Part 2 www clearbibleanswers org Let us look

Part 2 www. clearbibleanswers. org

Let us look at some facts about alcohol stated by Paul Harvey. “Tests show that after drinking three bottles of beer, there is an average of 13 percent net memory loss. After taking only small quantities of alcohol, trained typists were tested and their errors increased 40 percent. Only one ounce of alcohol increases the time required to make a decision by nearly 10 percent; hinders muscular reaction by 17 percent; increases errors due to lack of attention by 35 percent”. www. clearbibleanswers. org

What makes alcohol dangerous for human consumption? The alcohol found in beverages such as beer, wine, and brandy is ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH), a clear, highly flammable liquid that has a burning taste and a characteristic odor. It is poisonous to the human body.

What happens when one consumes alcohol? Well, death usually occurs if the concentration of ethanol in the bloodstream exceeds about five percent! But even for those who use it sparingly, immediate behavioral changes, impairment of vision and unconsciousness can occur at lower concentrations.

That’s exactly the SAME EFFECT that other illicit drugs such as heroin, and even marijuana, have on those who use those substances. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The English word “wine” is derived from the Latin word “Vinum”. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The Latin word “Vinum” is derived from the Greek word “Oinos”. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The New Testament was written in Greek, has the word “Oinos” for wine. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, has the word “Yayin” for wine. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Today the word “wine” in English has its meaning as the fermented juice of the grape or other fruits. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Compact Oxford English Dictionary: Wine: “An alcoholic drink made from fermented grape juice. A fermented alcoholic drink made from other fruits or plants. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary: Wine: “An alcoholic drink which is usually made from grapes, but can also be made from other fruits or flowers. It is made by fermenting the fruit with water and sugar. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Older English dictionaries clearly gave a dual meaning to the word “wine”. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The 1759 Nathan Bailey’s New Universal English Dictionary of Words and of Arts and Sciences offers the following definition for "wine": "Natural wine is such as it comes from the grape, without any mixture or sophistication. Adulterated wine is that wherein some drug is added to give it strength, fineness, flavor, briskness, or some other qualification. "

Benjamin Marin’s Lingua Britannica Reformata or A New English Dictionary, published in 1748, defines "wine" as follows: 1. the juice of the grape. 2. a liquor extracted from other fruits besides the grape. 3. the vapours of wine, as wine disturbs his reason. " Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Dictionary. com also gives both the meanings to it. “The juice, fermented or unfermented, of various other fruits or plants, used as a beverage, sauce, etc. : gooseberry wine; currant wine. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The Jewish Encyclopedia gives a brief explanation of the various usages of the word yayin: "Fresh wine before fermenting was called ‘yayin mi-gat’’ (wine of the vat). The ordinary wine was of current vintage. The vintage of the previous year was called ‘yayin yashan’’ (old wine). The third year’s vintage was ‘yayin meyushshan’’(very old wine). " The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906 ed. , s. v. "Wine, " vol. 12, p. 533.

When the King James Version of the English Bible was produced in 1611 AD its translators would have understood "wine" to refer to both fermented and unfermented wine. In view of this fact, the King James Version’s uniform translation of the Hebrew yayin and Greek oinos as "wine" was an acceptable translation at that time, since in those days the term could mean either fermented or unfermented wine. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Today, however, when "wine" has taken the sole meaning of fermented grape juice, modern translations of the Bible should point out whether the text is dealing with fermented or unfermented grape juice. By not providing this explanation, the common Bible readers are misled into believing that all references to "wine" in the Bible refer to fermented grape juice. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

In certain places of the Bible you will see God condemning wine. And it certain places you see God is recommending wine. This clearly shows its two different kinds of wine as God cannot speak two opposite things and contradict Himself. Let us look at some examples. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

NEGATIVE: Proverbs 20: 1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

NEGATIVE: Isaiah 28: 7 “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. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

NEGATIVE: Revelation 14: 8 “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

POSITIVE: Isaiah 65: 8 “Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

POSITIVE: Song 4: 10 “How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine”. Here Solomon is praising wine. How could the same author say—“wine is a mocker” elsewhere (in Prov. 20: 1), unless he refers to two different kinds of wines?

