The Wine of Wrath & Fornication or the Wine of the Everlasting Covenant?

© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, December 2002

http://www.DoublePortionInheritance.com

By Maria Merola

Throughout the scriptures, we can see metaphors of wine being used to seal a covenant and wine also being used to describe false doctrine and the “Wine of the Mother Harlot’s fornication” in Revelation 17. I am going to be illustrating in this teaching the differences between the “Wine of the Covenant” in Messiah’s blood versus the “Wine of the Wrath of Elohiym.”

Messiah spoke of the wine that he was using as a metaphor of his blood the night before he was sacrificed for us. He only drank of the first three cups at Passover and then he left the fourth cup untouched as a sign that he was coming back to drink this fourth cup with his bride:

Luqas (Luke) 22:18-20 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of  Elohiym shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Yahuwshuwa shared the “the 3rd cup after the meal” (the Cup of Salvation) and he revealed that which had been concealed previously: that it was symbolic of His blood sealing the future Renewed Covenant. In sharing it, He was showing that the Renewed Covenant is the actual marriage betrothed at Mount Horeb where the tablets were deposited into the ark, (not Mount Sinai where the tablets were broken because of sin). In a Hebrew Wedding, the bride and groom share a glass of wine. Hence, Messiah was giving us a foreshadowing of when he returns for his bride at the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” in Luke 22:18-20.  

He didn’t drink the 4^th (The Cup of Praise) indicating that he wouldn’t drink of the wine until His Kingdom is established on earth with his bride as indicated in Luke 22:18-20.

During the course of the Passover Seder, the four cups of wine that are served to the people present are used in the following manner, and are called:

1.) The cup of blessing (Luke 10:16). This cup is called the cup of sanctification, or the Kiddush.

2.) The cup of wrath (Luke 22:42-44). This cup is not drunk, but is poured out on the table as the plagues of Egypt are recited. Yahuwshuwa drank of this cup for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and when He died on the tree.

3.) The cup of blessing, salvation, or redemption. This cup is filled to overflowing, symbolizing an overflowing salvation (Psalm [Tehilliym] 116:13).

4.) The cup of the kingdom (Luke 22:18,20; Matthew 26:28-29). Yahuwshuwa spoke of eating and drinking afresh in the Messianic age with His disciples after His resurrection.

In addition to the four cups of wine served to the people, another cup, called “The Cup of Eliyahuw/Elijah,” is also a part of the Seder. This cup is poured out at the end of the Seder. Only Eliyahuw (Elijah) himself, or one coming in the spirit and power of Eliyahuw, or the Messiah, was allowed to drink of this cup. When Yahuwshuwa referred to Himself drinking of this cup, He was saying in no uncertain terms that He was the Messiah.

Yahuwshuwa demonstrated to his disciples that the Briyth Chadashah or the “Renewed Covenant” also called the “New Testament” or “New Covenant” was a contract that he was sealing in his own blood. Partaking of his blood means that we are entering into an eternal contract with him that will never be broken.

In this verse in Luke 22:18-20, the word for “New” is “kainos,” which means “new, fresh,” and it is the root word “kainotes” which literally means “renewal” indicating that this is was a “Renewed Covenant” not an entirely different one. This “kainos” testament in Messiah’s blood brings about newness of life and renewal to our soul.

The Greek word for “wine” or “fruit of the vine” in Luke 22:18 & Mark 14:25 is #1081 in the Strong’s Concordance which is gennema which means: “offspring; by analogy, produce (literally or figuratively):--fruit, generation.” 

Gennema is freshly squeezed grape juice without fermentation; and so we learn from this, that Messiah Yahuwshuwa did not drink alcoholic wine contrary to what many have believed.

When we put these two words together, “kainos” and “gennema,” we get the phrase “new generation” or “fresh fruit.” Yahuwshuwa has likened believers as “fruit of his vine” (John 15), and so for the spirit-filled believer, to be a “kainos gennema” means to be a “new generation”of people, renewed by his spirit. We are the fruit of his vine!

You see, Yahuwshuwa is our Kohen Gadowl (High Priest) after the order of Melchizedek, and during his earthly ministry, he was fulfilling that role beginning on Yom Kippur, when he emerged from his 40-day fast in the wilderness (Luke 4:14-21). But he was not serving in an earthly Tabernacle like the Levites. He was serving as High Priest at the throne in the heavenly Tabernacle even though he was physically here with us on earth. Each time that he went to commune with the Heavenly Father, he was approaching the heavenly throne.

In order for him to comply with all of the Towrah commandments surrounding the priesthood, he would not drink alcohol at all, for this would have violated the commandment for the priest not to drink wine while he was serving in the Temple. Our Messiah was on duty 24/7 while he was here during his earthly ministry, and he was interceding for us as our High Priest, and thus he would not have been drinking alcoholic beverages during his 3 ½ years of ministry.

In Revelation 14:10 we read that those who receive the Mark of the Beast, will “drink of the wine of the wrath of Elohiym.”  The word “wine” in this passage is “oinos” #3631 in the Strong’s Concordance and it means the following: Wine metaphor for “fiery wine of God’s wrath.” 

