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Babylon ‘Lady of Kingdoms’ was not sober and was overthrown in a moment

Daniel was absent from king Belshazzar’s boozy feast (Daniel 5) until he was summoned to read the writing on the wall. That very night the Chaldean king was killed (Dan. 5:30). The lady of kingdoms did not think it necessary to be sober because she trusted in her own military might, not in the Lord.

Greek historian Xenophon (Cyropaedia 7.5) said Cyrus gave a pep talk to his soldiers shortly before the great Babylonian Chaldean Empire was successfully overthrown (539 B.C.):

“we are now to march are the same men that we have repeatedly defeated, and that, too, when they were all drawn up in battle line with their allies at their side, and when they were all wide awake and {nēphontas} sober and fully armed; whereas now we are going to fall upon them at a time when many of them are asleep, many drunk, and none of them in battle array. And when they find out that we are inside the walls, in their panic fright they will be much more helpless still than they are now.”

Herodotus (Histories, 1.191) said: “But as it was, the Persians took them unawares, and because of the great size of the city (those who dwell there say) those in the outer parts of it were overcome, but the inhabitants of the middle part knew nothing of it; all this time they were dancing and celebrating a holiday which happened to fall then, until they learned the truth only too well.”

Christ coming when you do not expect

Now keep in mind the Son of Man – Christ – is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:44; Luke 12:40; 21:34). Unless you believe Him, you will behave like the “Lady of Kingdoms” in complacent self-assurance, instead of sober belief. “… she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’” (Revelation 18:7)

Isaiah and Habakkuk (1:6) and had prophesied the sudden demise of the haughty Chaldean kingdom:

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Grog huge problem, plain as nose on your face, for aboriginal deaths in custody – Noel Pearson

NOEL PEARSON: Well, I think that there’s not been a proper confrontation with the drivers of these problems. There’s been an unwillingness, for example, to make the connection between grog and the abuse. And, you know, these problems go back a long way. I come with a great deal of scepticism about many of the reports because the original Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, 17 years ago, didn’t – it identified grog as an issue, but it didn’t bring it out in relief. You know, the same as the nose on your face is in relief, it didn’t bring the grog out like the nose on your face.

Noel Pearson, ‘Pearson explains plan to overhaul Aboriginal welfare‘, 19 Jun 2007, 7.30 Report, ABC

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Safety of aboriginal kids trumps so-called right to drink – says Cape York Institute

The abuse of grog and violence are epidemics their own right, not merely symptoms of underlying social and psychological problems.

Data shows a lot of violent offending is linked to alcohol … We must continue to improve the effectiveness of our approaches, and the QPC should consider what can be done to reduce alcohol and drug related harms.

… the perceived ‘right to drink’ may interact negatively with the right of vulnerable community members, particularly children, to be free from violence and fear, and to grow up safe and healthy, to go to school, to be educated, and to enjoy high standards of physical and mental health.

There must be a clear process and authority by which alcohol restrictions, if relaxed or removed, can also be re-introduced according to the wishes of the community if an increase in the level of harm occurs. Community interests have little ability to successfully influence liquor licensing decisions to limit the availability of alcohol anywhere in Queensland, and more responsive systems must be introduced before it can be said that Indigenous communities are empowered to drive the approach.

To effectively respond to high levels of offending as the leading proximate factor for Indigenous incarceration levels, we must tackle the dense causal pathways involved in all their complexity. Factors include: cyclical and intergenerational disadvantage; low education and employment; overcrowding and homelessness; poor health, including mental health and cognitive impairment, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and disability; alcohol and drug abuse; early contact with the juvenile justice system and intergenerational incarceration; poor parenting, physical and sexual abuse, and the experiences of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. If we don’t tackle these foreground drivers of offending, we have no hope of reducing Indigenous incarceration.

(The Indigenous incarceration crisis: the Queensland Productivity Commission response is inadequate, Cape York Institute submission to Queensland Productivity Commission, Inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism, April 2019)

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Gumbuli Wurramara aboriginal elder of Arnhem Land standing against alcohol

The story of the Anglican Aboriginal Churches in the Northern Territory cannot be told without including Gumbuli. He was the first Aboriginal person to be ordained as priest in the NT, and only the 2nd Anglican Aboriginal priest in Australia.

He was respected by many at Ngukurr for standing against alcohol being brought into the community. The community had already experienced what it was like to have alcohol freely available. He was aware of the violence and problems that went with the alcohol and wanted his community spared from the consequences of binge drinking, violence, sleepless nights, and frightened women and children who were unable to sleep because of the noise and fear of the violence.

Gumbuli also played a key role in the use of the local language in church. He preached and taught in Kriol. He was a strong supporter of the Kriol Bible Translation project. He selected the first Aboriginal members of the Kriol team and encouraged the translation work. He strongly advocated for Aboriginal partnership in the translation work and insisted that they needed the whole bible Kriol. In 2007 when the Kriol bible was dedicated and presented to the people he was very proud of what had been achieved and encouraged people to use it. He understood the value of reading the bible and preaching in the language the people spoke.

