Reeducation in the World Tomorrow?

Herbert Armstrong had a very low opinion of this world's education system, and the scholarly elite which it produced. In his book, Tomorrow - What It Will Be Like (Chapter 5: Education and Religion Tomorrow), he wrote: We covered a section on this world's paganized, agnostic, decadent education earlier in this book. The academic system was founded by the pagan philosopher Plato. It has always remained pagan. Injected into it, in more recent times, has been German rationalism, and the atheistic theory of evolution. He continued: Modern education has been based on a false, erroneous, untrue foundation. The supposedly educated of this world even the great minds-have absorbed false knowledge. They have been trained in a false approach to knowledge. Almost always, error is based on a false assumed premise or hypothesis, taken for granted, never questioned-and, of course, unproved. The "educated" minds have been filled with such false hypotheses. They have allowed a false sense of values to flood their minds. Armstrong reasoned that the whole concept of education had been perverted and twisted, and he concluded that a whole new system would have to be instituted when God's Kingdom was established on this earth!

Unfortunately, like many Fundamentalists and Literalists before him, Armstrong viewed the findings of science as an attack on God and religion. This caused him to reject any evidence which he felt contradicted the Bible or his belief system. In his mind, they simply had to be wrong! Armstrong reasoned that - if they were right, then he and God would be wrong - and that could NEVER be. If this reasoning is beginning to sound circular to you, then you may be on to something! For Herbert Armstrong and his followers, the Genesis account of creation explained the mechanics of how life in all of its varied forms came to exist on this planet. Instead of seeing those chapters as an emphatic statement about God's role as Creator, they see it as the ONLY valid scientific explanation of how the earth and universe began! In other words, they turn spiritual/supernatural revelation into a scientific text. In reality, the Theory of Evolution provides a well-documented explanation for the diversity of life that we see all around us. It is evidence-based, and it has absolutely NOTHING to say on the subject of God and/or "his" role in creation!

At any rate, all of his angst about the educated of this world served as the basis for Armstrong's speculation about education in "The World Tomorrow." Armstrong wrote: In God's millennial civilization, the basis of all knowledge dissemination will be revelation. Light will replace darkness-truth will replace error. Understanding will replace crass materialism. True knowledge will replace intellectual ignorance. (Tomorrow - What It Will Be Like) Likewise, Herbert reasoned that this world's educated elite would be the toughest nut to crack when Christ returns. He wrote: Yes, indeed, the educating and reeducating of the world will be one of the most important tasks the Kingdom of God will face, after Christ returns to rule. Today people follow the false and deceptive values. Their entire thinking will require a reorientation-a change of direction. Now, while Mr. Armstrong's reasoning appears reasonable and progressive at first glance, we can clearly discern that it is extra-biblical when we take a second look. Armstrong identified a problem (education and the educated of this world) and then reasoned that it will have to be resolved in "The World Tomorrow," without referencing any scriptures to back up his reasoning! Moreover, Armstrong then proceeded to offer what he felt would be a reasonable solution to the problem: Christ would use his (Armstrong's) folks to reeducate the world!

In support of this conclusion, Armstrong turned to one of his favorite passages about the future Kingdom. However, before we address his interpretation of the passage, I'd like to quote it for our readers without prejudice. In the fourth chapter of the prophet Micah, we read: It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore... (Micah 4:1-3, ESV) Now, in response to this passage, Armstrong wrote: This knowledge-this teaching-and even knowledge of God's Law-shall go forth from the Church-and from Jerusalem, the new world capital. The problem, of course, is that this passage does NOT mention the Church anywhere - Armstrong injected this into the passage! Notice also that it is the nations themselves who will be seeking God's help - "that HE may teach us his ways." Notice too that there would not be any opportunities for them to learn about war anymore. In other words, Micah has absolutely NOTHING to say about ACOG folks reeducating the rest of the world!