Those who drink “oinos” without being cleansed in the blood of the Lamb will experience his wrath. But those who drink the “oinos” of his everlasting covenant will receive eternal life.

Those who want to be “drunk with the wine of  fornication” of “Mystery Babylon the Great the Mother of Harlots (Revelation 17) and her false religion will also reap destruction to themselves and they will consequently drink the “wine of the wrath of Elohiym.”

The “wine of his covenant” that brings eternal life to the obedient is a different kind of wine----“gennema.” It is fresh, new and life-giving. The wine of the judgment and wrath of YaHuWaH to the disobedient is “oinos”---- a wine of destruction which makes one drunk or oblivious to the danger they are really in.

The wine our Messiah spoke of in Mark 2:22 was “gennema” or “new wine” which has not yet been fermented, but over time when it begins to ferment, it then becomes “oinos” or fermented wine, thus it will cause air-bubbles to form, the bottles will expand under the pressure and they will burst, and so the wine to be wasted.

Those who have been offered the gennema or wine of his covenant, but refuse to repent and become a new vessel will be like those bottles that burst, causing the bottles to be ruined and the wine to be wasted.

We see here that the wine of his covenant is not what brings the destruction, but it is the vessels which bring about destruction upon themselves for they are weak, and they cannot handle the “effervescence” of the wine when it ferments and forms air-bubbles:

Marqos (Mark) 2:22 And no man puts new wine into old bottles: else the new wine does burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

In this passage of scripture, Yahuwshuwa is giving an example of how the “new wine” represents the gift of the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) which can only be attainable by entering into the Renewed Covenant in his blood. In those days when he spoke this parable, wine bottles were made of animal skins that had been sewn together to form a vessel much like a canteen. He was demonstrating how new wine begins to ferment and expands causing the old weak bottles to break under the pressure.

Yahuwshuwa was telling us that in order to be a recipient of this new wine, we have to start out with a “new vessel.” This means a “new nature” that is “born-again” from above of “incorruptible seed” (1^st Peter 1:23). Ultimately, those who are “born-again” will be given a new resurrected body that will be able to “hold the new wine” and it will not burst under the pressure of the fermenting new wine. Once we are born-again by the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit), Yahuwshuwa gives us a new nature that is just like his which is able to hold this “new wine” or gift of the Holy Spirit.

In other words, a person who is not born-again cannot be a proper vessel for the Ruwach ha’Qodesh, because they will not be able to handle it. Their old sinful nature could not hold up under the power of the Holy Spirit and they would be destroyed.

In the Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word in Mark 2:22 for “new” is accurately translated “neoteros” meaning fresh young, regenerated. This is how we know that Yahuwshuwa was likening the new wine to his Renewed Covenant. The sign of his covenant is that we are regenerated or born-again.

In Acts 2:13, some of the men who witnessed the Apostles receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit & Fire on the day of Pentecost (Shabuoth), accused them of being drunk with new wine. In this passage, the word new wine in Greek is gleukos which means fermented wine highly inebriating wine.

Often-times in scripture the term new wine is referring to alcoholic wine, but in Mark 2:22, Yahuwshuwa was talking about something different. He was talking about a new type of wine that will change us forever! Not the kind that makes us drunk, but the kind of wine that is symbolic of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Yahuwshuwa did not drink alcoholic wine, contrary to popular belief; but that which he drank and served at the Wedding at Cana was fresh ----it was freshly squeezed grape juice !

In order for wine to become alcoholic in content, the sugar in the grapes with time will begin to ferment and turn to yeast. Yeast is called “leaven” in scripture and it is often-times symbolic of sin. That is why Messiah warned us to beware of the “Leaven of the Pharisees.” Thus to have yeast in the wine would make it fermented, inebriating wine, and since this wine at the Wedding of Cana was a metaphor of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the future, he would not have used fermented wine with yeast in it to symbolize his sinless blood!

We just learned about 3 Different Greek words for “Wine” in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament Scriptures):

1.) Gluekos

2.) Onios

3.) Genemma

Now we will learn about 14 different Hebrew words in the Tanakh (Old Testament) for wine:

# 2561 chemer kheh’-mer from 2560; wine (as fermenting):--X pure, red wine.  

# 2562 chamar kham-ar’ (Aramaic) corresponding to 2561; wine:--wine.  

# 3196 yayin yah’-yin from an unused root meaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication, intoxication:--banqueting, wine, wine(-bibber).  

# 3342 yeqeb yeh’-keb from an unused root meaning to excavate; a trough (as dug out); specifically, a wine-vat (whether the lower one, into which the juice drains; or the upper, in which the grapes are crushed):--fats, presses, press-fat, wine(-press).  

# 4197 mezeg meh’-zeg from an unused root meaning to mingle (water with wine); tempered wine:--liquor.  

# 4469 mamcak mam-sawk’ from 4537; mixture, i.e. (specifically) wine mixed (with water or spices):--drink-offering, mixed wine. 4537 macak maw-sak’ a primitive root; to mix, especially wine (with spices):--mingle.

