• Part 4—“Your Will Be Done on Earth”
    The Watchtower—1958 | December 15

    • to them, to know for themselves what God himself says in his Book.

      8. (a) In harmony with what writings did Jesus compose his model prayer? (b) When God’s kingdom comes, why should the earth not be destroyed?

      8 Jesus Christ had the thirty-nine books of the Hebrew Scriptures, from the book of Genesis to the book of Malachi, which had been written under inspiration of God’s spirit before Jesus lived on earth. From those books Jesus knew what God’s will for this earth was and what his purpose was in creating it and putting man on it. In harmony with this knowledge from those Hebrew Scriptures Jesus composed the model prayer for his followers. He told them to pray to the Father in heaven: “Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth as well as in heaven!” Let us ask ourselves, then: Is Jesus here teaching men to pray for the earth to be destroyed by fire or any other means and to be emptied of human and animal creatures? Since the heavenly Father’s kingdom is to come to this earth in answer to Jesus’ own prayer, why should this earth be destroyed at that time or at any time afterward? God’s kingdom comes to stay here for all future time. He does not need to destroy the earth on account of the people on it. No, not when God’s will is then being done by people on earth under God’s kingdom the same as it is being done up in heaven. Why destroy the earth any more than destroy the heavens, where holy spirit creatures are doing God’s will the same as human creatures will be doing it here under his kingdom?

      (To be continued)

  • Questions From Readers
    The Watchtower—1958 | December 15

    • Questions From Readers

      ● I have been told that it is improper to speak of a human being. Yet being is defined in this way in the dictionary. What is the proper viewpoint on this matter?—J. P., United States.

      According to modern dictionaries every human creature is a human being because he has being or exists. Dr. Joseph B. Rotherham in the foreword of The Emphasised Bible discusses the meaning of God’s name, Jehovah. Because this name means, according to Dr. Rotherham, that Jehovah God manifests himself as always alive in one capacity or the other, Rotherham, too, argues that Jehovah is the only being and that all other intelligent existing things are merely creatures. For some years now the Watch Tower publications have ascribed the quality of being only to Jehovah God, in view of the basic significance of his name. So it has reserved the word “being” as a sort of title of Jehovah out of respect for the significance of his name and has referred to humans as mere creatures. So the Watch Tower publications have refrained from applying the term “being” to humans in order to enhance the inherent quality of self-perpetuating existence that persists in Jehovah God. However, as you say, according to the definition of modern dictionaries human creatures are human beings. If anyone wants to use the modern dictionary meaning he is free to do so, but in the light of what is above said we trust you will understand why our publications have restricted the expression to Jehovah God.