Article May 2, 1959 Issue

Signs of the Times

with contributions from W. R. Matthews, C. P. Dame, Marcus Grether

Rev. W. R. Matthews, D.D. in the Daily Telegraph London, England

The final petition in the Lord's Prayer can be translated "from the evil one" or "from evil." The commonly accepted form "deliver us from evil" in its widest sense is no doubt the more suitable for general use, but I think there is a slight probability that the original meaning was "the evil one."

So at least those who added in early times the "doxology" to the text of Matthew appear to have understood it. "For thine is the kingdom" makes very good sense as a corollary to a prayer to be delivered from the "prince of this world," from the Satan who claims to dispose of "all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them." The Satan is a usurper and a fraud; he cannot carry out his promises, for "the kingdom, and the power, and the glory" belong to God.

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