Does the Bible forbid the drinking of alcoholic wine? I don't think so.
While reading "Alcohol and the Bible" I was dismayed to see many passages taken
out of context and used to prove things that, at best, they were not meant to
address. As far as the evidence given from the historical figures, I am not
qualified to argue it, and it actually seems to be reasonable that grape juice
could be stored in condensed, or dehydrated form. Also, it makes sense that
people would make an effort to discover a way to preserve the juice so that it
could be enjoyed even if grapes were not available. Whether or not the Bible
forbids the occasional consumption of alcohol, the constant use of it would be
detrimental to all concerned. My purpose here is to show that the Bible puts
the emphasis on drunkennes, not drinking. I shall do so by examining the
arguments in "Alcohol and the Bible."
Matt. 26:27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying,
"Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I
tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on
until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's
kingdom."
Was the wine referred to alcoholic, or not? Some would say that this is a
moot question, and they may be right. But proper interpretation of the
scripture is of vital importance if we are to avoid leading ourselves and those
we witness to away from God's Word. For that reason I will concentrate mainly
on scriptural assertions and arguments. Lev. 17:11 does indeed refer to the
life essence of blood. Taken in context it explains why the Israelites were
forbidden to drink blood. Here it is put into context, Using the
New International Version:
Lev 17:10-14 10 Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood
--I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him
off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and
I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it
is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. 12 Therefore I say to
the Israelites, None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among
you eat blood. 13 Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts
any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover
it with earth, 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That
is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any
creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who
eats it must be cut off."
Obviously Lev 17:11 explains why the Israelites must not eat blood. It
also tells us why Jesus had to be nailed to the cross, instead of just tied to
it as was normally done. The point is emphasized in Hebrews 9:22:
Heb 9:22 New International
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Obviously blood is very important to atonement. But there is no scriptural
means of determining the alcohol content, or lack of it, of the beverage served
at the Last Supper. So we will have to go to other areas to determine the
Biblical stance regarding alcoholic beverages.
First, though, a few things must be clarified. What is fermentation?
From Encyclopedia Britanica, 15th ed, vol 14 p875:
"Enzymes were known for many years as ferments, a term from the latin word for
yeast"
From Websters New Collegiate Dictionary, 1977
"Fermentation\n a: a chemical change with effervessence
b an enzymatically controlled anaerobic breakdown of an energy rich
compound (as a carbohydrate to carbon dioxide and alcohol or to an
organic acid); broadly: an enzymatically controlled transformation of an
organic compound.
Fermentation is not decay or corruption. It is an alteration, or a
transformation. To call fermentation decay is defensible in English usage,
but is Biblically unsound. We shall go into more depth on that later. Another
point that raises questions is the explanation (in "Alcohol and the Bible")
of what is wrong with fermented wine:
"As long as the skin of the grape remain unbroken, it is not intoxicating.
However, if the skin of the grape is broken, the yeast of bacteria cell
which which give the grape a white dust like coating can enter the food
created by God and set up their process of fermentation or decay."
If breaking the skin of the grape is the culprit, then even grape juice is
dangerous. Somehow this seems unreasonable, given the many favorable
references in the Bible to some sort of beverage derived by breaking the skin
of grapes.
The 6 'facts' which support the conclusion that grape juice, not wine, was
the beverage at the last supper are quite interesting. Lets look closely at
them.
1. Unfermented wine is the only true "fruit" of the vine. Fermented wine is
an altered condition of that fruit.
This is not a fact, it is an opinion. Are grapes not included as "true" fruit
of the vine? If alteration is the criteria for determining "true" fruit of the
vine, then grape juice is not "true" fruit of the vine. It has been crushed,
squeezed, and had the skin and pulp separated out. This is not a point which
can be supported by Scripture, or by logic. As to being an altered form, are we
not as Christians to be transformed? Remember what Paul said in Romans 12:2;
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God's will is --his good, pleasing and perfect will. "
Condemning something because it has been changed, which is all that transform
and alter really mean, is a very dangerous thing.
2. The Lord's Supper was instituted at Passover time. The Passover law in
Ex 12:14-20 forbade the use of anything fermented during the Passover week
and Supper.
Let us look at this passage, and see what it says:
Exod. 12:14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to
come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD --a lasting ordinance.
15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day
remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it
from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On
the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do
no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat
--that is all you may do. 17 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.
Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In
the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of
the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven
days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with
yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an
alien or native-born. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live,
you must eat unleavened bread."