Talk about a leap in logic. Herbert Armstrong went on to write: This Headquarters Church, at Christ's own world capital of Jerusalem, then, undoubtedly will be given the administration of the world's new system of education. Did you notice that word "undoubtedly"? In other words, this is the only reasonable conclusion for us to reach! Is that, however, true? Even so, the speculation didn't stop there. Armstrong went on to conclude: Also the indication is that the teaching of spiritual truth-of the true gospel, the spiritual conversion of the world-will be directed, worldwide, from this Headquarters Church, under Elijah and the overall direct supervision of Jesus Christ. Now, laying aside the fact that all of this is unsupported by scripture and is based entirely on Armstrong's reasoning out the "problem," how likely do you think that it would be for God to use a group of educators to retrain the world whose own teachings have been so thoroughly discredited by reputable sources? Indeed, Mr. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God doesn't even exist today - some forty years after the death of its founder!

At this point, I think that it would be appropriate to actually examine some of the appropriate prophetic scriptures dealing with the dissemination of spiritual knowledge in God's Kingdom. In the book of Jeremiah, we read: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, ESV) Notice that God intends to put his law within them and write it on their hearts. Moreover, we are informed that it will no longer be necessary to instruct people to "Know the Lord, for they shall ALL know me." Finally, this passage seems to imply that spiritual knowledge is inextricably linked to forgiveness of sins! In other words, no teachers appear to be necessary in this passage!

Finally, there is that other Armstrong favorite passage from the book of Isaiah. Anyone with any background whatsoever in one of the ACOGs will remember the often-quoted passage from the eleventh chapter of Isaiah. After talking about the shoot which emerges from the stump of Jesse (Jesus Christ) and the nature of his person and reign (Isaiah 11:1-5), we are treated to a vision of his Kingdom. We read: The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11:6-10, ESV) Once again, we notice that the nations will seek him. Also, we are told that "They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be FULL of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Universal knowledge of God and "his" ways, but no mention of ACOG teachers reeducating people!

Bottom line - the world will be reeducated in a sense, but it won't be as Herbert Armstrong imagined it. Scripture indicates that it will be accomplished by a Divine miracle, and the willingness of the people of all nations to learn about God and his will for us. Moreover, as with our own experience, it appears that this will be accomplished by believing in Jesus Christ and accepting what he has done for us. In other words, no crash course in Torah will be necessary! What do you think?

The Beast, Its Mark, and Babylon

A recent post, Assuming A Sunday Law, inspired me to write a post explaining some of the symbolism of the book of Revelation and my own stance against statolatry (worship/celebration of the state). It is unfortunate that the book of Revelation has been so frequently misunderstood and abused by religionists. When properly understood, I believe it is the perfect conclusion to the Judeo-Christian canon - proclaiming the ultimate antidote to humanity's ills.

The author of the book, John, assumed that his audience would have a background in the Hebrew Bible - the part we refer to as the Old Testament. For him, this was the key to understanding this masterpiece of apocalyptic literature, because ALL of the symbols and language which he employed in it were drawn directly from Torah and the imagery used by the Hebrew prophets of old. Moreover, the majority of that imagery is found in the prophetic books of Zechariah and Daniel.

We, however, will focus on the main theme of the book of Revelation: That Jesus Christ and his followers would ultimately prevail/triumph over humankind's system of governance! John was told to "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches." (Revelation 1:11) The glorified Christ also told John that he would see things "that are and those that are to take place after this." (Revelation 1:19) In other words, some of what he would be writing about concerned what was THEN happening, AND what would happen in the future.

After the individual messages for the seven churches (Revelation 2 and 3), John is given a vision of God's throne in heaven (Revelation 4). This is followed by a vision of the triumphant Lamb (Christ), who was found worthy to open the scroll with its seven seals (Revelation 5). These seals revealed a series of events that would befall humankind and Christians (Revelation 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11). Now, we come at last to the real heart of the story of this book, and the basis for what is to follow.

In the twelfth chapter of the book, we read: Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Revelation 12:7-12) Notice that the imagery harkens all the way back to the book of Genesis and the Serpent in the Garden of Eden! Notice also that Christ and his followers triumph over Satan and the forces under his control!

This is followed by a "beast" which emerges from the sea (Revelation 13:1). Where do we find this symbolism in the Hebrew Bible? In the seventh and eighth chapters of the book of Daniel we find similar beasts described, and we are informed there that they are representative of human kingdoms/nation states. Moreover, while these "beasts" were on the earth, we are informed that there were simultaneous events happening in heaven at God's throne (Daniel 7:9-10). Then, we read: I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

Moreover, in its interpretation of the fourth "beast," we read: there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Daniel 7:23-27) Notice that these "beasts" represent human kingdoms, and that they will ALL ultimately give way to God's Kingdom under Christ and his saints! Indeed, we find the same basic formula of the failure of human kingdoms and the ultimate triumph of the Divine Kingdom repeated over and over again in both Daniel and Revelation.

