7/9/14

From Jim McGuiggan... Wine: Fermented and Unfermented


Wine: Fermented and Unfermented


Numerous recent scholars and a long line of older lexicographers tell us that the Hebrew word tirosh is unfermented wine though on the basis of a single text (Hosea 4:11) some say it could be intoxicating. [I think that’s a misunderstanding of the text but leaving that question aside for now it’s true that the scholarly consensus is that the word typically speaks of unfermented wine.] A few scholars here and there tell us that in fact tirosh is the grape and by metonymy the juice it produces. This might well be the case and some versions render tirosh in just that way occasionally (vintage). Isaiah 65:8 speaks the proverbial remark that tirosh is found in the cluster and applies it to faithful Israelites in Israel.

[I don’t think enough attention has been given to this proposal: tirosh is a solid (the vintage) that produces wine.]

In any case, given that tirosh is most likely unfermented wine and is not intoxicating, when Psalm 4:7 tells us that harvesting it (along with grain) gladdens people’s hearts we can be sure it isn’t talking about it intoxicating them (see too Judges 9:13). Psalm 4:7 doesn’t even read as if a “drinking” experience is in view—it’s a harvesting experience; here’s the text (NIV and the rest): “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.”

I know drinking “grain” is not in view unless you think the psalmist had whiskey or something like that in mind. No, it’s a magnificent harvest of “dagan” (grain) and (tirosh) wine. [It’s almost amusing to hear, every now and then, someone claiming, “That’s what God gave grapes for—to make wine!” Grapes have, since ancient times, been a part of the staple diet of nations as they are to this day. Of course they give wine but they were and are used for food. Think of what the Islamic world does with them. Go to your nearest supermarket and see if you can find grapes to eat.]

However, Psalm 104:15 uses yayin and most scholars think the word “means” an intoxicating wine. It’s true that the word is used that way all over the place but there’s no reason to believe that that’s because the word itself “means” an intoxicating wine. The word yayin like the Greek word oinos is almost certainly a generic term and only the context determines whether or not it is intoxicating.

The Greek OT always renders yayin with oinos but it always renders tirosh with oinos. Scholarly consensus says tirosh is unfermented wine and yet the Greek OT translates it with oinos. What does that tell you? It tells you that they thought oinos can speak of unfermented or fermented wine. Since they used oinos to translate unfermented wine and since they used oinos to translate yayin we have every reason to believe that yayin like oinos is a generic term and that the context determines where intoxicating or non-intoxicating wine is in view.

Look, shelving for now what the word “means” means, note this.
The LXX translated tirosh (unfermented wine) with oinos.
Therefore to say oinos always means fermented wine is untrue.
The LXX used oinos to translate yayin in texts were it is clearly
 intoxicating.
Therefore oinos can refer to intoxicating wine.

This must mean that oinos is a generic term that applies to the juice of the grape whether it is fermented or not fermented. It’s like the word “water” which doesn’t “mean” salt water or sweet water or sea water or rain water—it simply means water and the context determines the specific form of the water. Oinos is the juice of the grape and ancient literature is saturated with illustrations of oinos in various forms (sweet, bitter, new, old, fresh, spoiled, drugged, mixed and so forth).

Jesus speaks of the universal practice of putting “new wine” in new wineskins to avoid the loss of the wine if and when it fermented and the old bags already stretched to the limit would burst (Matthew 9:17). This presumes that what they put in the bags was not fermented or intoxicating. But he calls it neos oinos (new wine). Manifestly, then, oinos can speak of a non-fermented wine. [There’s even more to learn from this “parable”. We often hear silly things said; “The ancients couldn’t keep grape juice from fermenting because they didn’t have modern chemicals.” You hear people say that intoxicating wine is all they ever drank. This is demonstrably false and in addition, even the naturally fermented wine was usually watered as a table drink. It was nothing like the high-octane stuff the booze industry sells so much of.]