Notice the emphasis of this passages, even the name of the feast, The Feast of
Unleavened Bread. The Laws in the Book of Exodus are very specific. They are
not ambiguous. Nowhere in this passage are fermented beverages, or any
type of drinking mentioned. This seems to indicate that the concern here is the
bread, and the yeast being put into it by the person making it, rather than the
yeast, a different type, that tends to collect on grapes, providing the natural
fermentation process which occurs when the grapes are crushed. Perhaps more
important is Acts 10:9-16
Acts 10:9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and
approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became
hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared,
he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large
sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all
kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of
the air. 13 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
14 "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure
or unclean." 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything
impure that God has made clean." 16 This happened three times, and
immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
This passage has very far reaching and earthshaking ramifications. At the most
simplistic level, there is no longer any such thing as an unclean animal. The
Christians can eat anything they want, the Law no longer applies. In its most
complex and frightening implication, nothing is unclean now. The Law is no
longer the binding force it once was. We are truly free to choose our own doom.
No longer can we look to the Law and complain about the unreasonable
expectations God has. He's given us full responsibility.
3. Jesus, as the Bread represented the Body of Christ and thus had to be
unleavened i.e. uncorrupted with fermentation. The fruit of the vine which
represented the incorruptible blood of Christ, would have been best
represented by juice which was unfermented. Scripture states that the
process of corruption was not allowed to work in either the body or blood
of Christ. Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:27 is therefore properly symbolized by that
which is fermented.
The verses in question don't quite fit the use to which they are being put.
Here is what they say, in context:
Psalm 16:8-11: 8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my
right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and
my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you
will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see
decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill
me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Acts 2:25-27; 25 David said about him: "`I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore
my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your
Holy One see decay.
These verses obviously refer to the body after death. Christ's body was not subjected to decay in the time between his crucifixion and ressurection. To use them in reference to
fermented beverage is a blatant error with dangerous ramifications. Fermentation
is the process of yeast digesting sugars and breaking them down into other
compounds. It is similar to the process of photosynthesis which, among other
things, breaks down carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon, then releases the
oxygen into the atmosphere. Does this mean that Jesus could never breathe or be
touched by air? Another similar process is our own processing of the food we eat
and the liquids we drink. If you call fermentation decay, these processes are all
decay, because all require the breaking down of substances to supply energy.
Jesus did eat and drink. This means that he partook of decay every day he
was physically on earth. This is shown in Mathew, when we are told:
Matt. 4:2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
As you can see, such an interpretation would lead to the conclusion that Jesus
did not fit all of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, and we Christians are
all following a pipe dream. This point is scripturally fatal to the Christian.
4. In the Old Testament, fermented wine and strong drink were never used in the
house of God. Lev. 10:9-11.
Of course they weren't. The priests went to the Tent of Meeting to instruct the
people, perform sacrifices, and pass judgements. You do not undertake those types
of activities with a clouded mind. You have to have a clear head and use clear
judgement. The passage even explains that, as you can see:
Lev. 10:9-11; 9 "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented
drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This
is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 10 You must
distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and
the clean, 11 and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the
LORD has given them through Moses."
This is hardly a condemnation of wine, it is a condemnation of drinking wine at
times when a clear head is needed.
5. Paul instructed the Corinthians to put away spiritual leaven, i.e. the
fermenting agent of malice and wickedness, while partaking of the Lord's
Supper. I Cor 5:6-8.
1Cor. 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast
works through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast
that you may be a new batch without yeast --as you really are. For
Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us
keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and
wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and
truth.
Again, the main emphasis of the simile is on leavened bread. No mention of wine
or fermented beverages. Paul is telling the people to allow themselves no hidden
vices, however small, because the smallest surrender to Satan will eventually lead
to total surrender, unless cut out as soon as it is seen. The only way this can
be applied to wine is if you overindulge.
6. In Proverbs 23:29-35, God prohibited the use of wine that had been fermented.
Christ would never have sanctioned what God had previously condemned.
First, in Christ we are under a New Covenant, not bound by the Laws of the Old
Covenant. Secondly, refer back to EX 17:10-14, and examine it. Then read what
Jesus told the Apostles at the Last Supper:
Matt. 26:27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them,
saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
This is a definite transgression against EX 17:10-14. Jesus has told them to
drink his blood. But in this instance, rather than the drinker of blood stealing
the life, the supplier of the blood is giving life. This does not mean we are to
drink blood, it means that when we accept Christ, we are given His Life, which is
His Blood. The Blood of the Lamb washes over us and through us, purifying us of
our sins.
Second, look at the verses in Proverbs, along with a few before them:
Prov. 23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right
path. 20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge
themselves on meat, 21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and
drowsiness clothes them in rags. 22 Listen to your father, who gave
you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy the
truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.