# 4538 mecek meh’-sek from 4537; a mixture, i.e. of wine with spices:--mixture. 

#  5435 cobe’ so’-beh from 5433; potation, concretely (wine), or abstractly (carousal):--drink, drunken, wine.

# 6025 `enab ay-nawb’ from an unused root probably meaning to bear fruit; a grape:--(ripe) grape, wine. 

# 6071 `aciyc aw-sees’ from 6072; must or fresh grape-juice (as just trodden out):--juice,new (sweet) wine.

# 7941 shekar shay-kawr’ from 7937; an intoxicant, i.e. intensely alcoholic liquor:--strong drink, + drunkard, strong wine.  

# 8105 shemer sheh’-mer from 8104; something preserved, i.e. the settlings (plural only) of wine:--dregs, (wines on the) lees.  

# 8321 soreq so-rake’ or sowreq {so-rake’}; and (feminine) soreqah {so- ray-kaw’}; from 8319 in the sense of redness (Compare 8320); a vine stock (properly, one yielding purple grapes, the richest variety):--choice(-st, noble) wine.  

# 8492 tiyrowsh tee-roshe’ or tiyrosh {tee-roshe’}; from 3423 in the sense of expulsion; must or fresh grape-juice (as just squeezed out); by implication (rarely) fermented wine:--(new, sweet) wine.

As you can see, some of these definitions for “wine” are non-alcoholic wine (freshly squeezed grape juice) and other words define highly inebriating wine.

The two Hebrews words for non-alcoholic wines are # 8492 “Tiyrowsh” and #6071 “aciyc”

Why did they not use the term “Grape Juice” in biblical times whenever they meant to say “non-alcoholic wine?” It is because the Bible was first written in Hebrew, then translated into Aramaic, then Greek, then Latin, then German, and then English. Hence, in the English translations, whenever we see the generic word for “wine” it comes from a Latin word “Vino” which means “from the vine.” And so the Latin-English word for “wine” is a generic word that simply means “any product that comes from the vine.” This means that even freshly squeezed non-alcoholic grape juice is considered “wine.”

Now that we understand that there are many different words in Hebrew & Greek to define “wine” we can see that it is highly possible that Messiah would not have used alcoholic wine as a metaphor of his sinless blood at the Wedding of Cana!

This is why YaHuWaH strongly warns us against drinking alcohol in his word:

Mishley (Proverbs) 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Mishley (Proverbs) 23:29-31 Look not you upon the wine when it is red, when it gives his colour in the cup, when it moves itself aright. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder.

Yahuwshuwa would never contradict his own word by drinking fermented wine which symbolized sin.

At the wedding of Cana, Yahuwshuwa saved the good wine (symbolic of everlasting life and the gift of the Holy Spirit) for the end of the wedding. This was a prophetic picture of the marriage supper that the “qadowshiym” (set-apart ones or saints) will partake of with Yahuwshuwa at the end of the world:

Yahuwchanon (John) 2:9-10 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not where it came from: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And said unto him, Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but you have kept the good wine until now.

In this passage, the latter wine came from water. Water is figurative of the word of Elohiym. And the “washing of water by the word” is the baptism of repentance. Before we can receive this new wine we must be baptized in the water of repentance and we must be watered with the word of Elohiym. Here in Romans 8, we see that the Holy Spirit of Adoption is a foretaste of the final adoption which is the redemption of our body----the First Resurrection:

Romiym (Romans) 8:15 “.....but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

Romiym (Romans) 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

You see, Yahuwshuwa gave the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit on the day of Shabuoth (Pentecost) as a “down payment” of the final resurrection of our bodies which means we will not only be saved spiritually, but physically as well. This is analogous to when Tamar asked her father-in-law Judah for a “down-payment” until he would “send her the goat” (Genesis 38:6-24). She asked for his “signet ring” (his name); his staff (to belong to his tribe); and his bracelet (symbolic of the scarlet cord or blood atonement).

More Conclusive Evidence that Yahuwshuwa did not drink alcohol:

In Hebrew 7 we find that Yahuwshuwa Messiah is our “High Priest” and he is ever interceding for his qadowshiym (saints) after the “order of Melchizedek.”

But we also learn that a priest was commanded by Elohiym not to drink wine while serving as a priest in the Temple:

Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 10:8-10

8 And YHWH spake unto Aaron, saying,

9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest you die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

10 And that you may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;

YaHuWaH Elohiym wanted the priests to be set-apart and holy---not like the common worldly people that would drink alcohol and get drunk. He says that they should abstain from wine as a sign that they are to make a distinction between “clean and unclean” or or “holy versus unholy.”

Now here is where most followers of Messiah don’t understand their calling. We read in these verses below that every believer is called to be a “Priest” and we are to serve in his holy “Priest-hood” forever:

Chazown (Revelation) 1:6 And has made us kings and priests unto Elohiym and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.