Finally, for now, you hear people say that the English word “wine” is only used correctly when we use it of intoxicating wine. That might be the case today (my concise OED gives no other definition) but it wasn’t always so. [Think what has happened to the word “gay” and the word “baptize” and so many others.] To say that “real” wine is intoxicating is to give the word in a modern exclusive way and it ignores all the versions that render tirosh as “wine” or that render Jesus’ “new wine” remark as “wine”. The English word “wine” comes from the Latin “vinum”—juice that comes from the vine. [To be continued, God enabling]


by Nathaniel Nelson... Plantae: A Kingdom of Light

 http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1373

Plantae: A Kingdom of Light

by  Nathaniel Nelson

As you wake up in the morning, you set your feet over the edge of the bed and take a deep breath. Isn’t it magnificent to wake up to a striking sunrise, with the trees and plants in your front yard swaying in the breeze? On the third day of creation, God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the Earth.’… And God saw that it was good.” One day later, on the fourth day, God made the Sun and Moon. The reason you can take a profound gulp of air in the morning is because that beautiful Sun provides light for plants, so they can produce more of the precious oxygen needed to sustain life on the Earth. This ever-essential commodity is produced by a process called photosynthesis. The biochemical processes involved in photosynthesis are exceptionally complex, and yet an individual, diminutive cell can perform the complicated tasks many times over.
Our knowledge of the general workings of photosynthesis dates back to the 18th century, and, in some cases, even earlier. In 1772, an English chemist by the name of Joseph Priestly demonstrated that plants immersed in water give off a gas (oxygen), and that this gas is necessary for animals to live. Then, in 1779, Jan Ingenhousz discovered the essential aspects of what is known as the carbon cycle, a succession of events that allows the buildup of starch (a food storage product). Furthermore, Henri Dutrochet found that only plants containing a special, green substance called chlorophyll were able to form nutrient material (Garnder, 1972, pp. 381-383). Despite these discoveries, we still do not know some of the secrets of photosynthesis, even to this day. Does this life-sustaining process exhibit decisive design? Without a doubt, it does! Here are some of the facts that we know about photosynthesis:
Photosynthesis creates food by means of the following chemical equation:

[Symbolic Equation]

6 CO2 + 6 H2O+ Sunlight + Chlorophyll → C6H12O6 + 6 O2

[Word Equation]