24 The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son
delights in him. 25 May your father and mother be glad; may she who
gave you birth rejoice! 26 My son, give me your heart and let your
eyes keep to my ways, 27 for a prostitute is a deep pit and a
wayward wife is a narrow well. 28 Like a bandit she lies in wait,
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has
complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly! 32 In the end it bites like a snake and
poisons like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange sights and your
mind imagine confusing things. 34 You will be like one sleeping on
the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 35 "They hit me," you
will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When
will I wake up so I can find another drink?"
The main push of this passage seems to be warning against the lusts of the flesh.
The lust for fun and good times, for getting everything you can out of every
moment. When you lust after the wine it appears to be a good thing, a necessary
thing. It is the lust that is being warned against, not the wine. Isaiah 5:9-12
is even more clear on this:
Isa. 5:9 The LORD Almighty has declared in my hearing: "Surely the great
houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine, a homer of
seed only an ephah of grain." 11 Woe to those who rise early in the
morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they
are inflamed with wine. 12 They have harps and lyres at their
banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for
the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands.
The only way to interpret this as prohibiting alcoholic wine is if you blame the
wine for the problem. The problem is not in the wine, it is in the people. They
have given over all control of their lives to the wine. The wine does not ask for
it, does not desire it, does not care whether or not they drink it. But they have
put the wine first in their lives, above duty to self, to family, and most
importantly, duty to God.
On the three most common words used for wine, no matter which of them you choose
to call good, or bad, each has examples of leaning the other way. Yayin is
usually translated 'wine',and shakar is usually translated 'strong drink' but both
are employed both in verses commending wine and strong drink, and in those
condemning its dangers. Since "Alcohol and the Bible" singled shakar out as
having never been used with positive connotation it must be defended.
Deut. 14:24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by
the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where
the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then
exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to
the place the LORD your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy
whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or
anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the
presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the
Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance
of their own. 28 At the end of every three years, bring all the
tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that
the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the
aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come
and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you
in all the work of your hands.
God just told the Israelites to buy wine and strong drink, if they wanted to,
and come eat with Him. Yes, God throws a party. Bring your own alcohol. But
remember not to over-do it. And don't forget to invite the minister(Levites).
Tirosh is usually translated as 'new' or 'sweet wine' and has often been
considered to be unfermented wine. However, verses such as Hosea 4:11 show that
it also can have a negative usage, too. The context of Hosea 4:11 suggests that
it is being cautioned against:
Hosea 4:10 "They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in
prostitution but not increase, because they have deserted the LORD to
give themselves 11 to prostitution, to old wine and new, which take
away the understanding 12 of my people. They consult a wooden idol
and are answered by a stick of wood. A spirit of prostitution leads
them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.
Checking a Hebrew Lexicon shows the word translated as "new" is tirosh, and
the context seems to involve alcoholic beverages.
There are also examples of grapes being pressed straight into a cup and the
juice presumedly used immediately:
Gen. 40:11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed
them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand."
The term 'wine' is never applied to the resultant juice. That is an important
indicator.
Before moving into the New Testament, I would like to present some information
from "The New Bible Dictionary" 2nd edition, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton,
IL. 1982:
"The term 'new wine' does not indicate wine which has not been fermented, for
in fact the process of fermentation sets in very rapidly, and unfermented
wine could not be available many months after the harvest (Acts 2:13).
It represents rather wine made from the first drippings of the juece before
the winepress was trodden. As such it would be particularly potent and
would come immediately to mind as a probable explanation of what seemed to
be a drunken state. Modern custom in Palestine, among a people who are
traditionally conservative as far as religious feasts are concerned, also
suggests that the wine used was fermented. It may be said, therefore, that
the Bible in employing various synonyms makes no consistent distinction
between them.
This gives us a slightly fuller understanding of various words referring to wine
in the Bible. Now to examine the 6 'facts' which must be kept in mind to
understand Jesus' analogy of the new wine. Of course, we need to know what the
analogy is, so here is the verse in question:
Matt. 9:17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do,
the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be
ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are
preserved."
1. The "new wine" i.e. fresh unfermented grapejuice represents the original
saving message of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that it
thrusts forth.
It could as easily be said that the 'new wine' i.e. first squeezings of the
fermented juice give a feeling of release and jubilation such as that felt by a
new Christian who has just been saved(and should be felt by all Christians).
The person you would swear was drunk or crazy if you didn't know what they were
experiencing.
2. Jesus' overriding concern was that the original Gospel and redemptive power
of the Holy Spirit "be preserved" from all change, corruption, or loss. It
was to be kept pure, intact, and unimpaired.
