Its also one of the reasons that consumption of grapes in the form of red wine has. Did jesus change the water into wine or grape juice. Living in the word between a rock and a hard place. Watson states it plainly in the dictionary of jesus and the gospels in his article, wine, when he says, all wine mentioned in the bible is fermented grape juice with an alcohol content. When a wine has all the charm of prune juice crossed with flat cola, it isnt pretty.
Unfermented wine or freshly squeezed grape juice a non intoxicating beverage. Does the bible teach that jesus drank grape juice or wine. Wine can never be translated as welchs grape juice. Their shouting is no shouting of joy, but is a battle cry. Karen is the author of the awardwinning book, the wine bible. The bible teaches that wine is the blood of the grape deuteronomy 32. Wine is the most common alcoholic beverage mentioned in biblical literature.
This stems from the fact that the greek word used for wine is a word that can also mean grape juice. Using welchs grape juice made from white grapes results in a white homemade wine, whereas using the traditional welchs grape juice, which is made from concord grapes results in a red table wine. The term grape juice isnt in the bible but new wine is. As far as scriptures proving that is wine as opposed to grape juice, notice something that the old wcg taught. Thus, relatively speaking, the fresh grape juice is the purer of the two, as the scriptures above show. It is the same natural process which causes sweet milk to turn to sour milk clabber. In a fullpage profile on her, time magazine called karen, americas missionary of the vine. The grape also played a role in numerous biblical stories, being referred to as. From wine and the bible, the keeping of grape juice. The first is that any time the bible speaks of alcohol in a positive way, it is referring to grape juice rather than alcoholic drink. The reason the passover supper that we call the lords supper is not wine one of the many reasons is that passover is considered the first day of the feast of unleavened bread and no yeast of any kind was allowed not even yeast used in making wine. Net bible on that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. Since this was spring, and the passover liturgy called for all participants to drink four cups of wine, grape juice preserved by fermentation wine.
As we know, in bible times there was no means of keeping grape juice unfermented, so grape juice inevitably turned into wine as we know it today. But, the original hebrew and greek words that are translated wine in the bible can mean unfermented grape juice or various kinds of fermented grape juices. According to this pdf, the theory comes from the idea that the current process of fermentation far exceeds the fermentation process of jesus time, therefore the concentration of alcohol in the wine must have been so weak compared to wine today, that people started to assume it must have been like grape juice compared to the wine today however, the bible does talk about drunkenness, and the. Nonalcoholic juice from the grape is called new wine in the bible. The common word for wine in the new testament is oinos. Smiths dictionary of the bible the wine was sometimes preserved in its unfermented state and drunk as mustvery likely new wine was preserved in the state of must by placing it in jars or bottles, and then burying it in the. Researchers are now rediscovering what the physicians of the bible knew centuries ago. Why do many protestant churches use grape juice instead of. When you crush grapes, the juice that comes out is grape juice. At his crucifixion he completed his mission by tasting wine and dismissing his spirit into the fathers hands jn. Is it necessary, or is it just tradition, to use grape juice or wine for communion. Offering wine is insensitive to those struggling with alcoholism. There is red wine in the vineyard is natural grape juice because the juice naturally exists inside the clusters of the grape. What are the facts about fermented drinks in the bible.
As the torrent of water dried up for the first time in thousands of years, it revealed a horrific sight. John chapter 2 records jesus performing a miracle at a wedding in cana of galilee. And i have made the juice of the grape to fail from what is pressed out in the vats. Biblical wine was more of a slightly fermented grape juice. Fermentation of grape juice is a natural process, as brother b notes pages 72, 122, 125. About grape genetics this edition of the wine bible includes fascinating information on the genetic.
One of the original hebrew words for wine is yayin. Biblical evidence shows a consistent reference, from cover to cover, that wine is an alcoholic beverage able to make a person drunk with its overuse. Which is purer, grape juice or wine, and is grape juice a proper picture of jesus blood. A cluster of grapes are nonfermented fruit and their juices are considered as new wine in bible language. The hebrew bible says something to the effect that wine brings good cheer surely unfermented grape juice does not zxm march 22, 2011, 1.
For the focus of this thread, i want to point out how wine is referred to as grape juice both in the bible and in our older dictionaries. Clearly, noah or lot did not get intoxicated on unfermented drink genesis 9. Ancient biblical grape juice and wine drinkers raisin. Wine was not defined as fermented drink, but simply the juice of grapes. Some scholars have attempted to contrast the two hebrew terms for wine in the old testament to make a case that one was unfermented grape juice. Making wine from grape juice concentrate results in a homemade wine thats perfect as a table wine to be consumed on a daily basis. Wine had not been part of that first meal in egypt, yet jesus did not object to its being part of the passover.
