passive obedience, they refused to take any active part in the civil administration or the military defence of the empire. . . . It was impossible that the Christians, without renouncing a more sacred duty, could assume the character of soldiers, of magistrates, or of princes.”—The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon, Vol. I, p. 416.

HEAVENLY

Heavenly armies, in the sense of well-organized multitudes, refer, not only to the physical stars, but more frequently to the mighty hosts of angelic spirit creatures under the supreme command of Jehovah God. (Gen. 2:1; Neh. 9:6) The expression “Jehovah of armies” occurs 281 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, first at 1 Samuel 1:3, and twice its equivalent is found in the Greek Scriptures. (Rom. 9:29; Jas. 5:4) In discussing the angelic warriors such military terms are used as “legions,” “war chariots,” “horsemen,” and so forth. (2 Ki. 2:11, 12; 6:17; Matt. 26:53) In size, the camp of Jehovah’s invisible armies includes “tens of thousands, thousands over and over again,” of war chariots. (Ps. 68:17) As a fighting force they are invincible. “The prince of the army of Jehovah” with drawn sword appeared to Joshua and gave instructions on how Jericho would be captured. (Josh. 5:13-15) One angel of these heavenly armies slew 185,000 Assyrians in a single night. (2 Ki. 19:35) When war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels hurled Satan and his demons down to the vicinity of the earth. (Rev. 12:7-9, 12) Furthermore, there will be no escape when “the armies . . . in heaven” follow the “King of kings and Lord of lords” as he brings destruction upon “the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies.” (Rev. 19:14, 16, 19, 21) At the same time, however, this mighty invisible army of Jehovah gives protection to His faithful servants on earth.—2 Ki. 6:17; Ps. 34:7; 91:11; Dan. 6:22; Matt. 18:10; Acts 12:7-10; Heb. 1:13, 14.

See ARMS, ARMOR; SOLDIER; WAR.

ARNAN

(Arʹnan) [Arabic, quick].

The son of Rephaiah and father of Obadiah; postexilic descendant of David; fourth generation after Zerubbabel.—1 Chron. 3:19, 21.

ARNI

(Arʹni).

A person named in the human ancestry of Jesus Christ. Presumably a variant of the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Ram; in the Septuagint (Bagster) the Hebrew name Ram is rendered Aram.—Luke 3:33; 1 Chron. 2:10; see RAM No. 1.

ARNON, TORRENT VALLEY OF

(Arʹnon) [rushing, roaring torrent].

About halfway down the eastern side of the Dead Sea the deep gorge of the Arnon valley cuts through the high plateau region. This torrent, the modern Wadi el-Mojib, is fed by numerous tributaries (Num. 21:14) and, after the Jordan, is the only important stream emptying into the Dead Sea. The sheer red and yellow sandstone cliffs drop down abruptly to flank the sides of the narrow valley with its small perennial stream of limpid waters, plentiful with fish. Alongside grow willows, oleanders and other vegetation in abundance. Where the stream leaves the steep chasm walls to enter the flat shore of the Dead Sea its size varies from forty to one hundred feet (12.2 to 30.5 meters) in width, with a flow of from one to four feet (0.3 to 1.2 meters) deep.

This formidable canyon, which, at the top, measures some two miles (3.2 kilometers) in width and is nearly 1,700 feet (518 meters) deep, was crossed by only a few passages (Isa. 16:2) and hence became an obvious natural boundary. At the time of the Israelite conquest it separated the Amorites on the N from the Moabites on the S (Num. 21:13), but Jephthah’s message to the Ammonites shows that the side to the N had once been under Ammonite control and had been invaded by the Amorites prior to Israel’s arrival. (Judg. 11:12-27) Israel, having skirted the territory of Moab, reached the Arnon, probably at its upper reaches. Attacked by Sihon, the Amorite king, Israel gained the victory and took possession of the land from the Arnon up to the Jabbok. (Num. 21:21-24; Deut. 2:24-36) This first conquest thereafter became the territory of the tribes of Reuben and Gad.—Deut. 3:16; Josh. 12:1, 2; 13:8, 9, 15-28; see JABBOK, TORRENT VALLEY OF.

Due to Jehu’s failure to walk strictly according to Jehovah’s law, this region was later overrun by the invading forces of Hazael of Syria. (2 Ki. 10:32, 33)