This cannot be argued with. However, the only thing it really says in respect
to wine, or other alcoholic beverages is that moderation is the rule. Don't lose
your head, and pass along an altered Gospel, whether the lost head be over a
women, strong drink, or some other reason.
3. The above interpretation is supported by Jesus' concern that the "new wine"
and the fresh wineskins both be preserved.
Actually, Jesus' concern was over the new wine and the old skins, not the fresh
ones. When the new wine is poured into a skin, the yeast, which is in the grapes,
not the skin, begins the fermentation process. A by-product of this process is
carbon dioxide, which is released from the juice in the form of a gas. A new
wineskin, which is supple and will stretch, will not burst from the pressure, it
will just expand. An old skin, which is rigid, will not expand, but will burst.
Grapejuice, if you could get the yeast out of it, could be put in either skin.
When the wine is finished fermenting, the yeast is all dead, unable to cause
fermentation, so yeast-free grapejuice would not ferment.
4. Fermentation is the opposite of the preservation that Jesus was seeking for
the new wine of the Gospel. Fermentation results in the new wine losing its
sweetness and energy (its life giving sustenance), and changing into life
destroying alcohol.
The Bible puts alcohol in both positive and negative light. It is not the
alcohol which is life destroying, but the reaction people have to it. Just as
sex, money, and wheel of fortune can be placed above God in our list of
priorities, so can wine, or other alcoholic beverages. To blame the alcohol
instead of being honest and blaming ourselves is passing the buck.
5. In ancient times, fresh wine skins, free from all residual fermenting matter,
were used for the purpose of preserving the new wine (fresh grapejuice), in
its sweet state as long as possible. If placed in old wine skins, new wine
would immediately begin to ferment. The subsequent fermentation would then
cause the loss of both the new unfermented wine and the wine skins which
would burst from the pressure. Jesus' foremost concern was that the "new
wine", the Gospel, not become altered by the leaven "the teachings" of the
"pharisees" "leaven" being a fermenting agent.
The normal way to harvest the grapes in Palestine was to harvest them, dump
them into the press, and press. This means that the wine already had the
fermenting agent, yeast, in it. Even iff the new wine was poured immediately
into wineskins it would ferment, anyway, regardless of the age of the skins.
The use of the word leaven when referring to wine is, as near as I can discover,
innapropriate. Nowhere that I have been able to find in the Bible is leaven used
when referring to wine. Also, leaven is not always used in the Bible to refer to
evil:
Matthew 13:33 He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is
like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until
it worked all through the dough."
Leaven, in this case, could hardly be called evil unless you consider heaven an
evil place.
6. With regards to fresh wine skins, Jesus recommended that they be used for new
wine "fresh grapejuice: because (A. The new wine skins would not activate
quick fermentation since they would be free from old fermenting yeast cells.
(B. The unfermented juice would be preserved in its original state for an
adequate period of time, and (C. The new wineskins would themselves be
preserved.
This analogy may be taken a touch too literally in this instance. Jesus is
concerned that people hear his message, and that they understand and are elevated
by what they hear. The message of His coming must be told in a way that will lift
up and encourage everyone, not fill them so full it goes beyond their ability to
understand and accept it, thus discouraging them.
We will just pick a few points out of the section on the wedding at Canaan.
1. A closer look at Proverbs 23:21 has already been taken. It is clear that in
context, the verse is referring to drunkennes, not to wine itself.
2. It has been demonstrated that the Greeks and Romans boiled grapejuice to
preserve it, but no references have been given to show that the Israelites
followed such a practice. It is possible, but it has not been shown to be
true.
3. Jesus would not care about the standards of the Rabbis, only about the
standard of His Father.
4. Again, no evidence has been given to show that "the 'best wine', was the
sweetest wine, one that could be drunk freely and in large quantities
without harm." The Israelites did, however, drink alcoholic wine sweetened
with honey, according to the authors of "Jesus and His Times" Readers
Digest, 1987.
5. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, it takes the zygote two days to travel
down the fallopian tubes to the uterus. The egg produced by the woman would
have been produced before the alcohol was drunk, as would the mans sperm.
By the time two days have passed all of the alcohol will be out of the
womans system, and the zygote will be in no danger of defects caused by
alcohol poisoning. Jesus would have been aware of these facts.
The Bible does not condemn alcoholic beverages, just as it does not condemn
eating, or breathing. It condemns gluttony, and lust, and placing alcohol, and
any other substance or activity above God in in our lives.
No set of papers will settle this argument, but I hope I have done more to
clear up the issue than to cloud it. The point may be moot. Those things which
are condemned in the Bible are almost always clearly stated, so the very
fact this discussion cannot be ended by pointing to a passage that says "Do not
touch fermented drinks, the perversion of grapejuice" may be the best indicator
