By John Thiel, mp3

Confusion of Faces, Part 1

Daniel prayed regarding the condition of Judah and its captivity in Babylon.

Daniel 9:6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness [belongeth] unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, [that are] near, and [that are] far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us [belongeth] confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God [belong] mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

This is the plaintive cry of a man who had been richly honoured by God, and he expressed it inclusive of the confusion of faces that belonged to those people. Judah were the professed people of God, and indeed, God still cared for them. But why did they find themselves in Babylon? Because they had not listened to the prophets and the messages that were conveyed to them. They find themselves in Babylon, their city and the house of God in ruins.

Jeremiah expressed the reason for their demise, and yet the Lord was still merciful.

Jeremiah 25:4 And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending [them]; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. … 8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,

And the description of the captivity was to follow. Why were they in Babylon? “Because you have not heard My words.”

Jeremiah 29:18 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them]; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.

Why were they in Babylonian captivity? Because God sent them message after message after message, and with all that they had heard they were not doing it. And that was regarded as not hearing, even though they heard it. If we do not want confusion of faces, then we are given in Proverbs a simple answer to avoid confusion.

Proverbs 3:21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Do you ever lie down and you are so bewildered by your thoughts that you can’t sleep? so confused with what’s going on? That will not be the case.

Proverbs 3:25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Do you like being in a state of mental confusion? I don’t. Do you have seasons of that confusion? And do you avoid the season of confusion by putting it out of sight because it upsets you so much? We want to appreciate where we stand, and what is possible for us so that we will not be in a state of confusion and stumble because of it.

Today Christianity is in exactly the same position that Judah was in. Where are they situated? Christianity is situated as was Judah in the time of Daniel – in Babylon. To them belongs confusion of faces. The book of Daniel is a book which is written specifically for us; not just the prophecies. The entire book of Daniel is written of in Daniel chapter 12:

Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

This is our case; and the book of Daniel was closed. It could be read, but the understanding of it was closed until the time of the end.

Daniel 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end. … 13 But go thou thy way till the end [be]: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Daniel himself, in his representation of what he has experienced in this book, is going to stand in his lot at the end of days. So Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9, while it applies to back there, it is written for and applies to us, because Christianity today is in exactly the same position in reference to Babylon.

God’s People Are Still in Babylon

Revelation 18 is the very angel’s message for our time ever since 1888.

Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,

Who has? All nations, just as in the days of Daniel.

Revelation 18:3 …and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people,

Who? My people. Daniel was God’s son, and his friends were God’s people. And where was he? In Babylon, a captive. And today these realities are written for us to wake up to. God’s people are in Babylon. They are to come out of Babylon,

Revelation 18:3 …that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

How did Christianity get there? How did God’s people end up in Babylon? If you will carefully study the seven churches you will have your answer. God’s people, the Christian company, is being spoken to in the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3. In fact, the whole book of Revelation is written for them.

Thyatira

The early Christian church finally found itself in Babylon. This is the church of Thyatira. Here is their position at this time.

Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee [My people], because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

The period of Thyatira is the period of the Dark Ages, the 1260 years. Christianity found itself in Babylon; and it took place through the first four churches – Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and now Thyatira. The decline had taken place, and amid the decline of the church there was a faithful people like Daniel that found itself in the murk of Babylon. And God, in His love and mercy, keeps on talking to her. What does this Jezebel that was in Thyatira, interacting even with God’s faithful people, do ever since that time? What has she done to arrive at our time now?

Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,

All nations have drunk of the wine of her fornication. She fornicated. You can read much about this,

Isaiah 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot!

The same message that Isaiah wrote for the people back then is the history of God’s church that has become a harlot, and only a faithful few are left. What have they been drinking to make them become confused and drunk? The detail of it is in between those two following texts, in terms of what they did with God’s word. They would not take it to read it and practise it.

Isaiah 29:9 Stay yourselves,

Hold on, you’re getting wonky.

Isaiah 29:9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

So what are they staggering about?

Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

The Bible is too hard to understand, and so men interpret the Bible, translated in all the different translations of today, because the old King James Version is so hard to be understood. That is what is written there in between those two texts. “We can’t read it; can’t explain it.” And those who know something, say, “Oh, it’s a closed book, don’t worry.” So what is being taught in one respect or another is the teachings and the precepts of men. They teach for doctrines the commandments of men.

So indeed, drunkenness exists. What does it mean? What is drunkenness? When a person is drunk, what is he? Confused. He can’t see things straight anymore. His brain is befogged, and everything is wishy washy. In these last days we all have come from churches of this nature. How do I know? Because the word of God tells us. In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus is saying, In the last days, be careful! You’re going to be in danger; watch. He talks about the faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season.