Chazown (Revelation) 5:10 And has made us unto our Elohiym kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Chazown (Revelation) 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of Elohiym and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

To every believer in Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach, you should know that if you are called to be part of his royal priesthood according 1^st Keefa (Peter) 2:9, you shall not drink wine or alcohol while serving him in your bodily Temple! Unlike the Levites, who only served for several weeks out of the year, under the Renewed Covenant, we are always serving with him as we are “seated in heavenly places” with Messiah (Ephesians 1:20).

Beloved, you cannot spend time with him in his heavenly Tabernacle if you have wine in your blood stream!

This is not intended to put anybody under condemnation who has been drinking in moderation unawares without getting drunk. But I do want to make you aware, that we are to the “avoid the appearance of evil” in front of those who have addictions to alcohol or those who are former alcoholics. If an alcoholic or a young person sees a follower of Messiah drinking alcohol and then they turn around and get drunk to the detriment of their soul, are we not contributing?

1^st Qorintiym (Corinthians) 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of Elohiym.

Here, YaHuWaH is very explicit that “drunkards” shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohiym.

If a follower of Messiah sends the wrong message by drinking alcohol in front of a person that has a drinking problem, then we will be held personally responsible for that person’s soul on the Day of Judgment!

Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 3:18 “When I say unto the wicked, You shall surely die; and you give him not warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand.”

If we don’t warn people of the sin of drunkenness, and worse yet, if we are teaching these people that drinking is “okay” are we not sending these alcoholics the wrong message and causing them to stumble?

Elohiym tells us that we as believers will be held accountable for their blood will be upon our hands!

If a young person sees an adult believer drinking alcohol and that young person goes out and gets in a drunk-driving accident and dies, do you not think we will be held responsible for that young person’s life? What do you think?

It is a historic fact that the word “wine” was used for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine in Bible times. The non-alcoholic wine (grape juice) was called “must,” and it was prized for its sweetness. It was also considered a great art to make the finest must. In reading the story of Messiah’s first miracle, it at first appears that He changed the water into alcoholic wine. Some people do not believe that the wine was simply grape juice, mainly because the “ruler of the feast” comments that most people bring out the inferior wine after men have “well drunk.” This makes sense – only if they were already inebriated would they not notice that the quality of the wine had diminished. But it is also for this very reason that it is clear that the wine that Yahuwshuwa made was not alcoholic.

Logic Proves the Wine Could Not Be Alcoholic

What follows is an explanation that is taken in part by John Lifflander from this website:

http://www.pursuingtheword.com/newwine.htm

We have here a feast where everyone, as the ruler of the feast stated, had “well drunk.” For this reason, it is probable that the wine served up to the point was alcoholic. However, now Yahuwshuwa makes even more wine, and not just a little, but six water pots of it with 20 to 30 gallons each in them, or a total of at least 120 gallons. Surely this would mean He intended those who had already “well drunk” to drink even more. It would mean He would be the cause of the guests becoming completely drunk! And this scenario is inconsistent with Scripture, and everything else Yahuwshuwa did.

The Scripture Forbade Him

In Proverbs 23:32 we read that wine, “At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper.” In Proverbs 31:4 we read,“ …It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink.” 

In Isaiah 5:22 it is written, “Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink.” 

In Habakkuk 2:5, “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man…” 

Ezekiel 44:21 says, “No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.”

And, in Isaiah 28:7: “But they also have erred through wine, and through intoxicating drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, they are swallowed up by wine, they are out of the way through intoxicating drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.”

YaHuWaH also reveals how wine is used to degrade and take advantage of others in Habakkuk 2:15, where we read, “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness!” 

Moreover, from Romans 14:13 we are admonished, “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

The Apostle Paul, when talking about eating the meat that may have been sacrificed to idols, said that if it caused his brother to stumble, he would never eat meat again. 

Common sense tells us that Yahuwshuwa would not do something that would not only be a bad example, but also a stumbling block to the very people who were serving Him. Would the Living Word violate His own Word? Would He mock the inspired words, “lead us not into temptation?” Certainly not, and so it is clear that although the first wine that was served was probably alcoholic, the wine that Yahuwshuwa made was not. Moreover, elsewhere in the Word there is more corroboration.

The New Wine – The Blood of the Covenant

If we understand types in Scripture, we will see another reason why the wine that Yahuw-shuwa transformed could not have been alcoholic. The fact is that Yahuwshuwa would never allow anything fermented to represent anything about Him. Remember that the bread that represented His pure body was unleavened bread. The leaven stood for fermentation, or rottenness, which is a type or symbol of sin.

The parable in Luke 13:21 at first appears to be an exception, but deeper teachings on it reveal a consistent meaning. This is why the Passover bread had to be unleavened, or without rottenness, to be consecrated. It is clearly inconsistent for the bread to be without leaven, or fermentation, but for the wine to be fermented. Fermented wine could not be a symbol of His blood, which was sinless.

