Is it a sin to drink alcohol
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Declining to read over 600 posts in one thread at your behest does not make me indolent 
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But like PostHuman said he was dealt with defeat on the 1st page, but he thinks it was only a flesh wound.
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Samson is a fascinating study. he could not 'break his vow' because he never made the vow -- God set aside before he was conceived. he is a 'hero of faith' in Hebrews, and the account gives many amazing types of Christ. it is, i think, what hair represents in type, that is of significance - because it has to do with how he is representative of Jesus. hair is a covering, representing glory. the Son of God set aside His glory becoming the Son of Man, and gave Himself to His enemies to be a propitiating sacrifice. for the sake of a woman: the Church.
of course a person with 'beer goggles' probably won't see that.
did you know there are various types of beer goggles?
they're not always what probably first comes to mind.
if a person spends all day looking for sin in everything, sin is all they will find.
maybe give up shaving?
of course a person with 'beer goggles' probably won't see that.
did you know there are various types of beer goggles?
they're not always what probably first comes to mind.
if a person spends all day looking for sin in everything, sin is all they will find.
maybe give up shaving?
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did you know there are various types of beer goggles?
they're not always what probably first comes to mind.
if a person spends all day looking for sin in everything, sin is all they will find.
maybe give up shaving?
they're not always what probably first comes to mind.
if a person spends all day looking for sin in everything, sin is all they will find.
maybe give up shaving?
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One of the studies posted earlier showed red wine as good for gut bacteria--some substance in the wine. A poster, withinreason I think, posted a finding that results were better with the alcohol removed.
This is fermented red wine with the alcohol removed, not unfermented grape juice. Paul told Timothy to take wine for his stomach's sake. There is medical evidence that red wine is good for the stomach. I seem to recall there was no white wine then. In Timothy's day, unless it was by heating, how could they remove wine from alcohol? How could anyone now?
Btw red wine has fewer calories than grape juice.
This is fermented red wine with the alcohol removed, not unfermented grape juice. Paul told Timothy to take wine for his stomach's sake. There is medical evidence that red wine is good for the stomach. I seem to recall there was no white wine then. In Timothy's day, unless it was by heating, how could they remove wine from alcohol? How could anyone now?
Btw red wine has fewer calories than grape juice.
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the antioxidants are mostly in the skin of the grape, which isn't used in juice, but is used in wine.
the wine-making process also chemically changes the grape. i browsed pubmed a little, and while some of the beneficial aspects are shared with raw grapes, others are not - there doesn't seem to be a consensus ((owing largely to insufficient double-blind tests)) about whether the benefits of red wine can be equally found in consuming whole grapes. there does seem to be ample indication that red wine is more healthy than simple juice.
but this is moot in the context of this thread for a couple of reasons:
the wine-making process also chemically changes the grape. i browsed pubmed a little, and while some of the beneficial aspects are shared with raw grapes, others are not - there doesn't seem to be a consensus ((owing largely to insufficient double-blind tests)) about whether the benefits of red wine can be equally found in consuming whole grapes. there does seem to be ample indication that red wine is more healthy than simple juice.
but this is moot in the context of this thread for a couple of reasons:
- raw grapes & juices are not easily preserved year-round; wine is. benefits of eating whole grapes only apply while they're in-season.
- scriptures clearly indicate that both what's called 'wine' and what's called 'new wine' has alcohol content. it is possible to become drunk from partaking in either.
- note to those who have never drank anything alcoholic: it is not a given that a person becomes drunk because they are taking beer, wine or liquor. drunkenness is a matter of degree. alcohol effects the chemistry of the body, and so does literally every other food and drink, even water, and so does sunlight and darkness. too much of anything can have an ill effect. if you are presuming that anyone who has one or two or even more glasses of wine or beer or whatever is drunk, you are simply wrong. the body process the alcohol over a period of time, and by spacing out intake, a person can drink beer or wine literally all day without ever being intoxicated. a person becomes drunk by taking in a lot of alcohol in a relatively short amount of time.
- scriptures never condemn drinking alcohol per se; they call drunkenness foolish and drunkards - those who make a continual practice of drunkenness - sinful. this is true both in the old covenant and in the new. in several places alcoholic beverages are actually spoken of as being a blessing.
- in the new testament numerous times it is indicated that we are neither judge nor allow ourselves to be judged over matters of food and drink; this is not what the kingdom of God is about - and it is specifically warned that false teachers engage in this kind of judgement, being puffed up with speculation, having a false humility and appearance of wisdom, wishing to make disciples unto themselves & enslave others through self-imposed harsh treatment of the body which has no benefit to the soul.
