"Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine." -Proverb 23:29-30
Fermentation is the process by which leaven
becomes intoxicating wine. The term "mixed wine" in the Old Testament
refers to intoxicating alcohol. Sugars or other drugs were added to
the juice concoction to create booze. The
Word of God condemns drinking such mixed wines and strong drinks which contain alcohol.
The Word of God goes to great lengths to avoid any misunderstanding concerning the use of juice in the Lord's Supper, using the term "cup" instead of "wine"... "After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me" (1st Corinthians 11:25).
Leaven was strictly forbidden in the Jewish diet. It was a ceremonial law given to Old Testament Israel. Since leaven pictured corruption, God used it as a constant reminder to Israel that they were to be sanctified unto the Lord. Intoxicants are condemned in the Word of God. Booze has well earned the nickname, "Liquid Devil."
One Drink Has
Often Led to Disaster!
The following helpful chart is from OHS Health and Safety Services Incorporated ...
EXPECTED BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION
(“BAC”)
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Remember- your sex, health, state of mind make all these expectations a bit variable.
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As anyone can clearly see from the chart above,
having even ONE 12oz. DRINK of beer can cause a person weighing over 200 LBS.
to have a BAC of up to .05!!! What strikes me as strange, and a definite
double-standard, is that many companies will fire an employee who comes to
work with a BAC of .04% or more; but the legal system won't do anything to
punish that person for driving under the influence until their BAC hits .08.
Why the double-standard? Why are private companies more concerned about their
employees than our government's lawmakers are about it's own people who
entrusted them to power? Something smells rotten in Washington!
The word "wine" in the Old Testament
There are 637 references to wine, drink and drinking in the King James Version of the Bible. Most people think in today’s terms, believing that when wine is mentioned it refers to alcoholic wine. Actually, that is not necessarily true. Thirteen different words are translated "wine" in the King James Version of the Bible. The word "wine" has a wide range of meaning in the Bible, covering everything from grape juice, to concentrated grape syrup to alcoholic wine. To understand what the Bible has to say about drinking, we need to look at several of these words:
Non-Alcoholic
Alcoholic
Juice still in the cluster or recently squeezed out. Fresh or unfermented juice Boiled juice or juice concentrated to syrup Fermented, intoxicating Mixed with drugs to enhance effects or mixed with sugars to increase the alcohol content Yayin
A general term for every drink made from grape juice (Nehemiah 5:18)
Deuteronomy 28:39 Isaiah 16:10
Jeremiah 40:10
Jeremiah 48:33 Proverbs 9:2, 5 Proverbs 20:1 Proverbs 23:29-32
Proverbs 23:30 Proverbs 5:22
Chemer
Foaming from the vat
Dema
Juice (literally “tears”)
Sobe
Juice concentrated to a syrup.
Shekar
Strong drink made from a variety of products, such as grapes, dates, or barley
Deuteronomy 32:14 Isaiah 27:2
Exodus 22:9 Hosea 4:18 Isaiah 1:10
Leviticus 10:9 Numbers 6:3
Numbers 28:7
Deuteronomy 14:26
Proverbs 20:1
Proverbs 31:4-7
Isaiah 5:11
Isaiah 28:7
Isaiah 56:12
Isaiah 5:22 Tirosh
Grape juice
Proverbs 3:10 Isaiah 65:8
Joel 2:24
Numbers 18:12 Deuteronomy 7:13
Asis
Fruit Juice
Song of Solomon 8:2 Amos 9:13
Clearly, there are many different meanings of the word "wine" in the Bible; however, Proverb 20:1 plainly condemns intoxicating beverages ... "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." In the April 24, 1965 issue of Christianity Today, the article, on page 25 says, "People must be informed that the use of alcohol is not unlike Russian roulette: every tenth person becomes automatically hooked. the only solution is total abstinence." These statistics are supported by the American Medical Association.
Woman
Charged With Providing Alcohol Before Fatal Crash
This is just one example of tens-of-thousands of alcohol-related
fatalities which occur in the U.S. each year. Every 30 minutes, someone dies
in an alcohol-related accident.
July 8th, 2005 | WITN 7--"A Chocowinity woman is charged with providing alcohol to two teenagers who were fatally injured in a crash the same day. Brian Samuel Taylor and Patrick Woodham, both 19, died as a result of the June 25 accident on River Road in Beaufort County. District Attorney Seth Edwards says the two were given alcohol by Wendy Jones Vaughn. Edwards says Vaughn purchased the alcohol at the ABC store on John Small Avenue on June 25 and delivered the rum to Taylor and Woodham. The North Carolina Highway Patrol says alcohol and speed were contributing factors in the crash. Vaughn's court date on two counts of aiding and abetting the underage possession of liquor is scheduled for September 20."
