Ephesians 6:16 - A tortoise shell comprised of doors...?

"...in all having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able all the flaming arrows of the evil [one] to extinguish.

-Shield of faith.  The word here is thureos, from thura, meaning door, for this shield did fairly resemble a door.  You could pretty much hide behind the thing, large and rectangular and curved as it was.  his was the ancient Roman scutum, which was extremely useful for blocking airborne missles, particularly when it was employed in a phalanx en masse, in what was called the testudo (tortise) formation.  The soldiers in front would hold their shields out in front of them, and the rest would hold their shields aloft, ostensibly shielding the unit from any incoming arrows.  The net effect was that it did indeed fairly resemble a tortise shell.  The method is still employed today by riot police in various places.

-And so we are trying to stop flaming arrows.  Some suggest these were not actually employed at all in ancient warfare, but the words here in the Greek indicate that these particular arrows are definitely on fire.  Most sources suggest that the shield would have been covered in leather and soaked in water, which served to douse whatever fire was borne by incoming arrows.  In this writer’s estimation, the intent of a flaming arrow would be to inflict mental damage as much as it would be to wound in any physical sense (there’s a reason why Hollywood is so intent on employing flaming arrows in ancient battle scenes - it creates a much stronger visceral impression).  Fire could instill fear and cause panic.  The evil one who is ever lobbing these flaming missiles at God’s people indeed wants to frighten, to dishearten and discourage any would-be soldiers of the Cross.  His attacks are designed to stop someone from following Christ, and the battleground as much as anything is in the mind.  which is precisely why we need this huge shield of faith.  Faith holds on to what is true in the face of the adversity which flies at us from all directions.  Faith is believing and trusting that God is (still) on the throne, that He is working it - 100% of all of it - out for good and that victory is certain, even when fire and arrows are raining down all around me.  And faith, this huge shield, is able to extinguish them all, every last one of them.  Shields up, people!  But wait - there’s still more...!