- everything created by God is to be received with thanksgiving. in my estimation, if a person is drinking gin and thanking God for it, they are more righteous than a person eating french fries without gratitude to Him who created potatoes for our benefit.
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Gen. 27:25 – Isaac brought Jacob wine, and he drank, with God’s favor.
Actually Jacob (the son) brought Isaac (the father) "wine", the fruit of the field, and fatness of the earth, which sustains. For there was to be a "blessing", which comes with the fruit of the vine, not the alcoholic kind of Belial.
Genesis 27:25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
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.
Notice the kind of wine that Isaac was drinking at the hand of Jacob:Genesis 27:27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
Genesis 27:37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
Genesis 27:29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
Genesis 27:33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
There are two kinds of wine in the Bible as already demonstrated. There is a "woe" upon the drink of Belial:Habakkuk 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Isaiah 5:22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
1 Samuel 1:14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
1 Samuel 1:15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
1 Samuel 1:16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
Neh. 8:10 – Nehemiah commands the faithful to drink sweet wine to celebrate the Lord and His holy day.
Woe unto you:
Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Again, this is the good "wine", the juice of the grape, the fatness of the earth, for it was an holy day, not a day to be inebriated and intoxicated.
Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
Nehemiah 8:12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
There is a difference between the "wine", juice of the grape, and that which is the corrupt intoxicating wine of Sodom:
Deuteronomy 32:32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
Notice, that in this feast they were to be clear headed and to understand the instruction of the law being read to them:
Nehemiah 8:13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
Nehemiah 8:14 And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
Nehemiah 8:17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
Nehemiah 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
They were to be filled with joy, not intoxication on this solemn feast day, as found in Leviticus 23:33-44, the feast of booths, the ingathering of harvest, and the juice of the grapes.
Leviticus 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
This is not possible being influenced by alcohol:
Proverbs 31:3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Proverbs 31:5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Isaiah 25:6 – God will provide a feast of rich foods and choice wines.
Isaiah 25 Is speaking about the destruction of Satan's kingdom (Babylon the Great), and the Advents of Jesus Christ and the great resurrections and victory over the grave, and in this Mountain (New Jerusalem/Kingdom):
Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
Isaiah 25:2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
Isaiah 25:3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
Isaiah 25:5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
Isaiah 25:6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
The "feast of fat things", and "a feast of wines on the lees", "of fat things full of marrow", "of wines on the lees well refined", are actually paralleled:
[1A] "feast of fat things"
[2A] "a feast of wines on the lees"
[1B] "of fat things full of marrow"
[2B] "of wines on the lees well refined"
It is not speaking about dead animal flesh, but of the richness of the wedding feast that the LORD has prepared for those that love him. The "wines" "on the lees", means that which was "settled" or "preserved" [H8105, "שׁמנים", "sh'märiym"], and "well refined", is the "pure" Juice of the grape, again, without any trace of sin and corruption or intoxication, the word means, "purified" [H2212; "מזקקים׃", "m'zuQäqiym"], see Psalms 12:6. This has nothing to do with alcohol.
Psalms 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Psalms 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
For just as at the wedding of Cana, God gifts the best last:
John 2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
Again, not alcohol. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). Isaiah is using symbolic language to describe the richness and purity of the reward of Heaven and of things to come, the New Heaven and New Earth.
Matthew 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Matthew 22:10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
As it is written:
Luke 19:12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
Isaiah 13:5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Daniel 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Isaiah 62:3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Isaiah 62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Isaiah 25:6 – God will provide a feast of rich foods and choice wines. (continued)
See the Holy Mountain:
See also Malachi:
Notice the victory, when Jesus comes with all His angels:
See this in the OT:
See this in Job:
See this in the NT:
See the Holy Mountain:
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 57:13 When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
Isaiah 65:11 But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
See also Malachi:
Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Notice the victory, when Jesus comes with all His angels:
Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Isaiah 25:9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
See this in the OT:
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
See this in Job:
Job 14:10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
Job 14:11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
Job 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Job 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
Job 14:14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
See this in the NT:
1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Amos 9:14 – God declares that His people shall plant their vineyards and drink their wine.
Amos is speaking about the new Heavens and New Earth wherein is no corruption, no alcohol, but the fresh juice of the grape will be there:
Amos 9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.
Amos 9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
Amos 9:10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
Israel of old was indeed sifted, and so too with Israel anew, see Ezekiel 9; Revelation 3:10, 17:12.
