For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. Acts 2:15
Is this not a strange defense against drunkenness? It's too early in the day! Not, as some would have us believe, that the wine of the Bible is merely unfermented grape juice. According to these people, the folks at the Pentecost meeting only drank Welch's grape juice, which they kept in refrigerators so it would not go "bad".
You may rightly ask, in a world falling apart and filled with Adamic people, who know not the way of peace, what difference does the "wine or grape juice" argument really make? I only mention it because it is an example of how Christians misinterpret the Bible to favor their private agendas.
"But alcoholic beverages are evil," they will say. As if it was an excuse to try to wrest the Word of God.
This morning I was listening to the Acts of the Apostles in a modern version. When it came to the story of Simon the sorcerer, they had the apostle threaten him with hell. In the original, he was warned about "perishing". For Simon was a baptized believer and in no danger of eternal death.
God can and does bring about premature death to people in deep sin. This is what Simon was in danger of. There is no record of him dying in such a manner. He was warned, and I believe, repented of his mercenary ambitions.
The Bible has sufficient warnings. Must people try to modify it to attempt to make it fit their private doctrines?
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