People at best are creatures of emotion, sinners, and are unpredictable by nature. This fact alone makes alcohol a ticking time-bomb for anyone to drink. It only takes once to destroy your life, or someone else's life. Drinking booze is a game of Russian roulette! In the case of the foolish woman above, she gave alcohol to 2 teen boys, which led to their deaths. BOOZE is liquid Devil ...
"I like the word booze because it has all the connotation of the evil that liquor has done down through the ages. I suppose that alcohol has wrecked more nations, more businesses, more homes, more individual lives than any other single factor." -Pastor J. Vernon McGee (SOURCE: THRU THE BIBLE WITH J. VERNON McGee, Proverb 20:1).
Demon Possession & Alcohol
Beer is 100% LIQUID DEVIL! In Revelation 21:8, the word "sorcerers" is translated from the Greek "pharmakeus," which means "a drug, i.e. a spell-giving potion; a druggist (pharmacist) or poisoner." Interestingly, the modern word "pharmacy" comes from the SAME Greek root word as does the word "sorcerer." Thus, there has always been a direct connection between demonic possession and substance abuse. People throughout history who have entered the occult have abused alcohol and drugs to increase their levels of occultic consciousness. The taking of alcohol or drugs is absolutely essential to the practice of witchcraft and Satanism. Drinking alcohol opens demonic doors because a weak mind is the Devil's workshop. To come under the influence of alcohol is to LOSE one's capacity for reason and control. Many rock-n-roll performers have openly admitted to writing some of their music while high on illegal-drugs. Listen to what Brian Wilson, lead singer of the Beach Boys stated...
"We were doing witchcraft, trying to make witchcraft music." -- Brian Wilson quoted in Nick Kent's The Dark Stuff (pg.27.)
"About a year ago I had what I consider a very religious experience. I took LSD, a full dose of LSD, and later, another time, I took a smaller dose. And I learned a lot of things, like patience, understanding. I can't teach you, or tell you, what I learned from taking it. But I consider it a very religious experience." -- Brian Wilson, Look! Listen! Vibrate! SMiLE!, (pg.167.)
"We smoked pot and hash when originally creating those songs [in the late 1960s]. It helped us get into the songs." -Brian Wilson
Alcohol
IS A DRUG!!! It affects the entire body. Actually, a driver can be impaired
with a U.S. blood-alcohol level as low as .03. When you drink alcohol, it goes
straight from the stomach to the bloodstream. Alcohol can be detected in the
blood as fast as five minutes after drinking, and it's effects — most obvious
in the central nervous system — peak in about 30 to 45 minutes.
Alcohol depresses the central nervous system which, in turn, impairs motor function, motor performance, speech and eye movements. These skills are not only slowed down, they are performed more inaccurately. Alcohol also affects the ability to think and reason clearly.
This is prime opportunity for Satan to sift you as wheat ... Jesus warned Peter in Luke 22:31, "...behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." The Devil wants to kill, steal, and destroy your life (John 10:10) —why make it easier for him by drinking booze? Truly, consuming beer is risky business.
Did Jesus Turn Water Into Alcoholic Wine?
No! Some people allege that Jesus turned water into alcoholic wine; but nothing could be further from the truth. I think Pastor J. Vernon McGee says it best ...
"There has always been a controversy about the "wine" in the New Testament being an intoxicant. It is my firm conviction that the Lord Jesus did not make an intoxicating drink at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (see John 2). Anyone who attempts to make of Him a bootlegger is ridiculous and is doing absolutely an injustice. Folk like to present the argument that in the warm climate of Israel all one had to do was to put grape juice in a wine skin and in time it would ferment. Yes, but in the miracle at Cana, the Lord Jesus started out with water, and in the matter of a few seconds He had "wine." My friend, it didn’t have a chance to ferment. And we must remember that the wedding in Cana was a religious service, and everything that had to do with leaven (which is fermentation) was forbidden. This is the reason that at the time of the Passover and the institution of the Lord’s Supper the wine could not have been fermented. Fermentation is the working of leaven, and leaven was strictly forbidden in bread and in everything else. The bread and drink could not have been leavened. Intoxicants are condemned in the Word of God, and here is a verse for it: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
Today many folk are being trapped by this type of thing. America is becoming a nation of drunkards. I am not impressed when the news media lets us know the tremendous amount of taxes that comes from the liquor industry. What they forget to tell is the cost of the hospitals, the mental institutions and the accidents—the people who have been maimed for life—as a result of drinking drivers. That kind of cost is not reported. I understand that any derogatory news is suppressed because one of the biggest advertisers is the booze industry. We hear about how bad drug abuse is today; but remember, alcohol is a drug!