Yet, Amos 9:11-12, are quoted in the NT, by James in the Council of Acts 15, in the buliding up of the tabernacle/temple of David (Jesus), in the matter of Jews and Gentiles repenting unot God and accepting Jesus as the Messiah:
Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
Amos 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.
Acts 15:15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
Acts 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Acts 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Acts 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
It then moves into the evangelizing the world, and then finally the spiritual Israel moving into their New Heavens and New Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness:
Amos 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
Amos 9:14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Notice the parallelism in the verse itself in regards the "treader of grapes" (Jesus Christ; Revelation 14:14-20), which is the "wine", juice of the crushed fruit, that comes from winepresses (Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 48:33):
[1A] they shall plant vineyards
[1B] and drink the wine thereof
[2A] they shall also make gardens
[2B] and eat the fruit of them
Amos 9:15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
This is a fulfillment of the promise in Exodus 20:12:
Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise
See also Isaiah and again notice the planting of vineyards, and their purposes and then when/timing and location:
Isaiah 65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
Isaiah 65:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Isaiah 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
Isaiah 65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isaiah 65:23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
Isaiah 66:21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isaiah 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
See also:
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Vineyards are for grapejuice, as God intended:
Psalms 107:37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
Zech. 10:7 – God says that when He saves His people, their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Zechariah is speaking about the time of the latter rain, to grow the harvest of souls to fruition, in the final mercy to go to the world:
Zechariah 10:1 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
Zechariah 10:7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
The two phrases are paralleled:
[1A] "they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man"
[1B] "their heart shall rejoice as through wine"
[2A] "their children shall see it, and be glad"
[2B] "their heart shall rejoice in the LORD"
Their rejoicing is the LORD, the pure vine, who gives the pure wine, fruit of the vine which rejoices the heart of man, and makes glad the heart of sadness through salvation:
Psalms 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalms 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Isaiah 65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
It is about salvation, not corruption. The fruit of the vine, Jesus is the vine, his people his branches, that are to bear the fullness of the fruit of the Holy Spirit - Love and all goodness:
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth
For the firstfruit of the Holy Ghost is Love, even Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20,23). It is the True Tithe that God desires returned, for God gave His Son. God planted the seed into the Heart soil of mankind, and patiently waited for the harvest, pouring down His Holy Spirit as water, sending the word, and expects the results of sowing that Seed (Jesus Christ, Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16; Revelation 12:17):
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Timothy 2:6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
There is nothing of corruption and Belial, and intoxication here. Woe unto them that put sweet for bitter and bitter for sweet:
Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Some have attempted to justify alcohol through the apocrypha:
Notice:
These were also not included by the Jews, who had been given the keeping of the "oracles" of God (see Josephus) - How Many Books Are In The Old Testament?
Josephus:
Laodicea:
http://www.biblelight.net/hebrew-canon.htm
Apocrypha, and the reasons they are not accepted as "canon":
If any want to utilize non-scriptural sources to justify the sin of alcohol drinking, they might as well cite the occult world, the atheist, the pagan, the vodun, the animist, the shaman, the rock star. They all love alcohol and mind altering drugs, so that it is easier for satan to possess the heart.
Wisdom 2:7 – “Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes!”
Sir. 31:25-28 – “Wine is like life if drunk in moderation.” God created wine to make us glad, so we rejoice in heart, and have gladness of soul.
Sir. 40:20 – “Wine gladdens the heart.”
2 Mac. 15:39 – this verse also describes the pleasure of drinking wine. The point is that all God made is good, and we are called to enjoy His good gifts, including drinking wine, as long as we do so in moderation. And while we drink in moderation, the miracle that Jesus performed at the wedding feast at Cana suggests that we can have a second glass!
Apocryphal materials are not scripture. Never will be.Notice:
These were also not included by the Jews, who had been given the keeping of the "oracles" of God (see Josephus) - How Many Books Are In The Old Testament?
Josephus:
"... We have but twenty-two [books] containing the history of all time, books that are justly believed in; and of these, five are the books of Moses, which comprise the law and earliest traditions from the creation of mankind down to his death. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, the successor of Xerxes, the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote the history of the events that occurred in their own time, in thirteen books. The remaining four documents comprise hymns to God and practical precepts to men (William Whiston, trans., Flavius Josephus against Apion, Vol. I, in Josephus, Complete Works, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1960, p. 8). ..." - https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/b...storical-evidence-of-the-old-testament-canon/
Laodicea:
"... Canon LX.
