Adversary

Adversary

"Adversary" was also used to describe people who opposed, or spoke against, someone else:

"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" (Joshua 5:13 KJV)

"But if you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." (Exodus 23:22 RSV)

"Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off." (Micah 5:9 KJV)

"And when He [i.e. Jesus Christ] had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him" (Luke 13:17 KJV)

"Adversary" when used in reference to Satan:

"give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned aside after Satan." (1 Timothy 5:14-15 KJV)

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion [see also When The Cat Will Become The Mouse], seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, establish, and strengthen you." (1 Peter 5:6-10 RSV)

Fact Finder: How did wicked Satan originate?
See Satan's Choice

This Day In History, August 22

1138: The English battled the Scots at Cowton Moor. Banners of various supposed "saints" were carried into battle, which led to its being called the Battle of the Standard.

1350: John II, also known as John the Good, succeeded Philip VI as king of France.

1485: Richard III of England was defeated and killed at The Battle of Bosworth Field, the last of the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York.

1567: The Duke of Alba, sent to reestablish Spanish authority in the Netherlands, instituted the Council of Troubles at the start of his tyrannical rule. It was nicknamed the "Council of Blood."

1642: The Civil War in England began between the supporters of Charles I ("Royalists" or "Cavaliers") and of Parliament ("Roundheads").

1864: The Geneva Convention for the protection of the wounded during times of active warfare was signed, leading to the formation of the Red Cross.

1902: President Teddy Roosevelt became first U.S. chief executive to ride in a car.

1910: Korea was annexed by Japan after five years as a protectorate.

1922: Irish politician and Sinn Fein leader Michael Collins was killed in an ambush. He was largely responsible for the 1921 Anglo-Irish treaty.

1939: Foreign ministers Molotov of Russia and Ribbentrop of Germany signed a non-aggression pact which paved the way for the German invasion of western Poland and for Russia to take eastern Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Germany and Russia soon thereafter declared war on each other.

1941: Nazi troops reached the outskirts of Leningrad. They eventually surrounded the city on September 8 at the start of the siege which lasted until January 1944.

1942: Brazil declared war on the Axis powers. It is the only South American country to send combat troops into Europe during the Second World War.

1944: German officer Heinz Stahlschmidt deliberately blew up a bunker full of detonators, effectively preventing the planned destruction of Bordeaux by his own retreating German army.

1962: The U.S. ship Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered ship, completed its maiden voyage from Yorktown, Virginia, to Savannah, Georgia.