[Luke]

If New Wine is unfermented grape juice, then what does Acts 2:13 mean?

Other mocking said "these men are full of new wine"

And then Peter says that the men are not drunken, as they suppose....

If new wine is not alcoholic, what does acts 2:13 mean?

[pbiwolski]

Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

Maybe a modern-day paraphrase could be, "These guys are drunk on sprite."

[Cody1611]

I agree with pbiwolski. Seems they were being sarcastic.

I think there's an assumption here that everyone who believes the KJV is the word of God is cut from the same cloth, so to speak. I don't believe everyone here represents the same kind of church background, theology, etc.

Myself, when the Bible says "wine" I think it means "wine." There's a lot of convoluted reasoning that goes on to explain it as meaning something else, and I think that's an American cultural phenomenon.

Cooling and preservation as we know them did not exist at the time of Christ. You could have fresh grape juice when it was fresh, and you could have wine or vinegar later, but there was no way to keep fruit juice as juice.

You can't believe God preserved the words of Scripture in the AV, then decide you want to explain them away because the idea of drinking wine makes you uncomfortable . . .

Lee

[Debau]

Cooling and preservation as we know them did not exist at the time of Christ. You could have fresh grape juice when it was fresh, and you could have wine or vinegar later, but there was no way to keep fruit juice as juice.

You can't believe God preserved the words of Scripture in the AV, then decide you want to explain them away because the idea of drinking wine makes you uncomfortable . . .

I don't have to explain anything away Lee. Yes they did have cooling methods then. They are called caves. Yes they did have preservatives, natural sulfites.

The only folks who want to believe Jesus made alcoholic wine are those who want to conform the Bible to their naturalistic thinking, and perhaps have their alcohol too. Wine is a generic term in the Bible, and is explained in context whether alcoholic or not, not by "convoluted reasoning". It is easily understood by those who have no problem with being under authority of God's preserved words.

[Luke]

I wasn't trying to explain it away.

The Bible is clear that new wine is in the cluster (grapes)

Isa 65:8 Thus says the LORD: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, 'Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,' so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all.

And the Bible is clear that alcohol is wicked and against the good things of God. So I was wondering what this verse is meaning, that seems to imply that new wine makes men drunk (when it is the old wine that is alcoholic). The sarcasm approach, based on the word "mocking" makes sense to me. Thankyou

[Biblestudent]

In my observation, the word "juice" is only found one time in the Bible, and the word "wine" is often used instead of it. I think "new wine" is referring to "juice", and "wine" or "strong drink" refers to alcoholic beverage.
As shown above, that they are drunk with new wine at day time is a very sarcastic statement

If you say "the Bible says 'wine' but it doesn't mean 'wine', it means 'fruit juice'", I don't see how that's any different from someone saying "the Bible says 'blood' but it doesn't mean 'blood', it means 'XYZ'". The basic principle of approaching the Bible text is to take it at its clear meaning. The Bible says what it says.

This, to me, is an example of how we hold to cultural ideas and values (in this case, ideas stemming from the 19th and 20th century abstinence movements in the U.S.) even when the Bible's teaching is something else.

I think you can make a case against drunkenness from the Bible, but you can't make a case for abstinence.

Lee

[pbiwolski]

Here are a few verses to consider.

Prov. 3:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

New wine coming out of the press - huh. (See Gen. 40:10-11 for additional information on the press connected with the vine.)

Is. 65:8 Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster,...

So that's where God says new wine can be found - in the cluster, the field, the vine.

Joel 1:10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. 11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. 12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

Hag. 1:11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

It seems the God is pretty clear about the subject after all.

Now, if we follow LeeM1023 we'd find out that Jesus Christ was in violation of the word of God when he preformed His miracle in John 2.

Hab. 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!

John 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
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.

My, my, my, is that really what you want to suggest about our Saviour?

You had better be careful with what you say in regards to "wine" in the Bible.

[Biblestudent]

Hi, LeeM1023!
Let's remember that context determines meaning and that the KJV has its own built-in definition. Let me present some obvious examples:

If a "house" mean nothing else but a house, then can a house (the building) believe and be saved? (Acts 16:31) Does a house (building) serve the Lord (Jos. 24:14)? Did Noah's house (building) walked inside the ark?

How about the "meat offering" (flour) in Leviticus 2 or the "meat" in Genesis 1 (plants)?

There are many types of "wine", and the Bible calls fresh grape juice "new wine".