ARMY.—‘Armies’ (στρατεύματα) are mentioned by Jesus as the natural instruments of discipline at the command of an Eastern king (Matthew 22:7). He also foretells (Luke 21:20) the day when ‘Jerusalem shall be compassed with armies’ (στρατόπεδα). Otherwise there is little allusion to armies in the Gospels, and comparatively small use is made of lessons or figures drawn from military life. The Roman soldier, the legionary, did not loom very large in Palestine. When the Church spreads into the Province Asia, to Rome and Corinth, the impression of the army of Rome is much stronger both in the incidents of the Acts and in the figurative allusions of the Epistles.
John the Baptist found soldiers (see art. Soldier) among the crowds who came to him to be baptized (Luke 3:14); and the most remarkable bond of union between the military character and the character conformed to God, that of discipline and orderly subordination, was suggested to our Lord by the conduct of a centurion (Luke 7:8).
M. R. Newbolt.