JOEL - I think whenever they talked about wine in the New Testament
it is hard to tell if they are talking about the
fermented alcohol containing drink or to just grape juice or somewhere in between.
It is well known that the words "the fruit of the
vine" have been translated as "wine" even though it
was only meant to represent unfermented juice. It is
equally well known that in the Old Testament, three
different words are translated "wine", two of which,
used most commonly, refer clearly to unfermented grape
juice. In the New Testament two Greek words, not
necessarily representing fermented grape juice, are
translated "wine". Intoxicating wine was not a common
beverage among ancient Israel.(See Word of Wisdom: A
Modern Interpretation, John A. Widtsoe)
So depending on how things are translated it's hard to know which form of the drink is being spoken of.
Concerning the miracle Jesus performed at the wedding(John 2:1-10), the fact that the bridegroom was asked why he saved the "good" wine (John 2: 10) for the last is an indication that Jesus not only changed the water to grape juice, but that he also caused it to instantly turn to the fermented alcohol-containing beverage. It would still be a miracle to change water to grape juice; but it makes it even more so a miracle to change it to wine, which would normally require a lot of time for the fermentation process to produce the alcohol.
The old bottles that should not contain new wine, that
Christ was refering to (Matt. 9:17) were really bags, made of the
skins of animals, which would deteriorate with age.
New wine shold not be put into such bottles because
the pressure of the fermenting juice would cause the
bottles to burst and the good wine would be lost. It
seems in this case that the "new wine" referred to
here may have been closer to the "fruit of the vine"
that had not fully fermented.
But the scriptures suggest that "new wine" does
contain some alcohol. This is evidenced on the day of Pentacost (Acts 2),
when those who were affected by the Holy Ghost and began
speaking in other tongues, were described by mocking bystanders
as being "full of new wine" (Acts 2:13); meaning that they were acting this way because they were drunk (Acts 2: 15).
James E. Talmage explained the meaning of old wine in new bottles:
"The gospel taught by Christ was a new revelation,
superseding the past, and marking the fulfillment of
the law; it was no mere addendum, nor was it a
reenactment of past requirements; it embodied a new
and an everlasting covenant. Attempts to patch the
Judaistic robe of traditionalism with the new fabric
of the covenant could result in nothing more sightly
than a rending of the fabric. The new wine of the
gospel could not be held in the old time-worn
containers of Mosaic libations. Judaism would be
belittled and Christianity perverted by any such
incongruous association." (Jesus the Christ , p. 184)
In a similar analogy God would not select someone, who has been steeped in the traditions and doctrines of man, to restore His gospel to the earth in our latter-days. He would want someone fresh and teachable, like Joseph Smith, who would be like the new wine in the new bottle.
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