6 carbon dioxide molecules + 6 water molecules yields
glucose (energy for the cell) + 6 oxygen molecules (what we breathe)
Despite the complexity of these numbers and symbols, this equation is fairly easy to understand. As we exhale, we expel carbon dioxide into the air. Plants use this gas, along with water, sunlight, and a substance known as chlorophyll, to create glucose (the energy molecule that plant cells need to survive) and oxygen (around 90% of the oxygen we breathe comes from photosynthetic plants and algae in the oceans). Basically then, we are dependent on plants, and they are dependent on us. This interdependent unity of life seems to be more than just a chance happening, does it not?
There are two fundamental reactions that take place during photosynthesis—the light and dark reactions. We will begin with the light-dependent portion. Light’s voyage takes it from the Sun, through the Earth’s atmosphere, and to photosynthetic plants or algae. In the case of a plant with leaves, the light strikes the leaf, penetrates the outer covering of the plant’s cells, and arrives at the first checkpoint of photosynthesis—the chloroplast. Chloroplasts, which specialize in photosynthesis, are often oval or disk-shaped organelles about two to ten micrometers long. Like mitochondria (the energy-producing organelles in animal cells), they have a double-membrane system. In the most common types, the inner membrane is the site where sunlight energy is trapped, and where adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is produced. The inner membrane is arranged as a system of stacked disks, called grana, which are surrounded by a semifluid matrix called the stroma (Starr, et. al., 1987, p. 67). Imagine a miniscule, bean-shaped structure that contains stacks of miniature pancakes inside of it. The individual pancakes that make up the grana are called thylakoid disks. It is at this location where photosynthesis does much of its work.
Illustration of Photosynthesis
The outer portion of the thylakoid disks is where light becomes useful to the plant. There are many structures that function in absorbing the energy and converting it to a form that is useful to the cells. The complexity of energy synthesis soon becomes almost inconceivable. Once the pure light energy reaches the thylakoid membrane, it starts a chain reaction that ultimately will result in the production of energy for the cell. The beginning of these reactions constitutes the electron transport chain. James Trefil explained it in this way:
The light reaction begins with Photosystem II, when light “hits” an electron in a specific chlorophyll molecule known as P680. The electron absorbs the light energy and becomes excited, meaning it has more energy than usual. The excited electron “jumps” to a higher energy level. Normally, the electron would immediately lose its additional energy and drop back down to its original position. However, it is met by an electron acceptor, Q, which sends the excited electron down a series of molecules known as a cytochrome chain. As the electron is passed from one molecule to the next, a series of coupled redox reactions occurs. The energy is immediately used to make ATP. The unexcited electron settles into a different chlorophyll molecule, known as P700, leaving behind a “hole” in P680. Photosystem I begins when a different electron in P700 also absorbs light energy and becomes excited. It too jumps to a higher energy level, where it is met by the electron acceptor Z. Z send the excited electron down a ferrodoxin chain, where coupled redox reactions occur. Meanwhile, back in Photosystem II, the ATP just formed supplies the energy used to split some water molecules into their component hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The oxygen is released into the air. One of its electrons is used to “plug” the hole in P680. The hydrogen atoms move over to Photosystem I, where they are picked up by the carrier molecule NADP+, along with the electron from P700 that went down the ferrodoxin chain and the energy that was released from the coupled redox reactions. The hydrogen and energy will be used to produce glucose in the dark reaction (2001, p. 383).
Your head may be spinning at all of the information packed into that quote, especially if you have never taken a biology course. Nevertheless, I hope you are beginning to see the complexity that is evident even at a microscopic level.
But we are not finished yet. As Trefil mentioned, the hydrogen and energy produced from the light reactions must now be transferred to the dark reactions (know as the Calvin-Benson cycle). If you refer to the description of the light-dependent reactions discussed by Trefil, two forms of energy are produced—ATP and NADPH. This energy, as well as an abundance of the carbon dioxide that we exhale, will now be needed by the dark reactions. The carbon dioxide is attached to a special molecule called RuBP. This combination will form a long chain of carbons (six carbons in length). This molecule, as it turns out, is extremely easy to break, and it will sever, forming two three-carbon chains. At this point, the ATP and NADPH are added to the mixture. This helps the three-carbon chain grab a few more molecules on its way to creating glucose. Finally, two separate molecules that have been created will form glucose—the energy molecule that the plant was working to produce all along. Purposeful design is seen in every aspect of this dazzling, life-giving cycle.
Could photosynthesis have occurred via chance processes? Scarcely. Biochemist Wayne Frair observed:
[F]or a cell to operate it must be able…to utilize this energy for the life of the cell. At the present time some single-celled organisms have chlorophyll such as is found in green leaves. This chlorophyll in cooperation with a whole host of other chemicals can utilize light energy which comes primarily from the sun. But these processes are very complex, and it is difficult to conceive how some simple functional device could have met the energy needs of any “first living cell” (2002, pp. 26-27).
Dr. Frair noted that it would be difficult to imagine how a “simple functional device” could have met the energy needs of any “first living cell.” How, then, could the “first cell” acquire the necessary energy without photosynthesis, and how could photosynthesis evolve without the energy? Those two questions present a paradox that is most likely insolvable. It is not reasonable to say that so many processes occurring in so many cells, over so small of a space, could have “evolved” merely as a result of time and chance. This natural wonder implies a supernatural origin. It needs a Designer.

REFERENCES

Broom, Neil (2001), How Blind is the Watchmaker? (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity).
Frair, Wayne (2002), Biology and Creation: An Introduction Regarding Life and Its Origins (Creation Research Society).
Starr, Cecie and Ralph Taggart (1987), Biology (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth).
Trefil, James (2001), Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (New York: Routledge).

From Mark Copeland... Paul's Sermon In Athens (17:16-34) 

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                  Paul's Sermon In Athens (17:16-34)

INTRODUCTION

1. In Acts, we have several examples of gospel preaching; such include...
   a. Three by the apostle Peter - Ac 2,3,10
   b. Two by the evangelist Philip - Ac 8
   c. One by the apostle Paul - Ac 13

2. The sermons recorded thus far were to those who believed in one God...
   a. Like Jews and Samaritans
   b. Or Gentile God-fearers like Cornelius

3. Now we have an opportunity consider a sermon to pagan philosophers
   who were polytheists

[It was during Paul's second missionary journey, in the city of Athens,
Greece...] 