D, with the help of several different sources, provides evidence that grape juice, in ancient times, was able to be preserved. On the other hand, a few believe that the bible points to grape juice rather than wine, and they do make some interesting points. As the torrent of water dried up for the first time in thousands of years. Wine in the bible refers to the fermented juice of the grape used as a beverage. The bible and older dictionaries say that wine is also. A long time ago, as a teenager i think, i glanced through a book called wine or grape juice. Why does it say in the bible we cant consume alcoholic substances but on the other. Christian, apostolic, messianic, bible, sabbath, prophecy, revelation, salvation, wine, grape juice, nazarite, alcohol, drunk a weekly sabbath message by david walters exploring the scriptural position on whether drinking alcohol is prohibited for renewed covenant believers or.
Mix it all up, put it in a jug, cap it off really tight and stow it in a. And any time it is painted in a negative light, its referring to alcohol. Grape juice put into a skin will ferment and make wine, tc is not quite correct in his fast band slow ferment, vinegar is caused by leaving wine exposed to the air and the vinegar fly gets access to it, which turns wine into vinegar, good wine or bad wine, vinegar is from two french words, vin, wine. The grapes tannins can survive digestion and quickly circulate through the blood, perhaps attacking viruses grape juice also kills bacteria and dramatically restricts tooth decay. As blood is red and grape juice back then was not, this was a reference to red wine, not juice. Jesus mother, mary, asks jesus to intervene, and he does so, reluctantly.
Fermented wine, and not grape juice, is to be used for the ordinance of the christian passover. Ancients had many ways of preserving not only grapes, but grape juice. Advocates of grape juice in the lords supper maintain that, because it does not contain yeast, grape juice is purer than wine and, therefore, is the more fitting symbol of our saviors blood in the lords supper. It will come about at that time that the mountains will drip with newly pressed wine, the hills will flow with milk, and the streams of judah will flow abundantly. It also strongly suggests that to those who are perceptive of truth, new wine unfermented grape juice is preferable to old intoxicating wine. Those who advocate for grape juice at communion may assert one of the following arguments.
Ive personally heard many interpretations from seminary professors, scholarly commentaries, pastors and teachers, as well as my christian brothers and sisters. First off, i believe it would be helpful to understand the difference between wine and grape juice. Alcoholic beverages appear in the hebrew bible, after noah planted a vineyard and became inebriated. The use of wine in the bible before i speak directly about the element of wine in communion, it is necessary to take a step or two back to evaluate what the bible reveals about the use of wine. The dictionary definition of wine is fermented grape juice. There was another greek word, gleukos, which means sweet wine, or new wine. Wine, the fermented juice of grapes must, wine, pressed from the grape, but not fermented. In those days they made wine from a number of different fruits but the wine of the grape, the fruit of the vine, was alone used at passover. Did jesus christ really drink wine or was it grape juice. It would not have been fresh grape juice, for the grape harvest was long past. For example, daily consumption of concord grape juice in a 12 cup amount. That wine in moderation may have a profound impact on out health and healing. The word wine could be used to describe fermented and unfermented grape juice.
If christians are going to be committed to the bible as their authority for faith and practice, then this is where they must start. People defend their position with great zeal, and, in an effort to defend the position theyve taken, many people seem to lose sight of the greater issue, and that is what the liquid in the. While wine is simply the fermented juice of grapes, it has gained a place in our psyche as a. To this the prophet isaiah refers when he speaks of the new wine in the cluster, and says, destroy it not. The saky, or cupbearer, took the bunch, pressed the juice into the cup, and instantly delivered it into the hands of his master. It didnt have nearly the alcohol content of todays wines.
However, ancient civilizations had several ways of preventing fruit and fruit juices from fermentation, and thus were able to have nonalcoholic wine grape juice throughout the year. You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. Whether it is acceptable to serve andor receive either wine or grape juice during communion is a debate that can be very divisive. From this we find that wine anciently was the mere expressed juice of the grape, without fermentation. Christian, apostolic, messianic, bible, sabbath, prophecy, revelation, salvation, wine, grape juice, nazarite, alcohol, drunk a weekly sabbath message by david walters exploring the scriptural position on whether drinking alcohol is prohibited for renewed covenant believers or if the word gives any different instructions.
It is often supposed that in bible times, grape juice inevitably fermented if kept for any length of time. A fountain will spring from the temple of the lord, to water the valley of the acacias. Some teach that what is referred to as wine in the bible is actually grape juice that is unfermented. Oddly enough, this question often sparks a great deal of controversy. Joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful orchards and fields and from the land of moab. Wine or grape juice bible baptist church ballincollig. In the new testament, jesus miraculously made copious amounts of wine at the marriage at cana john 2. Ancient biblical grape juice and wine drinkers raisin eaters and teetotalers part 2 there were anointed men of the bible who took an oath. The word wine always refers to alcoholic beverages, never to nonalcoholic beverages. The plain truth is the best biblical scholars argue consistently and clearly, that not only is the wine of the bible alcoholic, maintaining unfermented grape juice would be a virtual impossibility. The word used is beverage and context determine if it is alcoholic or not. The wine which christ provided for the feast, and that which he gave to the disciples as a symbol of his own blood, was the pure juice of the grape. I cant really remember all it said, but i got the impression through the book that when jesus created wine in cana, he really created grape juice. When did the concept of wine is grape juice originate.
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