Chapter 8: The Most Important Question in Education (and Educators Don’t Know What It Is)

“In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate” (Isaiah 28:5-6). This is an end-time prophecy. In that day always refers to the latter days just before the Messiah’s coming. Only a residue of God’s people retain a spirit of judgment and win the spiritual battle. The very elect fights for God and turns the enemy from the gate.

The majority of God’s people have rebelled. They started looking to men and fell away from God’s truth.

“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean” (verses 7-8). The priests, or the ministry, became drunk spiritually. They erred in vision and stumbled in judgment. Now all of their spiritual tables are full of vomit!

Then God asks—and answers—the most important question in true education. “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts” (verse 9). Whom shall God teach knowledge? We must answer this question if we are to ever become truly educated! Here are the only people God can teach!

God says that the only way we can understand His doctrine is if we have been weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts.

God uses His ministry to feed newly called members. But these new members must grow beyond being a nursing infant. They must be weaned from the Church leadership and follow the spiritual Head of the Church—Jesus Christ.

God is the only great teacher. Each one of us must learn what it means to be taught by God. That is our individual responsibility. It is also the most thrilling and exhilarating experience humans ever have!

We are under a curse if we follow men (Jeremiah 17:5). God uses men to lead us, but we are to follow them only as they follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

So each one of us must be weaned from following men. That is the point where we begin to soar spiritually!

That is when the Lord of hosts becomes a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to us (Isaiah 28:5).

It is a rare person on this Earth whom God teaches knowledge. This is an extremely rare individual who does not err in vision (verse 7). He sees beyond men, and beyond today to the World Tomorrow.

The word teach is defined by Strong’s Concordance as “to found, to erect, to establish.” The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible defines teach this way: “[T]he word definitely has the connotation of aiming or controlling.”

We must always remember that God is re-creating Himself in man. (Request our free book The God Family Vision for a full explanation of that transcendent truth.) God’s purpose is to erect and establish His Family. This is the most sublime and majestic creation of God. God will control that process, but only if we submit to Him willingly. Only then can God’s character be built.

Here is education that builds and erects the very Family of God. We must volunteer to let God direct our lives to fulfill His transcendental purpose. God is building spiritual sons and daughters. Only here can God specifically show us how He conducts this building program.

The Bible Interprets Itself

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). The word precept refers to a command or a principle. The Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon writes of precept upon precept as “law to law.” That means we must let the Bible interpret itself.

The Bible is like a puzzle. If we study hard and put all the pieces together, it gives us the most inspiring picture that will ever be seen!

The Bible is Jesus Christ in print (Matthew 4:4). It reveals God’s mind and character—His thinking. By putting and etching these words in our minds, we are building the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).

The Bible is the foundation of all knowledge. We must build on that foundation of pure righteousness.

The world’s education is a mixture of good and evil. Mostly, educators reject God’s knowledge. That is why man is facing annihilation. He can’t even educate himself to survive! So he has to suffer until he will let God teach him.

Most of humanity has not yet been called. That means they are not even receiving the milk of God’s Word—yet. But they will soon receive the milk of God’s Word and all the beef steak as well! (Hebrews 5:12-14).

Most of them will receive that education after they have been resurrected.

Christ said “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). Man’s fruits today are that he is about to destroy all human life. Unless Christ returns extremely soon, “not a soul would be saved alive” (Matthew 24:21-22; Moffatt translation).

This is all the result of false education. Logic should tell us that man’s education is dangerously flawed. We must learn to reason with God (Isaiah 1:18). Then we will reject flawed human reasoning.

True Education

Whom shall He teach knowledge? True education comes from the northern heavens where God dwells. It’s where the very elect get their education.

Who believes God? Who wants His education?

We must be “weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” This is a deep concept. God uses the Church ministry to teach us. But what if one or several ministers rebel against God?

One Laodicean minister said, “The same God who inspired Isaiah also inspired Herbert W. Armstrong.” But God did more than just inspire those men. Here is an insight into how the Laodiceans were deceived and began to follow men.

God revealed new truth to Isaiah and Mr. Armstrong. Then these ministers gave it to God’s Church. At the time, God was using one man to lead the Church.

God inspires all of His ministers. But He reveals new truth for the Church to only one man—the man He sent to do His Work. The whole Church must get behind that one man and do God’s Work.