I. THE SETTING

   A. PAUL HAD JUST ARRIVED IN ATHENS...
      1. Known as a center of learning and artistry, but also for its
         idols
      2. Petronius said that it was easier to find a god than a man in 
         Athens
      3. Provoked by the idolatry, Paul began preaching at every
         opportunity - Ac 17:16-17
         a. Reasoning in the synagogues with the Jews and Gentile
            worshipers
         b. Reasoning daily with any in the marketplace

   B. HE ATTRACTED ATTENTION OF PHILOSOPHERS...
      1. In particular, Epicurean and Stoic philosophers - Ac 17:18
         a. Some of whom viewed him as a proclaimer of foreign gods
         b. Because Paul was preaching of Jesus and the resurrection
      2. They brought him to the Areopagus (Mar's Hill) and invited him
         to speak - Ac 17:19-21
         a. A rocky hill about 370 feet high, not far from the Acropolis
            and the Agora (marketplace) in Athens - Holman Bible 
            Dictionary
         b. A place where Athenians and visitors spent their time
            discussing new ideas
         c. Not having heard of the doctrine of Christ, they wanted to 
            know more

[With such an invitation, you can imagine Paul's delight to accommodate
them (cf. Ro 1:16-17)...]

II. THE SERMON

   A. THEME:  THE GOD THEY DID NOT KNOW...
      1. Acknowledging their devotion, he makes mention of one altar in
         particular - Ac 17:22-23a
         a. An altar with the inscription:  "To The Unknown God"
         b. So devout, they sought to worship a god they did not know
      2. He uses the opportunity to preach concerning the True God they
         did not know! - Ac 17:23b

   B. MAIN POINTS...
      1. God is the creator of the universe - Ac 17:24
         a. He made the world, He is Lord of heaven and earth
         b. As such, He does not dwell in temples made with hands - cf.
            1Ki 8:22-30
      2. God is the sustainer of life - Ac 17:25
         a. He gives to all life their breath and what they need - cf. 
            Jm 1:17
         b. Therefore God is not worshipped as though He needs it
      3. God is the ruler of all the nations - Ac 17:26-27
         a. He has created every nation and determined their rise and
            fall - Dan 2:20-21; 4:17
         b. Everything is designed to prompt men to seek God, who is
            not far from any of us
      4. God is the Father of mankind - Ac 17:28-29
         a. From God we come; and in Him we live, move, and have our
            very being 
         b. Therefore we should not think that God is like any idol of
            gold, silver or stone
      5. God is the Judge of the world - Ac 17:30-31
         a. What ignorance He may have overlooked in the past, such is no
            longer the case
         b. He now commands all men everywhere to repent
         c. Why?  Because of the coming Judgment, in which...
            a. God will judge the world in righteousness
            b. God will judge the world through Jesus Christ - Jn 5:22,
               26-27; 12:48
         d. As proof such will occur, God has raised Jesus from the dead
      -- These five points are from "The Spirit, The Church, And The
         World", by John Stott

   C. RESPONSE...
      1. Mentioning the resurrection provoked a response - Ac 17:32
         a. Some mocked (to many at that time, the idea of a bodily
            resurrection was foolishness)
         b. Others were more cordial, offering to listen again at another
            time
      2. As Paul left, some joined him and believed - Ac 17:33-34
         a. Specifically mentioned are Dionysius the Areopagite, and
            Damaris, a woman
         b. Others also joined Paul and believed

[Having considered the setting and the sermon, allow me to make some...]