POSITIVE: Revelation 6: 6 “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Like the word “wine” there are many other words in the Bible where it could mean more than just a particular thing. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Law/ Commandments—could refer to the Moral law of the 10 Commandments or the Ceremonial laws of ordinances. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Sabbath—could refer to the weekly Seventh day rest or it could refer to the yearly feast days of rest. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

God—the Hebrew word “Elohym” could either refer to the true “God” or the “gods” of other nations or to “judges” as well, as used in the Bible. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The CONTEXT of it all would clearly show which “law”, “Sabbath” or “God” it refers to. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The same way the word “wine” could either mean “fermented wine” or “unfermented wine”. The context would make it clear. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Whenever the Bible paints a positive picture of “wine” it is obvious that it is a reference to the “unfermented wine”. And whenever the Bible gives a negative picture it is an obvious reference to the “fermented wine” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

It is said, there are 141 references to “Yayin” in the Old Testament, 71 times the word refers to unfermented grape juice and 70 times to fermented wine. The context would tell us which wine it is. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Here are some references of the “Yayin” where it clearly refers to unfermented wine. Isaiah 16: 10 “And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Treading out wine (Yayin) in the presses, is pressing out the juice from the grapes. When one presses grapes only fresh wine comes out, not fermented wine. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Some try to suggest that fermented wine can come out from old grapes, grapes left too long in the cluster. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

We know that grapes in the cluster left too long (or grape juice pressed, left too long), doesn’t ferment by itself, but rots! Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

For grape juice to ferment there is a process, it doesn’t happen naturally by itself. It has to be in a controlled environment. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

So Isaiah 16: 10, where the treaders treading the wine (yayin) in the presses, is unfermented wine being pressed out. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Nehemiah 13: 15 “In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The contextual reference to wine here is definitely grape juice as the same verse says they were treading the wine presses. So it was that juice that they just pressed they were selling. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Jeremiah 40: 12 “Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much. ” One doesn’t gather fermented grape juice from the field, but unfermented juice of the grapes when it is pressed.

Mishnah, Terumoth 2. 6, 11. 1. “The Jews were familiar with boiled (inspissated) wines. ” Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Some suggest that it was not possible to preserve unfermented wine for long, especially by people of ancient times. Burton Scott Easton says, "Unfermented grape juice is a very difficult thing to keep without the aid of modern antiseptic precautions, and its preservation in the warm and not over cleanly conditions of ancient Palestine was impossible" "Wine, " in The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, revised ed.

The Lord Himself has told us in the New Testament that people in His time were able to preserve new or unfermented wine. Mat 9: 17 “Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. ”

Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The ancients knew at least FIVE METHODS of making nonalcoholic wine. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Fermentation can be prevented by boiling the must (grape juice) until the sugar concentration exceeds the maximum permitting fermentation. That this method of preserving grape juice was known to the ancients is attested by Pliny, Columella, Virgil and others. Must reduced to a fraction (perhaps a half or a third) of its original volume was commonly known as defrutum. (Pliny Natural History 14. 11. 80 (Loeb ed. )), (Columella On Agriculture 12. 21. 1 (Loeb ed. ). ), (Virgil Georgic 1. 295 (Great Books of the Western World ed. ). ), Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Grape juice with enough sweetness to remain unfermented can be made just by pressing dried grapes. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The ancients knew that if a cooled wine was allowed to sit undisturbed, the clear juice poured off from the sediment would remain unfermented for about a year. The benefit of keeping the wine still was that the yeast bodies responsible for fermentation settled to the bottom. This third method of making nonalcoholic wine is described by no less than three Latin writers—Cato, Columella , and Pliny. (Cato On Agriculture 120. 1 (Loeb ed. ); Columella On Agriculture 12. 29. 1; Pliny Natural History 14. 11. 83. ) Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

Salt retards fermentation. According to Columella, "Some people—and indeed almost all the Greeks— preserve must with salt or sea-water" (Columella On Agriculture 12. 25. 1. ) Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

The boiling point of alcohol is lower than the boiling point of water. Therefore, by bringing fermented wine to the boiling point of water, the alcohol is driven off. Answer from clearbibleanswers. org

In Part 3 we will look at the difficult texts www. clearbibleanswers. org

Part 2 www. clearbibleanswers. org