The purity of Messiah’s blood made it the perfect propitiation for our sin; therefore it would never be represented by rotten grapes. The understanding of types in the Bible teaches us this. 

Yahuwshuwa consistently taught using physical things to symbolize spiritual truths, and the spiritual counterpart is always similar in basic characteristics to the earthly thing, or else it could not be a “type.”

The wine that Yahuwshuwa made in Cana is significantly a sinless “type.” It was the joy given by Elohiym without the rottenness of the world. The first wine given to wedding participants was most likely alcoholic, and it represents the joy that the world gives, which is based on carnal pleasures and worldly lusts being satisfied. But the wine that

Yahuwshuwa made was pure and without fermentation. No one missed the alcohol that it lacked, because they were tasting something supernaturally derived – which represented heavenly joy. And that joy is truly the best, for it represents joy through purity rather than through degradation. The joys of Messiah make the pleasures of this world seem like swimming in a sewer. The old wine represents the worldly ways in which we live and find enjoyment. The new wine is the spiritual joy that He only gives. And surely Elohiym did save the “best for last,” in that we have Yahuwshuwa and the New Covenant at the end of the course of time, not in the beginning.

Yahuwshuwa also said in Yahuwchanon (John) 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 

He does not give peace “as the world gives it.” Many find temporary satisfaction in a bottle or a drug or some perversion, but the heavenly peace is not of that derivation – it comes from a spiritual endowment from Yahuwshuwa Messiah. Nothing can be compared to it, and it is not a peace that obliterates our memories and causes our brains to shut down. 

As we read in 1^st Keefa (Peter) 4:3 “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in…drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.” 

Instead, the peace that Yahuwshuwa gives us is a place of contentment that is other-worldly.

When we are regenerated by the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit), Elohiym draws us to the spiritual pleasures that He has to offer, hoping to take us away from the worldly things which used to give us joy. At the wedding feast, it would only make sense that  Yahuwshuwa would give the people who had already “well drunk” from the polluted cisterns of this world, a pure drink from His supernatural joy. The wine He made would be representative of His own purity – nothing rotten or sinful would or could be produced by Yahuwshuwa. 

No, Yahuwshuwa made a grape juice that was so pure and delicious that it did not need fermentation from leaven (symbolic of sin) to be enjoyed. It was the essence of joy and the essence of purity, and this is the same “new wine” He imparts to us today.

The Practical Aspects

Another reason why Yahuwshuwa would not have made alcoholic wine is the fact that wine is classified chemically as a teratogen, which literally means “monster maker,” because it causes birth defects. According to Jewish historians, it is likely that the whole village was invited to the wedding feast in Cana. At that time there was no birth control, so it is quite likely that there were pregnant women at the feast. Does not common sense tell us that Yahuwshuwa would not dispense alcohol that could produce birth defects?

We also know that at least ten percent of those who try alcohol become alcoholics, and many, many more become dependent on it to some extent.

Even the so-called moderate drinkers find it hard to quit imbibing once addicted to this “crutch.” Does Yahuwshuwa then want believers to look to the bottle instead of to Him to give them peace and joy? The answer is obvious.

The Holy Spirit Writes On Our Hearts

Elohiym has granted us the free will to choose; therefore believers can easily find a way to justify many things that are not in Elohiym’s perfect will. If a person wants to drink alcohol, then the Scriptures can certainly be interpreted to allow it. However, we know that the Holy Spirit guides us specifically in these matters. Thousands of believers can testify that after they were saved, the Holy Spirit instructed them to stop drinking alcohol. In fact, in 1919 the 18th amendment to the Constitution was passed, making alcohol illegal in the United States. Also called Prohibition, this amendment was enacted into law mostly due to the efforts of Christians. In 1933 it was repealed after a spate of unrighteous politicians were elected.

Bondage to alcohol wreaks destruction on individuals and their families. Perhaps today there is not a single person who does not know of someone who has been destroyed or harmed, either directly or indirectly, by this menace. How many broken homes, ruined marriages, wrecked careers, fatal traffic accidents, and unhappy children can be traced to alcohol consumption? This is why Prohibition was enacted. However, if enough people want something, it generally becomes legal.

Good and Bad Wine

The differentiation between types of wine is also clearly delineated in the Bible. Even as there are different types of men (good and bad) and sacrifices (Abel made a good one, Cain made a bad one) there are different types of wine. Bad wine is always intoxicating and it is attributed to violence (Proverbs 4:17; 23:29-30), self-security and unrighteousness (Isaiah 28:7; 56:12; Habakkuk 2:5), and is poisonous and destructive (Proverbs 23:31). It is also significantly emblematic of punishment and eternal ruin (Revelation 14:10; 16:19, Isaiah 51:17, Jeremiah 25:15, etc.).

Conversely, good wine is to be presented to Elohiym at the altar as an offering to Him. (Numbers 18:12; Nehemiah 10:37,39; 13:5, 13). It is also referred to as part of the blessing and basic provisions of life. And of course good wine is emblematic of the blood of the atonement, whereby we receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal blessing – the opposite of the emblem of bad wine (Matthew 26:26-28; 1st Corinthians 10:16).