Matthew 24:46 Blessed [is] that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite [his] fellowservants, and to eat and drink…

With who? The drunken.

Matthew 24:50 The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of,”

And that is why Jesus said, Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

There is an evil servant that says in his heart – not outwardly, not publicly; they are Adventists; but in their heart what are they doing? In their heart they say, My Lord delayeth his coming. Therefore what do they do? Instead of diligently following every word of God and pursuing the understanding of it, they are eating and drinking with the drunken – Babylon. They are in Babylon. Think about it. Daniel and his three friends were in Babylon; there was also Ezekiel, and these men of God, few in number, were the only ones that appeared in the vision of the book of Daniel. When those multitudes bowed down to the image, were there people of God’s nation among them? Yes, they were all there, a large number of them. But who stood up and would not bow? The reason why Daniel wasn’t there is because he was in another place at the time, but the great multitude around that image had many, many, many captive Jews amongst them, and they all went down before the image. Only three men stood up. This is revealed for our time. They are eating and drinking with the drunken.

Sardis

And as you pursue it through those seven churches, the Dark Ages concluded in 1798, and during the Dark Ages the faithful Reformers who were in Babylon and who were themselves affected by Babylonish input, were trying to come out of it. They were the Protestants – Martin Luther and all such. They come to 1798, and in Revelation 3 what is written about Sardis, that company of Protestants? Are they still confused?

Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

But He still gives them a bit of hope:

Revelation 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

Are the Protestants churches in this representation of 1798 to 1833 in a state of babylonish confusion? You say you are alive, but you’re dead. How confused can you be? “I am not drunk.” “I’m alive, I’m on fire for the Lord!” Isn’t that what a drunk person says? “I’m not drunk; I’ve got all my faculties with me;” and they’re speaking with a heavy tongue. That’s exactly how a drunk person speaks. “You say you are alive, but you’re dead.” Sorry, that’s the One who knows.

Philadelphia 1833-1844

Then comes Philadelphia, from 1833 to 1844, and what does Jesus say to them?

Revelation 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Here is a little company that are in babylonish confusion. Remember, they made a mistake in the date of 1844. They were themselves under the influence of babylonish belief that the sanctuary was the earth, the planet. They were confused, and because of their confusion, while they wanted to obey exactly what God said, they had a little strength. A person who is coming out of drunkenness has a very bad hang over. They have a hang over. They are very weak. “You have a little strength, but you have endeavoured to keep My word; I honour you.” He has nothing to say against them. The period of Philadelphia lasted only ten years, as they came out of babylonish Sardis.

Laodicea

Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not…

That you’re drunk. You don’t know that you are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”

The drunk says, I am alright… “I wish you were totally drunk or not drunk at all; but you are in a state of such deception that you don’t know that you are really inebriated.” Neither sober nor totally drunk. You’ve been drinking the wine of Babylon, eating and drinking with the drunken. Drunk enough to be oblivious of your true condition. How did this come about after Philadelphia? Just the same as with Judah. The early Christians, Sardis, the Reformers – it was the same scenario. The early Christians fell into Pergamos and Thyatira. Sardis, the Reformers, fell into Babylon.

What was the origin of the great apostasy? {GC 384.5}

What was the origin of this drunkenness?

How did the church first depart from the simplicity of the gospel? By conforming to the practices of paganism, to facilitate the acceptance of Christianity by the heathen. {Ibid.}

They mingled the pure truth with falsehood. What is pure grape juice when it is fermented? It becomes wine. It is contaminated. Christianity became contaminated. How?

The apostle Paul declared, even in his day, “The mystery of iniquity doth already work.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7. During the lives of the apostles the church remained comparatively pure. But “toward the latter end of the second century most of the churches assumed a new form; the first simplicity disappeared, and insensibly, as the old disciples retired to their graves, their children, along with new converts, . . . came forward and new-modeled the cause.” –Robert Robinson, Ecclesiastical Researches, ch. 6, par. 17, p. 51.To secure converts, the exalted standard of the Christian faith was lowered, and as the result “a pagan flood, flowing into the church, carried with it its customs, practices, and idols.” –Gavazzi, Lectures, page 278. As the Christian religion secured the favor and support of secular rulers, it was nominally accepted by multitudes; but while in appearance Christians, many “remained in substance pagans, especially worshiping in secret their idols.”–Ibid., page 278. {Ibid.}

Have you heard of substance abuse? In substance they were abusing the substance. They were mingling the substance of paganism with God’s pure substance of truth.