Now, returning to the book of Revelation, we read: And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. (Revelation 13:2-8) Notice, once again, the "beast" is clearly symbolic of a human kingdom! Notice too, the martial language associated with it, and the question: "Who can fight against it?" Finally, notice the universal nature of this government, and that EVERYONE, except the people of the Lamb, will worship it!

Next, we notice that a second "beast" arises, and we are told that "It exercises all the authority of the first beast." (Revelation 13:12) Continuing, we are informed that "it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666." (Revelation 13:16-18) Now, I'm NOT going to dwell on the interpretation of the number here, because my readers can easily do a little independent research and determine that this is referring to a Roman emperor (Rome was another "beast" in a long line of "beasts). Instead, we will focus on the "Mark of the Beast." Where did John get this imagery?

You will recall that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had experienced a terrifying dream, and that Daniel had been brought before the king to interpret what he had seen in it. Daniel began by recounting the dream itself. He said: You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (Daniel 2:31-35)

This was followed by Daniel's God-given interpretation of the dream. He said: You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever... (Daniel 2:37-44) Once again, the pattern is repeated: one human government followed by another, until God finally intervenes and establishes his own kingdom!

Next, we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the King of Babylon's tall golden statue (Daniel 3). We are informed that the great king had his herald to announce: "You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace." (Daniel 3:4-6) Now, remember how we read in the book of Revelation that the human subjects of the "beasts" were commanded to worship the state? We are basically witnessing the same exact thing here! We know, however, that God's servants refused to worship the image and were miraculously saved from being consumed by the flames of the "burning fiery furnace." But what does all of this have to do with the "Mark of the Beast?"

One of the primary premises of Torah was that God's people would owe their COMPLETE allegiance to him. Among the Jews, this principle is often recited in the form of the Shema. Let's take a look at three separate instances of this in Torah. In the book of Exodus, when explaining why the firstborn must be dedicated to God, we read that "It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt."  (Exodus 13:16) Likewise, in the book of Deuteronomy, we read: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes." (Deuteronomy 6:4-8) Finally, in that same book, we read: You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always...And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul...You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes." (Deuteronomy 11:1-18)

In all of these passages, we see that God expected the undivided devotion of his people. In other words, there wasn't any room for worshipping ANY other entity than God! Notice too, in all of these instances the language about a sign or distinguishing mark on the hand, and a frontlet between the eyes or band across the forehead (as indicated by the original Hebrew). Do we begin to see the connection? Remember the language in the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation? We are told there that the "Beast" causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead (Revelation 13:16). This is the antithesis of the mark described in Torah! In other words, the "Mark of the Beast" is a kind of Anti-Shema. It is a symbol of one's devotion to the "Beast," or the human government and its political and economic system. It is the opposite of devotion to God's Kingdom!

Finally, in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, we read of Babylon and the Beast, and their complete defeat in the following chapter (Revelation 18). We read: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Revelation 17:1-6) Once again, we see John reach back into the Hebrew Bible for a symbol of human governance. In John's day, Rome was Babylon. Many years later, we could say that Madrid, Paris, or London was Babylon. In our own day, we could say that Washington D.C. is Babylon!

The point that John was making should now be very clear to everyone. Human government influenced by Satan and his forces is NOT worthy of the worship/devotion of God's people! Human government has always been subject to human lust for wealth and power. Human government has always been characterized by someone lording it over others. Human government has always been based on conquest and subjugation and has consequently always had blood on its hands! God's Kingdom, however, is based on love and service. It does NOT seek personal aggrandizement or glory. Jesus of Nazareth, the one whom the Romans crucified, is the King of that Kingdom. Instead of conquest and death, he offers salvation and triumph over death - eternal life! How about you? Do you want to wear the "Mark of the Beast" or the mark of devotion to God? What's on your hand and forehead right now?

English Standard Version throughout this post.