More specifically, we read of the contrast between the two types of wine regularly in Scripture. In Proverbs 20:1 we are told that “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” 

Could this then be the same wine that Elohiym promises to give to His people if they are obedient, of which we read in the following Scriptures?

Yahuw’EL (Joel) 2:19 “YHWH will answer and say to His people, ‘Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them…’” 

Mishley (Proverbs) 3:9-10 “Honor YHWH with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” 

Not only is it clear that two types of wine are spoken of here, it is also obvious that Elohiym would not give something that “is a mocker” as a blessing to His people. However, if there is any doubt regarding this, it is further confirmed by the fact that different words are used in the original Hebrew concerning wine. Although there are several, two are used predominantly and consistently to distinguish the wine that Elohiym gives to man, from the wine that man drinks which is not of Elohiym.

Yayin – Fermented Wine

The word which represents fermented wine is yayin. It literally means “to effervesce,”  or “winebibber,” meaning a person who drinks a lot of wine. It is connected to the Hebrew word “caba,” which means “drunkard,” or to drink heavily. Yayin is sometimes also used for the wine that man offers to Elohiym, representing the “fermentation” or sin that is inherent in whatever we might give to Elohiym. In studying words in the Bible, scholars find that the first mention of a word is generally quite significant, since it sets the tone for how the word is used in future contexts. Yayin is first used in Genesis, to describe the failure of Noah after the voyage in the ark was over and he and his family were again on dry land.

Bereshiyth (Genesis) 9:21 “Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.” 

The word is used the next time to describe a disgusting event with Lot and his daughters, in Bereshiyth (Genesis) 19:35, “Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.” 

Throughout the Scriptures, this word continues to identify fermented wine, and is generally associated with sin and shame.

Tiyrowsh – The Unfermented Wine of Elohiym

Conversely, the word used for wine when it is a blessing from Elohiym is “tiyrowsh” (pronounced tee-roshe`), and it is usually used in conjunction with “new.” BDB/Thayers, perhaps the most trustworthy and most widely used Hebrew dictionary for the Bible, defines this wine as “wine, fresh or new wine, must, freshly pressed wine.” Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, page 1189, says: “The wine was sometimes preserved in its unfermented state and drunk as must…very likely the new wine was preserved in the state of must…” The first mention of this word is found in Bereshiyth (Genesis) 27:28, where we read:

“Therefore may Elohiym give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.” 

Throughout the rest of the Bible, it is generally called “new wine,” as in Hosea 2:8, where we read, “For she did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil…” 

Other Hebrew words used for wine are chamar, cobe, and aciyc. Cobe is a form of caba, and has a similar meaning. Chamar usually is related to human blood, and aciyc describes a sweet wine. However, these words are rarely used in the word of Elohiym regarding wine – they represent less than five percent of the times wine is mentioned. Yayin and tiyrowsh, as previously noted, predominate. In the Greek, however, the same word is used for both types of wine.

The Legacy of Our Actions

When Yisra’el had disobeyed Elohiym, Elohiym found an example of an obedient family to compare them to. The Rechabites had been forbidden to drink wine by their father, but Elohiym told Jeremiah to offer them some.

Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 35:5-6 “Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, ‘Drink wine.’ But they said, ‘We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever.’” 

Yahuwnadab (Jonadab or also spelled Jehonadab) was a man of great moral integrity whom Yahuw (Jehu) sought the company of to strengthen his kingship (See 2^nd Kings 10:15). He would have been an ancestor of the tribe mentioned here, and one might wonder if their temperance might have seemed anachronistic. In other words, this group probably seemed legalistic and old-fashioned to most of Yisra’el. But did Elohiym feel this way also? Did Elohiym say that it was wrong for Yahuwnadab (Jonadab) to have commanded his progeny to abstain from drinking, or that it was foolish for his descendants to honor this request of their long deceased relative? Not in the least. Rather, their obedience brought them a blessing.

Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 35:14-19 “The words of Yahuwnadab (Jonadab) the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment…therefore thus says YaHuWaH of hosts, the Elohiym of Yisra’el : ‘Yahuwnadab (Jonadab) the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.’” 

Many years ago a well-known author and Bible teacher appeared on a Christian television show and talked about drinking. He said that when he was in Bible College a friend told him that he had decided to be like John the Baptist and drink nothing alcoholic. This author replied to his friend that he would rather be like Yahuwshuwa by drinking wine.

Afterwards, in a “coincidence” that only Elohiym could arrange, another well-known Christian musician gave his personal testimony and stated how he had been blessed to grow up in a Christian home. However, when he was in college, several Christian friends convinced him that drinking was okay, and so he started with wine. Months later he became a complete alcoholic, drinking a fifth of liquor every day. This went on for over ten years, and led to other sins, until by Elohiym’s grace he was eventually delivered.