Inebriated

Has not the same process been repeated in nearly every church calling itself Protestant? As the founders, those who possessed the true spirit of reform, pass away, their descendants come forward and “new-model the cause.” While blindly clinging to the creed of their fathers and refusing to accept any truth in advance of what they saw, the children of the reformers depart widely from their example of humility, self-denial, and renunciation of the world. Thus “the first simplicity disappears.” A worldly flood, flowing into the church, carries “with it its customs, practices, and idols.” {GC 385.1}

Is this true for Seventh-day Adventism today? Is the early Adventist faith still faithfully portrayed today by the Adventist organisations, by the Reform organisations? Is it all there? Or have they all been substance abusers?

Alas, to what a fearful extent is that friendship of the world which is “enmity with God,” now cherished among the professed followers of Christ! How widely have the popular churches throughout Christendom departed from the Bible standard of humility, self-denial, simplicity, and godliness! {GC 385.2}

All those who claim to be the people of God, the teachers of the truth, the servants of God, organisations under the Adventist message of today, whether they be the Adventist church, the Reform Movement organisations, or the different individual companies all claiming, We’ve got the right thing here – what have you and I grown up in? Confusion of faces? What happened in Babylon? What happened in Babel? God confused their languages. So it is in Babylon. And God’s people are in Babylon today. The Adventist ranks don’t want to know this. Do you want to know it? “We are the people of God!” we say.  There are total hiccups among the people of God today, because they are affected by the confusion of the wine of Babylon.

Are you and I prepared to say, ‘I am confused’? Are you prepared to say it? What does the one who is the True Witness say? “You say you are enriched with goods, and have need of nothing; but you know not that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”

A mind that is affected by substance abuse must yield its perception to the counsel of a mind that is clear. This is the way it is with people who are on drugs. They cannot rightly perceive; they think they can, they’ve got such a sharp sensitivity, such discernment, and they’re going, Duh, I can’t see straight… but I can. It’s a dreadful condition. And that is in regards to physical substance abuse. However, we are talking about spiritual wine – the doctrines and the practices of paganism that are taken as perfectly normal in today’s Christian society.

A mind that is affected by substance abuse must yield its perception to the counsel of a mind that is clear. What mind is clear today? Our Lord and Saviour.

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

I know what you are like; My mind is clear, He says, I am a faithful and true witness of those who are God’s people in Babylon. He knows that the angel of the church of Laodicea is drunken and they know it not. The people who have grown up under this kind of ministry are drunken and they know it not, but they stumble, and they keep on appreciating the fact that there is all this garbage around me and I am looking at the nonsense of other people around me and thinking, I’ve got discernment, they’re wrong and I’m right! Have you ever done it? Sorry. The others are looking at you and saying, I’m right and he’s wrong! And everybody is confused. We’re all right, but we’re all wrong. And it’s a dreadful condition. I see it around me and I see it in myself, and I have to acknowledge that, Yes, Jesus, I know not that I am wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

Things are not as they seem. Men are as trees walking. And having grown up, we think that the trees walking are men. We’ve grown up under what we esteem as normal, but it’s absolute trash. All our perceptions are absolute trash. I’ll never forget the one who is amongst us today who came to me under the effect of drugs and said to me, My brain is total mush, and I need to start all over again. I praise the Lord. But it’s so easy to come away from the mush that I perceive, but it’s harder to come away from the mush that I don’t perceive.

Our Total State of Confusion

This will surely be seen among the people of God, {Ev 593.1}

This confusion that we have just been studying about will surely be seen. Among whom? Among the people of God.

…and there will be those who are unable to perceive the most wonderful and important truths for this time, truths which are essential for their own safety and salvation, while matters that are in comparison as the merest atoms, matters in which there is scarcely a grain of truth, are dwelt upon and are magnified by the power of Satan so that they appear of the utmost importance. {Ibid.}

Can you see the state of confusion? Things that have so little to do with my eternal salvation I make a great mountain out of it.

The moral sight of these men is diseased; they do not feel their need of the heavenly anointing that they may discern spiritual things. They think themselves too wise to err. Men who have not a daily experience in the things of God will not move wisely in dealing with sacred responsibilities; they will mistake light for error, and specious error they will pronounce light, mistaking phantoms for realities, and realities for phantoms, calling a world an atom, and an atom a world. They will fall into deceptions and delusions that Satan has prepared as concealed nets to entangle the feet of those who think they can walk in their human wisdom without the special grace of Christ. Jesus wants man to see not men as trees walking but all things clearly. There is only one remedy for the sinful soul, and unless it is received, men will accept one delusion after another until their senses are perverted. {Ev 593.2}

I thank God for the clarity of the Spirit of Prophecy.