God does not reveal new truth to a woman, or to the Church in general. He gives new revelation for the Church to one man. Then God holds that one man accountable.

This is exactly how it is done in the Philadelphia Church of God today.

Those members who are not “weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts” will stay with the church if it rebels against God.

Many of God’s churches have rebelled throughout history. The primary reason was that they stopped looking to the man God chose to lead them. They rebelled against God’s government, which taught God’s law.

Those who were not weaned followed men and stayed in or joined a rebellious church. Isaiah 28:9-10 are addressing that very problem!

What is the real cause of their going astray? “How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man” (Jeremiah 31:22). This is a “backsliding daughter,” or God’s Church who knew Him and then rebelled. The word backsliding in the Hebrew means “turned away.” God is specifically addressing His end-time Church.

How does God solve this problem? “How long will you go about” should read “turn yourself away.” God has “created a new thing in the earth” to solve their problem. This new thing prevents His very elect from rebellion, but not the lukewarm Christians.

What is that new thing? Whatever it is, it’s a new creation—one the world and God’s rebellious Laodicean Church does not accept. This new thing is “A woman shall compass [or surround] a man.” The woman is God’s Church. Christ prophesied that He would build His Church (Matthew 16:18). But that is not the whole story. That Church will surround, or be built around, “a man.” The root word for “surround” is revolve. So God’s Church revolves around “a man.”

This is one of the most profound concepts in the Bible. It is a very strong statement about God’s government.

Here is an astounding fact that the Laodiceans overlooked: Isaiah is pointing to himself and how God reveals new truth for the woman. You must become weaned from the woman and follow God and the man He is using.

Do as it says in verse 10 and you will reach that conclusion. Then you will know how God revealed truth for the Worldwide Church of God under Mr. Armstrong and how He reveals new truth to the Philadelphia Church of God today.

New revelation does not come to the woman or Church as a collective body—it comes through an Isaiah or the man God is using.

You and I have the responsibility to know whom God is using and follow him!

One Laodicean minister said that “only the Church can understand” prophecy for this end time. But God reveals new prophetic truths to a man, and that man gives it to the Church.

The Laodicean churches do not understand new revelation that has been given to the Philadelphia Church. More than that, they have lost much of what God revealed to Mr. Armstrong.

The new truth and the government is given to one man. Only 5 percent of God’s people understand that today.

God never gave a vision apart from the Bible to Mr. Armstrong or me. But God has revealed an abundance of new truth to both of us from the Bible. You can easily understand that by reading and studying our writings.

When God reveals a lot of new truth to a man, He must also give that man His government to proclaim that truth. The Laodiceans’ rebellion revolves around government—they refuse to submit to God’s one-man rule!

The Laodiceans talk about the “evils of one-man rule,” and there are such evils. But they never talk about the righteous blessings of one-man rule, which we received under Mr. Armstrong.

“The evils of one-man rule” is usually a negative statement inspired by the devil. He rules this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). His downfall revolved around rejecting God’s government. That is why this world is so hostile to government—especially God’s government.

We must learn to love God’s government, or we have no future!

The Church received over 60 years of wonderful blessings under Mr. Armstrong’s rule. Look at the bountiful fruits of that government.

How blessed each one of us is when we are under God’s rule.

Refreshing Education

“To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear” (Isaiah 28:12). God’s education will cause the weary to rest and be refreshed. But most people refuse to hear and heed. That makes the problems intensify, and people get more and more weary.

Israel hated God’s message taught by Isaiah. Tradition says he was sawn into two parts.

How men hate God’s message! And how they suffer because of that!

In Isaiah’s time, the Assyrian (German) shadow was hanging over Israel. Today the German shadow is hanging over biblical Israel, or America, Britain and the Jewish nation.

We have been prophesying this message for over 80 years. Still our people refuse to heed.

One of the Laodicean ministers made this statement just before Mr. Armstrong died: “If you can’t relate to Mr. Armstrong’s office, then you should not even be here.” But relate is not a strong enough word. We must commit ourselves to the office God uses to reveal His new truth and to the government used to establish that truth. We must commit ourselves to support God’s government through a man.

This minister I quoted quickly turned away from God’s truth when Mr. Armstrong died. He had not been weaned from the milk. He was not following Jesus Christ, the Head of God’s Church.