Whatever one might be convinced of regarding the meaning of the word “wine,” the fact cannot be escaped that the use of actual wine is a stumbling block to many. If we use it, our children according to the flesh, and our spiritual children and siblings, will be enticed to also try it. If Paul would never eat meat again if it caused his brother to stumble, would Elohiym not also prefer us to abstain from imbibing beverages that are proven to be the cause of a plethora of societal problems? Wisdom dictates that the use of alcohol can be a serious blot on the purity of the body of Messiah, and a personal nightmare to those who rely on it.

We are admonished to be wise regarding alcohol, as we read, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of YHWH is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:17-18).

Examples of Tiyrowsh & Yayin in Scripture:

Examples of Yayin:

#3196 yayin yah’-yin from an unused root meaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication, intoxication:--banqueting, wine, wine (-bibber).

Bereshiyth (Genesis) 9:

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine (yayin), and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

Because Noah drank Yayin, and became drunk, he had to curse Canaan, and he became the Ammalekites whom the Yisraelites had trouble with later on in battles. Yayin lead to a curse.

Bereshiyth (Genesis) 19:

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine (yayin), and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 

33 And they made their father drink wine (yayin) that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

Lot’s daughters made their father drunk with Yayin and they seduced him and became pregnant. Their children became the Moabites. Once again, a curse came from drinking Yayin.

YaHuWaH does not want us to pour the Yayin or the drink offering on the incense because this is mixture and strange fire.

Why? Because the drink offering is to be “poured out” as a symbol of us being emptied out of our sin nature. Yayin contains leaven/yeast symbolic of sin. But YaHuWaH says not to offer up the drink offering on the altar of incense.

He makes a distinction between pouring out the drink offering as a symbol of us being emptied out of “self” and pouring it onto the altar of incense symbolic of our worship towards him. In other words, our worship cannot be mixed with leaven or Yayin, we must pour out the Yayin as a sin offering.

Shemoth (Exodus) 30:9 You shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall you pour drink offering thereon.

Priests are not to drink yayin while serving in the Temple:

Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 10:9 Do not drink wine (yayin) nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest you die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations:

Examples of Tiyrowsh:

#8492 tiyrowsh tee-roshe’ or tiyrosh {tee-roshe’}; from 3423 in the sense of expulsion; must or fresh grape-juice (as just squeezed out); by implication (rarely) fermented wine:--(new, sweet) wine.

YaHuWaH gives his children freshly squeezed grape juice or Tiyrowsh which is higher in antioxidants and enzymes as soon as it is squeezed. He gives us only the best, the fresh wine:

Debariym (Deuteronomy) 14:26 And you shall bestow that money for whatsoever your soul lusts after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine (tiyrowsh), or for strong drink, or for whatsoever your soul desires: and you shall eat there before YHWH your Elohiym, and you shall rejoice, you, and your household,

But notice that this was only to the children of Yisra’el who were not Levites serving while serving in the Temple. And this was ONLY during the Feast of Tabernacles while they would be resting from labor for seven days.

Debariym (Deuteronomy) 7:13 And he will love you, and bless you, and multiply you: he will also bless the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your land, your corn, and your wine (tiyrowsh), and your oil, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep, in the land which he sware unto your fathers to give your.

Am I teaching that those who drink Yayin are going to Hell? No! What am I saying then?

I am teaching that those who are called to a higher standard as spiritual leaders and as a Royal Priesthood (Kings & Priests) in Yahuwshuwa’s Reign, should abstain from alcohol so as not to cause others to stumble. We are lawgivers because we are grafted into the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah).

Bereshiyth (Genesis) 49:10 “The scepter shall not depart from Yahuwdah (Judah) nor a law giver from between his feet.”

It is not fitting for Kings or spiritual leaders to drink Yayin, because it perverts their judgment, and then they forget Towrah:

Mishley (Proverbs) 31:

4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

5 Lest they drink, and forget the Towrah (law), and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

We are called out to be separate and to be Kings & Priests, Lawgivers from his Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah) after the order of Melchizedek!

Am I saying that you are sinning if you drink an occasional glass of Yayin? No, but you have no business being in leadership as a King or Priest unto Yahuwshuwa if you do, because you will ultimately forget the Towrah and pervert judgment.

This is the word of YaHuWaH:

Did Yahuwshuwa turn water into Yayin or Tiyrowsh? What do you think?

Yahuwshuwa never contradicted his own Towrah or his own Living Word.

Spiritually we are already in heavenly places, right?

Ephsiym (Ephesians) 2:6 And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Messiah Yahuwshuwa.

We are already seated there because it says Yahuwshuwa “has” made us sit there already.

So if you say that you do not drink wine when you are about to worship or pray, then how often do you pray and worship?

How can you separate it when we are supposed always be in an attitude of worship and we are supposed to pray without ceasing?

Do you see my point?

Back in 1981, when I was married to a man who had serious substance abuse problems with drugs and alcohol. He claimed to have been delivered before we were married, but he soon returned back to his addictions after we were married. He used my wine that I had in the refrigerator for cooking with as an excuse to use illegal drugs. And so I prayed about it and the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) told me not to drink anymore because it would cause others to stumble.