A law enforcement officer told me that at the beginning of the drug craze the liquor interests helped to fight the drug traffic, because they were afraid it would hurt their business. They would much rather have a kid become a drunkard addicted to alcohol than to have him become a drug addict. That is really generous and big-hearted of the liquor industry, don’t you agree? However, young people began making comparisons. I have had young folk in youth groups tell me they don’t feel they should be reprimanded for smoking marijuana by a crowd that sits around drinking cocktails. And I agree with the young folk. Let the adults stop drinking liquor before they talk to our young people about the evils of marijuana. The hypocrisy of those outside the church is lots worse than the hypocrisy inside the church!
Drunkenness was the undoing of Noah, and it has been a problem from that day to the present hour. Alcohol is valuable for medicinal purposes, but the minute it is used as a beverage it becomes dangerous. The number of alcoholics is increasing every year. It is one of the greatest tax burdens we have to bear. But you don’t learn of that through the news media. In fact, it is dangerous to lift your head against this hydra-headed monster. I predict that it will not be missiles but liquor that will destroy our nation." -Pastor J. Vernon McGee (SOURCE: THRU THE BIBLE WITH J. VERNON McGee, Proverb 20:1).
Jesus fully knew the evils of alcohol. Don't you
tell me that Jesus didn't see the broken families, the drunkard fathers, the
battered wives, the neglected children—all because of alcohol. The world
hasn't changed that much in 2,000 years. In fact, alcohol was a problem back
in Genesis, evidenced by Noah's drunkenness (Genesis 9:21). Alcohol has
historically been used to induce sexual sins (Genesis 19:31-36). Alcohol is
LIQUID DEVIL, because the Devil uses alcohol greatly to destroy people's
lives. When a person drinks alcohol, and loses their mind, the Devil takes
control.
Liquid Devil
Distillation
was not discovered until about 1500 A.D. Strong drink and unmixed wine in
Bible times was from 3% to 11% alcohol. Since wine has 9 to 20% alcohol, you
should not drink wine. Brandy contains 15 to 20% alcohol, so that’s out too.
Hard liquor has 40 to 50% alcohol (80 to 100 proof), and that is obviously
excluded! But what about beer? Someone will say, "since beer is only 4%
alcohol, IT’S OK FOR A BELIEVER TO DRINK BEER, RIGHT?"
The answer is NO! Here’s why... All alcoholic beverages used in our culture fall under the biblical classification of STRONG DRINK and are; therefore, forbidden. The least ratio of water to wine mixture used in Bible times was 3 parts water to 1 part wine. That produced a sub-alcoholic drink that was 2.5% to 2.75% alcohol. Normally, the ratio was even higher, up to 20 to 1.
Their is NO BIBLICAL SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIANS DRINKING THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES OF OUR DAY! What early believers drank was sub-alcoholic by today’s standards. Pastors and deacons were cautioned to steer away from wine (1st Timothy 3:3,8). Romans 14:21 warns... "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." 1st Corinthians 6:12 tells us that we are not to "be brought under the power" or to be controlled by anything. The only exception is the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Alcohol is clearly a powerful substance (Proverbs 23:35). Because alcohol is addictive, we should choose not to drink alcoholic beverages.
God is Against Alcohol, Period!
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:
and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise"
(Proverb 20:1).
Read the tragic testimony of another victim of alcohol
impaired drivers, Jacqueline Saburido (pictured above)
The California State sponsored
Lottery has a new campaign "Play Responsibly." This is obviously aimed at
those poor souls who cannot control their urges to 'play'. We've all seen
them: cashing their paychecks and buying a stack of chances on 'the big one'.
The California Lottery has received criticism for not getting enough of the
proceeds into the Public Schools system (the Lottery's 'goal') and for causing
economic hardship on those that can afford it least. It's a tough choice --
food, clothes for the children or another shot at 'the big one'.
