We live in a time when education is everywhere. Schools, universities, online courses, seminars, theological degrees. We have more access to information than any generation before us. And yet, we might be further from true education than the people who had none of it.
Ellen White made a statement that should stop us in our tracks:
“Now, as never before, we need to understand the true science of education. If we fail to understand this, we shall never have a place in the kingdom of God.” 12LtMs, Ms 76, 1897, par. 5
Not “it would be nice to understand.” Not “it would help.” We shall never have a place in the kingdom of God. That is the weight of this subject. If there is one topic worth studying carefully, it is this one. God had a system of education from the very beginning - and it looks nothing like what the world, or even the church, has built in its place. He designed the school. He chose the lesson book. He appointed the teacher. And when He needed to prepare the greatest prophet born of women for his mission, He pulled him out of the established religious system entirely.
The quotations gathered below come from the Spirit of Prophecy and lay out God’s original design for education, what went wrong, and what He still expects from those who want to be ready for His coming.
God’s school, God’s classroom, God’s teacher
“Heaven is a school; its field of study, the universe; its teacher, the Infinite One…” Education (ED 301.1)
“As an illustration of its principles a model school was established in Eden, the home of our first parents. The Garden of Eden was the schoolroom, nature was the lesson book, the Creator Himself was the instructor, and the parents of the human family were the students.” Child Guidance (CG 294.2)
God designed education from the beginning. The school was Eden. The lesson book was nature. The teacher was God. No human institution, no rabbinical system, no theological seminary - God Himself was the instructor. See also The Fall for what happened when man departed from this original arrangement.
Nature as the lesson book
The lesson book God chose was not a library of human writings. It was nature - His own handiwork.
“By beholding the scenes of nature, the works of the Creator, by studying God’s handiwork, imperceptibly you will be changed into the same image.” Manuscript 85, 1908
“Here among the scenes of nature Christian character is more easily formed than amid the wickedness of city life.” Manuscript 65, 1908
“Do not consider it a privation when you are called to leave the cities and move out into country places. Here there await rich blessings for those who will grasp them. By beholding the scenes of nature, the works of the Creator, by studying God’s handiwork, imperceptibly you will be changed into the same image.” 10MR 263.2
“Instead of dwelling where only the works of men can be seen, where the sights and sounds frequently suggest thoughts of evil, where turmoil and confusion bring weariness and disquietude, go where you can look upon the works of God. Find rest of spirit in the beauty and quietude and peace of nature. Let the eye rest on the green fields, the groves, and the hills…” The Ministry of Healing (MH 367.1)
Can true education happen in the cities?
According to these quotes, Christian character is “more easily formed” among the scenes of nature, not amid the wickedness of city life. The cities show only the works of men. Nature shows the works of God. The lesson book of true education is found in the country, not in the city.
See also Agriculture in the Bible Prophecy for the practical application of country living.
Two trees, two educations
From the beginning, there have been two systems of education side by side.
“…in the school of the earth, two trees are planted, the tree of life, which bears the fruit of true education, and the tree of knowledge, yielding the fruit of ‘science falsely so-called.’…” Home and Church School Manual (PH140 7.3)
The tree of life bears the fruit of true education. The tree of knowledge bears the fruit of false science. Every system of education leads to one tree or the other.
John the Baptist - God’s model student
Ellen White wrote directly that she presented the life of John the Baptist as a lesson about education:
“In writing and speaking upon the life of John the Baptist and the life of Christ, I have tried to present that which has been presented to me in regard to the education of our youth. We are under obligation to God to study this subject candidly; for it is worthy of close, critical examination upon every side.” Special Testimonies On Education (SpTEd 84.2)
John was the son of a priest. By every expectation, he would have gone to the rabbinical schools. God had other plans.
“In the natural order of things, the son of Zacharias would have been educated for the priesthood. But the training of the rabbinical schools would have unfitted him for his work. God did not send him to the teachers of theology to learn how to interpret the Scriptures. He called him to the desert, that he might learn of nature and nature’s God.” The Desire of Ages (DA 101.3)
“That prophet was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness, away from the contaminating influences of the city, to obtain an education that would qualify him to receive instruction from God rather than from any of the learned scribes. He was not to connect himself with the rabbis; the less he became acquainted with their teachings, their maxims and traditions, the more easily could the Lord impress his mind and heart, and give him the pure mold of truth that was to be given to the people to prepare the way of the Lord.” Special Testimonies On Education (SpTEd 84.2)
“In John the Baptist, God raised up a messenger to prepare the way of the Lord. He was to bear to the world an unflinching testimony, reproving and denouncing sin… John had not been educated in the schools of the rabbis. He had obtained no human scholarship. God and nature had been his teachers. The forerunner of Christ did not expose himself to evil conversation and the corrupting influences of the world. He chose to have his home in the wilderness, where, by studying the book of nature, he could become acquainted with the character of God, and preserve the sacred sense of his majesty.” E.G. White, Review & Herald, August 2, 1898
For a comprehensive Bible study on the life, mission, and prophetic significance of John the Baptist, see The Complete Record of John the Baptist.
What the rabbinical education actually produced
Why did God bypass the established schools? Because they had replaced God’s system with their own.
“In the days of Christ the town or city that did not provide for the religious instruction of the young was regarded as under the curse of God. Yet the teaching had become formal. Tradition had in a great degree supplanted the Scriptures… But the Jewish teachers gave their attention to matters of ceremony. The mind was crowded with material that was worthless to the learner, and that would not be recognized in the higher school of the courts above. The experience which is obtained through a personal acceptance of God’s word had no place in the educational system. Absorbed in the round of externals, the students found no quiet hours to spend with God. They did not hear His voice speaking to the heart. In their search after knowledge, they turned away from the Source of wisdom. The great essentials of the service of God were neglected. The principles of the law were obscured. That which was regarded as superior education was the greatest hindrance to real development. Under the training of the rabbis the powers of the youth were repressed. Their minds became cramped and narrow.” The Desire of Ages (DA 69.3)
“No one was regarded as qualified to be a religious teacher unless he had studied in the rabbinical schools, and both Jesus and John the Baptist had been represented as ignorant because they had not received this training.” The Desire of Ages (DA 453.1)
Both Jesus and John the Baptist were called ignorant by the religious establishment because they did not go through the formal system. Yet they were the two most important teachers in all of Scripture. See But You Are Not a Theologian for more on how God uses the unschooled to confound the wise.
The qualification for the last days
What qualified John the Baptist qualifies the workers of the last days.
“The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions.” The Great Controversy (GC 606.2)
The pattern has not changed. God’s lesson book is still nature. His teacher is still His Spirit. The rabbinical schools of our day produce the same results they did in Christ’s day - minds crowded with material that will not be recognized in the courts above, and no quiet hours to spend with God.
See also Mental Food, Thorough Knowledge of the Bible Necessary, and Battle for Our Time.