Men as Trees Walking

Remember the term “men as trees walking”

“Since the article on dress appeared in [the book] How to Live, there has been with some a misunderstanding of the idea I wished to convey. {1T 462.3}

Follow this very carefully. Sister White wrote something, and the inebriated mind didn’t pick up what she was actually saying.

They have taken the extreme meaning of that which I have written in regard to the length of the dress, and have evidently had a very hard time over the matter. With their distorted views of the matter they have discussed the question of shortening the dress until their spiritual vision has become so confused that they can only see men as trees walking. They have thought they could see a contradiction in my article on dress, recently published in How to Live, and that article on the same subject contained in Testimony for the Church, No. 10. I must contend that I am the best judge of the things which have been presented before me in vision; and none need fear that I shall by my life contradict my own testimony, or that I shall fail to notice any real contradiction in the views given me. {Ibid.}

This is a very important lead into understanding the subject of my next message. What is it? A “Thus saith the Lord” on dress; and the people were reading it and confused the issue, because the brain is under spiritual wine. They take for commandments the doctrines of men, and this is our dilemma. This is the case in health reform and this is the case in our spiritual interactivities with one another. Everything is detailed and our minds pick it up under the influence. How do you get rid of such a condition?

Alcoholics Anonymous – Admit that You Are Wrong

We have to admit that God is right and that I am wrong. What is the first step in Alcoholics Anonymous? Admit that you are an alcoholic. To admit that I am an alcoholic. That is the first step in Alcoholics Anonymous. Admit what Daniel said in Daniel 9:6-9: “O Lord, to us belongs confusion of faces, but to You mercy and truth and righteousness.” “I am an alcoholic, I do not know it, but I am.”

Sister White is here writng to these writers who are inebriated:

I have read your articles in the Educator, and am surprised at that which they present. Your minds do not see all things clearly. You see men as trees walking. You grasp and advocate some truth, while in the same article you present that which opposes your own statements. {20MR 194.1}

How drunk can you be? You take some truth and then you write something that confuses the issue. You see men as trees walking.

Would it not be best for you to get out of the fogs of your previous education…? {Ibid.}

How do you get out of this? Get out of the fog of your previous education under teachers themselves befogged.

This education has not been true and unmingled with error. If I write for the Educator, as I have been and am now doing, my articles would be directly opposed to your human philosophy. {Ibid.}

Can you not see what people have done with Ellen White’s writings? They have taken her writings and combined them with their own ideas, and it’s exactly what Sister White says here. Get out from that education system.

Shall there be a yea and nay go forth in the Educator? Or shall I be obliged to issue a paper on true education that will not have in it one thread that will dishonor our heavenly Father? {Ibid.}

Makes you never want to write a book again, doesn’t it? Because we have to get out from underneath the education that is in Babylon. God’s people in Babylon must take the Spirit of Prophecy and read it aright. Do not rely upon your senses and perceptions. That is the answer to our problem. I’m drunk; I cannot rely upon my senses and my perceptions. If I admit that I’m drunk, then I’ve got hope – I will not rely upon my senses and perceptions. I will open my heart to the One who is clear in His mind. It is the True Witness.

Jeremiah 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for [their] good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull [them] down; and I will plant them, and not pluck [them] up. 7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

When you are in Babylonian captivity you feel that there’s something wrong, We’re not home. And don’t people feel it? “I want to go home. I want to find my security.” And people are not aware of what their security is. But here it is. The Lord is saying, Even though I see you in this condition, I want to bring you out of that condition. Come out of Babylon, My people.” How? He said He will. Here are the words of the One who knows our condition, which we are unconscious of:

Isaiah 44:21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou [art] my servant: I have formed thee; thou [art] my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. 22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.”

Return to the mind of Him who knows our condition. To return to Him means to give heed to a “Thus saith the Lord.” But now, as we return to Him and we are called upon to submit to a “Thus saith the Lord”, beware; because even that our drunken senses will blur. I know this to be true. We will see it in our next message, and it will be ours to examine this situation, when we look at a “Thus saith the Lord” and the apparent contradictions. There appears contradictions to a besotted mind, but there are no contradictions to a “Thus saith the Lord.” But you will read a “Thus saith the Lord” here and a “Thus saith the Lord” there, and you will see a contradiction, because the mind is confused. What does Jesus declares to those who rely on Him totally and say to Him, Lord, please, I need your clear mind? What does He say to them who are prepared to admit that they are alcoholics spiritually, who are prepared to say, I cannot rely upon my own senses?

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

They will not see men as trees walking. He is the True Witness for me to open my heart to Him in total contrition and in total acknowledgment of my condition. Jesus will help me and you to see straight. May God do this for us as we continue to heed the call, Come out of Babylon, My people.

Amen.