Subject: did the wine from the water make you dr |
Bible Note: I would agree with this conclusion. The old testament is full of warnings about drunkenness (abuse of wine) but uses the identical Hebrew word to speak of wine as a blessing of God. Can the same thing be both a blessing and a curse? Yes it can. Abuse of anything can transform it from blessing to curse. Glutony is a sin. It leads to obesity. It is the result of eating too much. Does that mean we should stop eating? Sex is a blessing from God when it takes place in the right context (The marriage bed is undefiled) but at the same time it is condemned in all other contexts -- fornication, adultery, homosexuality etc. As was stated elsewhere in this discussion -- moderation and self control are the issues. Timothy was in fact COMMANDED to take some wine for his stomach's sake and all historic evidence I have been able to find clearly indicates that "the fruit of the vine" in Jesus cup at the last supper was, and could only be, alcoholic wine. Why the term "the fruit of the vine" instead of "wine"? Because to the Jewish reader of the day this was a blessing pronounced ONLY on grape wine that had fermented for at least 40 days and was not more than 3 years old. Which leads me to believe we should be using similar wine in our remembrance of the Lord's supper. Tim |