Years later, when my sons were teenagers, they began using drugs and alcohol and they got into the party lifestyle after they saw people from our church ordering alcoholic beverages at a restaurant. The very next day, my teenage sons skipped school, got drunk and they were arrested. From there they both got heavily into drinking and drugs. Why? They saw no difference between the worldly behavior of their drug-using father and the believers at church! I was livid and I blamed the church people for causing my sons to stumble over this!

The Apostle Shauwl (Paul) wrote:

Romiym (Romans) 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak.

Those people who caused my kids to stumble have blood on their hands. They may as well have given my kids something to drink themselves:

Habakkuk 2:15 Woe unto him that gives his neighbour drink, that put your bottle to him, and makes him drunk also, that you may look on their nakedness!

Today my sons are filled with the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) and they are no longer abusing alcohol or drugs, Praise Yahuwshuwa!

YaHuWaH calls wine a mocker: Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Notice that it does not say “too much wine is a mocker.”

Did not Yahuwshuwa come as the King of the Yahuwdah (Judah)? Is he not our king? Would he contradict his own word by drinking alcoholic wine as a king?

Mishley (Proverbs) 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

Was not Yahuwshuwa serving as our High Priest during his earthly ministry?

Ibriym (Hebrews) 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to Elohiym, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

If he was our faithful high priest making reconciliation for our sins, in the heavenly Tabernacle and always before the throne interceding on our behalf, how could he drink alcoholic wine?

Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 44:21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

He would not have offered up strange fire as Aaron’s sons did in Leviticus 10 when they approached the altar with booze on their breath.

Wayyiqra (Levitcus) 10:

1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before YHWH, which he commanded them not.

2 And there went out fire from YHWH, and devoured them, and they died before YHWH.

Why did they die? Because they drank wine while serving in the Temple!

Wayyiqra (Levitcus) 10:

8 And YHWH spake unto Aaron, saying,

9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest you die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations:

If this is a “statute forever” and our body is a Temple for the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) and we are called “kings & priests”, when are we NOT serving him in our Temples?

Are we not to pray without ceasing? Do we forsake prayer and intercession so that we may alcoholic drink wine or strong drink?

Wayyiqra (Levitcus) 10:10 And that you may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;

Under the New Administration of Yahuwshuwa as priests in his Melchizedek Priesthood, this still applies but only under a different Priesthood of which we are a part of. Our bodies are the Temple and we serve in this living Temple “day and night” not allowing the fire to go out on the altar of our hearts!

Yahuwshuwa drank unfermented Grape Juice. In Greek it is “gennema” but the highly inebriating wine is called “gleukos” in Greek and it is a “type” of the “wine of his wrath.”

But the New Wine of his covenant is “fresh” and has no leaven or fermentation because it is symbolic of the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit).

YaHuWaH says not to even LOOK at the wine because it is highly addictive and it leads to other sins (Proverbs 23:31-32).

At the wedding of Cana in John 2, Yahuwshuwa saved the “good wine” symbolic of the New Covenant for the end. The good wine was that which had no leaven (sin) in it and it had no fermentation. It is symbolic of the Renewed Covenant in his blood.

Back in those days since there was no refrigeration, the fermented wine was easy to come by, because it was difficult to prevent it from being fermented. So when the wedding guests commented that he had saved the best wine for last, it was because it was unusual to have freshly squeezed grape juice. That was the “good wine” because it was not easy to come by.

I have found are 3 words in Greek for wine:

1.) Gluekos- highly inebriating wine

2.) Onios- Generic word for wine in general whether fermented or not

3.) Genemma- Freshly squeezed grape juice specifically

At the wedding of Cana, yes it was “Onios” because that is the generic word for wine (from the vine) and it could mean either fermented or not fermented wine:

#3631. oinos oy’-nos a primary word (or perhaps of Hebrew origin 3196); “wine’ literally or figuratively:--wine.

*Note: you will notice that the wine that Yahuwshuwa turned from water was “oinos” because it can mean either literal wine or figurative wine! Hence, he was using “oinos” as a metaphor for his blood covenant. This tells us that in this instance, the “oinos” was being used as a metaphor.

On the day of Shabuoth (Pentecost) when the disciples were being accused of being drunk, the word being used for “wine” was as follows:

#1098. gleukos glyoo’-kos akin to 1099; sweet wine, i.e. (properly) must (fresh juice), but used of the more saccharine (and therefore highly inebriating) fermented wine:--new wine.

But when Yahuwshuwa said that he would not drink of the fruit of the vine, it was “Genemma:”

Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine (genemma, fresh grape juice), until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

#1080. gennao ghen-nah’-o from a variation of 1085; to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:--bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring.

#1081. gennema ghen’-nay-mah from 1080; offspring; by analogy, produce (literally or figuratively):--fruit, generation.

This wine has to do with REGENERATION!

It is symbolic of the Renewed Covenant in the blood of Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach and it is fresh, alive, and it brings regeneration, new life!