III. OBSERVATIONS

   A. REGARDING THE SERMON...
      1. Paul used tact - Ac 17:22-23
         a. He acknowledges their spirituality, though misdirected 
         b. We should not hesitate to acknowledge the devotion one might
            have; if in error, our task is to explain "the way of God 
            more accurately" - e.g., Ac 18:24-26
      2. Paul began with the present spiritual condition of his audience
         - Ac 17:23-27
         a. They believed in supreme beings, but didn't know the True God 
         b. With the Jews he began with the Law, with the Gentiles he
            began with the nature of God; we too should take into 
            consideration where one is spiritually
      3. Paul made use of an accepted authority - Ac 17:28-29
         a. He quotes from one of their own prophets to make his point 
         b. When appropriate, we can appeal to an uninspired authority 
            accepted by others
      4. Paul led his audience to the main themes of the gospel - Ac 17:30-31
         a. Such as repentance, the judgment, Jesus and the resurrection
            - cf. Ac 17:18
         b. So our ultimate goal in preaching should be the gospel 
            message - e.g., Ac 2:38; 3:19
      5. Paul used the resurrection of Jesus as ultimate proof - Ac 17:31
         a. God has given assurance of the coming Judgment by raising
            Jesus 
         b. Indeed, if Jesus truly did rise from the dead, it is proof 
            of:
            1) The existence of God
            2) The truthfulness of all of Jesus' claims
            3) The reality of sin, judgment, and the need to repent
         c. This is why we need to develop a strong apologetic for the
            resurrection of Jesus

   B. REGARDING THE RESPONSE...
      1. People responded in three different ways - Ac 17:32-34
         a. Rejection - "some mocked"
         b. Reluctance - "others said, 'we will hear you again on this 
            matter'"
         c. Reception - "some men joined him and believed"
      2. Of those who responded favorably, it is only said that they
         "believed" - Ac 17:34
         a. Are we to conclude from this that was all they did?
         b. Did they not also "repent", as commanded in Ac 17:30? 
         c. The term "believed" encompassed more than simply acceptance
            of the facts that had been proclaimed
            1) It involved a complete reception of the message preached
            2) It included an obedience to whatever conditions had been
               proclaimed by the apostles (such as repentance, baptism)
         d. Just as faith was not explicitly mentioned in Acts 2, or
            repentance in Acts 16, but is fairly inferred from what we 
            know in other passages, so also with baptism here
            1) "There is, indeed, much to be said for the contention,
               independently advocated by theologians of varied schools,
               that in the New Testament faith and baptism are viewed as
               inseparables whenever the subject of Christian initiation
               is under discussion, so that if one is referred to, the 
               other is presupposed, even if not mentioned." - G. R. 
               Beasley-Murray, Baptism In The New Testament, p. 272
            2) "Baptism and faith are but the outside and inside of the
               same thing" - James Denny (as quoted by Beasley-Murray, 
               ibid.)
            3) "Where baptism is spoken of faith is presumed, and where
               faith is spoken of baptism is included in the thought" 
               - N. J. Engelsen (as quoted by Beasley-Murray, ibid.) 

CONCLUSION

1. Whether Jew or Gentile, philosopher or simpleton, the gospel of Christ
   is for all...
   a. Where we begin may vary with the spiritual condition of our 
      audience
   b. Where we end must always be the same:  Jesus is the only way to
      salvation!

2. When one becomes convicted of their sinful condition and their need 
   for Jesus, the proper response should also be the same no matter who
   we are...
   a. Faith in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for our sins and was
      raised from the dead
   b. Repentance from sin
   c. Baptism into Christ for the forgiveness of sins through His blood

One's reaction to the gospel will always be one of three ways: rejection,
reluctance, or reception.  In Athens, people such as Dionysius and 
Damaris exemplified the proper response.  

Are you willing to imitate their example...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2013

From Gary... Anything is possible!!!



https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1157166247334

If you do nothing else today- WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!  I consider this one of the most amazing things I have EVER SEEN!!! I can only imagine what was going through the mind of that pilot as he realized he may be dead in a very short while.  How we intellectually deal with death says a lot about how we are living our life.  For those who are Christians, the following will be a familiar passage...

Matthew, Chapter 28 (NASB)
Mat 28:1  Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
Mat 28:2  And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
Mat 28:3  And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
Mat 28:4  The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
Mat 28:5  The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
Mat 28:6  "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
Mat 28:7  "Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you."
Mat 28:8  And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
Mat 28:9  And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
Mat 28:10  Then Jesus *said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me."

Jesus was crucified, dead and buried.  As far as the world was concerned, it was all over.  Christians know better!!!  Because Jesus lives, the fear of death no longer has a grip on us.  We have hope because we know that something better is in store for us. So, like the pilot in the video, let us make the most of our lives and who knows... anything is possible!!!!
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