Extracts from EFAC Australia – Joy Sandefur’s book review “Gumbuli of Ngukurr”.

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Ephesians 5:18 unsaved drunk but saved inhale the Spirit

Eph 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. [See Prov. 20:1 “… whoever is led astray by it is not wise”.]

Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is {asōtia} dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit

(NKJV)

Spirit

The original Greek term pneuma had no dual meaning of alcoholic spirits (e.g. rum, vodka) – unlike today’s English term spirit. Rather, the Holy Spirit Himself is like breath. (See John 3:8; 20:22.) As you inhale, your stomach is squeezed smaller. Because God has given you the Spirit of wisdom, you now understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 1:17; 5:17; 1 Cor. 2:13). By contrast, others are led astray by drinking (Prov. 20:1). Their expanded stomachs expel the breath from their lungs. (They exhale the Spirit, so to speak.) So they do not understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17). Because they drink, they are not sober in all things (2 Tim. 4:5), and so they cannot distinguish between the holy and the unholy (Lev. 10:10).

No Salvation

Asōtia: no salvation (from a = negative prefix, sōtia = save) (Do not misunderstand the English term “excess” of KJV.)

Compare: “5 … constitute in each city elders, as I to thee gave orders; 6 if any one is irreproachable… not under an accusation of {asōtia} profligacy … 7 It behooves for the overseer irreproachable to be, as of God a steward; … not a wine-drinker …”

(Titus 1:5-7, Emphatic Diaglott New Testament)

1 Pet 4:3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles–when we walked in …drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties… 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of {asōtia} dissipation, speaking evil of you.

(NKJV)

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Wesleyan Church beliefs on Drinking

See also: Bible says be sober again and again.

‘…We believe that the sale and of tobacco, alcohol and other nonmedicinal drugs is a social evil which is draining and corrupting to society, and thus we believe that the best position is to practice total abstinence, protesting both the legal and illegal trade of such substances.’

1996 General Conference, Indianapolis, Ind., June 9–12, 1996.

‘Those admitted to membership in our churches commit themselves to demonstrate their life in Christ in such ways as: …
To demonstrate a positive social witness by abstaining from all forms of gambling and by abstaining from using or trafficking (production, sale or purchase) in any substances destructive to their physical, mental and spiritual health, such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco and drugs (other than proper medical purposes of drugs)’

The Wesleyan Church, The Discipline (2016), 265.

‘We oppose the production, sale, purchase and use of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, narcotics, and other harmful drugs, unless for mechanical, chemical, or medicinal purposes (cf. 265:4). The unprescribed use of hallucinogens, stimulants, and depressants, and the misuse and abuse of regularly prescribed medicines should be prohibited; only on competent medical advice and under medical supervision should such drugs be used. The consequences to society stemming from substance abuse are of major concern because of their unarguably negative impact on the spiritual character and nature of individuals and the welfare of society. These include the creation of barriers to conversion, family dysfunction and breakdown, poverty, disease and death, increased violence and crime, the incalculable loss to national economies, and the destruction of the individual caught by the power of addiction. In light of the overwhelming evidence of damage to society and the spiritual health of the individual by the abuse of such substances, we believe that even where their use may be legalized, we choose total abstinence as our appropriate response…’

The Wesleyan Church, The Discipline (2016), 410.

‘Only unfermented grape juice shall be used in observing the Lord’s Supper.‘

The Wesleyan Church, The Discipline (2016), 5610.

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Numbers 6:3 Which wines did Nazarites reject?

Numbers 6:3 – The Nazarites are separated from:

  • {yayin} “wine” (in the first instance here it is ordinary grape juice as in Isa. 16:10 and Jer. 48:33)
  • {shekhar} “cider” (in the first instance here it is not “strong” drink – as I perceive it is not in Num. 28:7; Deut. 14:26)
  • {chometz yayin} literally “fermented grape juice,” “fermented yayin” (as in Lev. 10:9, but not the first form of yayin)
  • {chometz shekhar} literally “fermented cider” (as in Lev. 10:9, but not the first form of cider)
  • {mishra} a drink made from leftover macerated grape pulp – soaked in water (a bit different than ordinary grape juice “wine” already mentioned at the start of verse 3)
  • moist grapes
  • dried grapes

1. The Origin of wine “yayin” and its subsequent decay… 2. “chometz yayin” 3. “chometz”

  1. “yayin” (Num. 6:3, 20) unfermented grape juice simply called “yayin” here and elsewhere in the Bible (not fermented and not intoxicating).
  2. “chometz yayin” “fermented wine” (this phrase only in Num. 6:3) also simply called “yayin” elsewhere in the Bible (fermented and intoxicating). Wine, cider, and bread become chometz (leavened, fermented) only because wild yeast or cultured yeast begins to cause decay. Otherwise wine etc. would remain in the original state. (Everything chometz is excluded from the Passover and the Unleavened Feast.)
  3. “chometz” (Prov. 25:20) “vinegar”, regardless of being made from wine or from another source. (Vinegar is fermented but not intoxicating). Old techniques used to prevent alcoholic wine from turning to vinegar were also able to prevent wine from turning into alcoholic wine itself.