These are all the books of Old Testament appointed to be read: 1, Genesis of the world; 2, The Exodus from Egypt; 3, Leviticus; 4, Numbers; 5, Deuteronomy; 6, Joshua, the son of Nun; 7, Judges, Ruth; 8, Esther; 9, Of the Kings, First and Second; 10, Of the Kings, Third and Fourth; 11, Chronicles, First and Second; 12, Esdras, First and Second; 13, The Book of Psalms; 14, The Proverbs of Solomon; 15, Ecclesiastes; 16, The Song of Songs; 17, Job; 18, The Twelve Prophets; 19, Isaiah; 20, Jeremiah, and Baruch, the Lamentations, and the Epistle; 21, Ezekiel; 22, Daniel.
And these are the books of the New Testament: Four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; The Acts of the Apostles; Seven Catholic Epistles, to wit, one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude; Fourteen Epistles of Paul, one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, one to the Hebrews, two to Timothy, one to Titus, and one to Philemon. ..." - NPNF2-14. The Seven Ecumenical Councils - Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Furthermore:"The apocryphal books were not admitted into the canon of Scripture during the first four centuries of the Christian church. They are not mentioned in the catalogue of inspired writings made by Melito, bishop of Sardis, who flourished in the second century, nor in those of Origen, in the third century, of Athanasius, Hilary, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, Gregory Nazianzen, Amphilochius, Jerome, Rufinus, and others of the fourth century; nor in the catalogue of canonical books recognized by the Council of Laodicea, held in the same century, whose canons were received by the Catholic Church; so that, as Bishop Burnet well observes, "we have the concurring sense of the whole church of God in this matter." To this decisive evidence against the canonical authority of the apocryphal books, we may add that they were never read in the Christian church until the fourth century, when, as Jerome informs us, they were read "for example of life and instruction of manners, but were not applied to establish any doctrine;" and contemporary writers state that although they were not approved as canonical or inspired writings, yet some of them, particularly Judith, Wisdom, and Ecclesiasticus, were allowed to be perused by catechumens. As proof that they were not regarded as canonical in the fifth century, Augustine relates that when the book of Wisdom was publicly read in the church, it was given to the readers or inferior ecclesiastical officers, who read it in a lower place than those books which were universally acknowledged to be canonical, which were read by the bishops and presbyters in a more eminent and conspicuous manner. To conclude: Notwithstanding the veneration in which these books were held by the Western Church, it is evident that the same authority was never ascribed to them as to the Old and New Testament; until the last Council of Trent, at its fourth session, presumed to place them all (excepting the prayer of Manasseh and the third and fourth books of Esdras) in the same rank with the inspired writings of Moses and the prophets." - An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. by Thomas Hartwell Horne, B.D. of Saint John's College, Cambridge; rector of the United Parishes of Saint Edmund the King and Martyr and Saint Nicholas Acons, Lombard Street; Prebendary of Saint Paul's; New Edition, from the Eighth London Edition, Corrected and Enlarged. Illustrated with numerous maps and fac-similies of Bilical Manuscripts. Volume I. Philadelphia: Published by J. Whetham & Son, 144 Chestnut Street. Stereotyped by L. Johnson. 1841.; page 426 (left column) - https://archive.org/stream/anintroductiont07horngoog#page/n459/mode/1up
http://www.biblelight.net/hebrew-canon.htm
Apocrypha, and the reasons they are not accepted as "canon":
"... 1. Not one of them is in the Hebrew language, which was alone (a little Syriac/Chaldee in Daniel, etc.) used by the inspired historians and poets of the Old Testament.
2. Not one of the writers lays any claim to inspiration.
3. These books were never acknowledged as sacred Scriptures by the Jewish Church, and therefore were never sanctioned by our Lord.
4. They were not allowed a place among the sacred books, during the first four centuries of the Christian Church.
5. They contain fabulous statements, and statements which contradict not only the canonical Scriptures, but themselves; as when, in the two Books of Maccabees, Antiochus Epiphanes is made to die three different deaths in as many different places.
6. It inculcates doctrines at variance with the Bible, such as prayers for the dead...
7. It teaches immoral practices, such as lying, suicide, assassination and magical incantation. ..." - Sam Gipp - https://samgipp.com/answerbook/?page=34.htm
If any want to utilize non-scriptural sources to justify the sin of alcohol drinking, they might as well cite the occult world, the atheist, the pagan, the vodun, the animist, the shaman, the rock star. They all love alcohol and mind altering drugs, so that it is easier for satan to possess the heart.