Rev 14:14-20 Part 3, The Angel Thrust In His Sickle Into The Earth

[Study Aired February 28, 2025]

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

We paused our last study while in the midst of demonstrating that the angels who Christ said He would send to reap the earth are, in the final analysis, those who are given to have a part in the blessed and holy first resurrection. It is the Lord’s elect firstfruits who are called ‘angels’ in the book of Revelation. These ‘angels’ themselves tell us that they are our “fellow servants and those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book”. In other words these angels which show us these things are the Lord’s 144,000 elect who will rule with Him a thousand years before judging another class of angels in the lake of fire. Here are the verses with which we closed our last study:

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil [via his ministers with two horns like a Lamb, but speaking as a dragon]; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

The angels to the seven churches are obviously those Godly men who the Lord sends to minister to His church. They are also the “seven angels who have the seven last plagues and who twice tell us that they are our our brothers…”

We have demonstrated with many scriptures that “God dwells in you”, that He “dwells in the heavens”, and “He dwells in His people”, all signifying us as His resting place and His temple:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Psa 103:19  The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Psa 123:1 <A Song of degrees.> Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

Psa 132:13  For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
Psa 132:14  This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

“God dwells in you… God dwells in the heavens” which Christ tells us is within us. God must perform the miracle of blinding our spiritual eyes to keep us from seeing that the heavens in which He dwells are within His people.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

This angel that “gathers the vine of the earth” with the very same sharp sickle that Christ uses is Christ’s Christ. We are His team and His team is also known as “the Lord and His Christ”,

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

One of Christ’s many titles is “the mighty God”.

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

And so once again we see this same team which will “harvest the clusters of the earth”, demonstrating the strength and kingdom of ‘our God and His Christ’ in this verse:

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

So “the Son of Man” sends three angels to harvest us, as His firstfruits first (Rev 14: 6-13), and He “torments [us] with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb”, and we are told what all of the messages of these three angels and our judgment in fire and brimstone is:

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The wrath of God judges us and produces “the patience of the saints… and the faith of Jesus”. This is the same wrath of God, which we will later be referred to as “the seven last plagues” of the seven angels of Rev 15:1 which “fill up the wrath of God”.

‘The vision of Revelation 7 and the vision of Revelation 14, as we have demonstrated, is one.’ (Gen 41):

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Both chapters reveal the two separate judgments Christ spoke of in:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920 krisis: judgment].

The first judgment by the first three angels which produces the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus signifies the judgment of the 144,000 firstfruits unto God and the Lamb who will rule with Him over the nations of this world for 1,000 years, and who will continue to “judge angels” in the lake of fire. That second judgment is the great white throne judgement, signified by “her grapes are fully ripe”. While this is not an overt statement it is a signified statement that this is the final harvest of the earth because any farmer who has grapes on his farm knows that the very last thing to ripen are grapes.

The visions of Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 are one vision which is concerned with two resurrections. There are only two resurrections mentioned in scripture and those two resurrections are separated by a symbolic “thousand years”. “The vision is one” does not mean that it all happens at the same time. There is an order in which the one vision must take place, and in the case of the story of Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, the seven good and fat years must necessarily precede the seven bad and lean years. In the case of these two chapters dealing with the same two judgments, the “blessed and holy first resurrection” necessarily precedes the great white throne judgment by a thousand years plus a “short season” of rebellion against “the camp of the saints”.

The dragon is “that old serpent called the devil, and Satan”, and while our old man rules in our lives we are all first his children and his angels who wage war against our Lord, as the inward armies of the carnal mind of our old man. This is called “war in the heavens” (Rev 12:7) where, as the children of “our father the devil”, we withstand “the Son of Man” when He comes to harvest us and to separate the Truths of His Word in us, from all the lying false doctrine and ‘tares’ of Babylon which are first within us. This has all been revealed to us earlier in chapter 12:

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

In the process of this war, our old man is tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.  This torment is the process of our judgment which is signified by the first three angels of Revelation 14 which distinguishes our judgment from that of the second three angels who are gathering the clusters of grapes. It is the fact that ‘grapes’ are not mentioned in the judgment of the first three angels and the fact that this verse does not appear in the judgment of the second three angels which makes clear that these are two separate judgments. Here is what is missing in the second judgment:

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here [being tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb] is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

“The dead in Christ” are not mentioned in this second judgment of three angels. There is no mention of “the patience of the saints… they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”. The fact that this is all “without the city” (Rev 14:20) tells us that this all, both spiritually and dispensationally, takes place outside the New Jerusalem which ‘New Jerusalem’ signifies the Lord’s firstfruit elect.

The city of our God, and the temple of our God is in the kingdom of our God, and the “salvation, strength, and kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ” (Rev 12:10) cannot begin to be entered into until the seven plagues of the seven angels begin to be fulfilled within us. This “hour of the judgment of our God” upon all the sins of our flesh accompanies the displacing of the lies of Babylon within us. That time of struggle which we all experience as we struggle to see through those lies is signified by “the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound” (Rev 10:7).

What is the Biblical significance of 1600 furlongs? 16 is two times 8. Two is the number which signifies the witness we bear for our Lord while in these vessels of clay, as well as the witness we bear as we judge all those who are cast into the lake of fire. “The 8th is of the seven” signifies the beast that “is not and yet is within each of us [“I am crudified with Christ nevertheless I live”, Gal 2:20]. This eighth beast “goes into perdition” while being the seventh beast and even though he is becoming a new man, he is still in a vessel of clay, or flesh, which cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and must therefore “go into perdition”.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [“Jesus Christ”, vrs 6] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Here is what ‘was and is not’ means:

Rom 7:9  For I was alive [thought at that time that I was alive] without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Here now is how this second judgment of the second three angels concludes:

Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

But what does this number is 1600 signify? 1600 is 2 times 8 times 100, and 100 is a multiple of 10, which signifies the perfection and full blossom of the self-righteous corruption in our flesh. The number 10 signifies the perfection of corruptible flesh which cannot inherit the kingdom of God, even if it is the flesh of Jesus Christ.

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers_ten/

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Here now are these same verses of Rev 14:14-20, repeated in Rev 19:

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; [He has spent the past thousand years ruling ‘the kingdoms of this world’, Rev 11:15] and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [This is the Son of Man with the sharp sickle and a golden crown upon His head]
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [ This is “My blood in the New Testament”, Luk 22:20 and 1Co 11:25. This ‘blood that comes to the horses bridle’ in this ‘grape harvest’ signifies the final harvest at the great white throne judgment]
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [these ‘armies… clothed in white linen” are the Lord’s Christ, who He sends to reap ‘the clusters of the earth’s grapes’, the last crop to ripen, and places them in ‘the winepress of His wrath’]
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God [the exact same “winepress of the wrath of God” of Rev 14:19].

This ‘sharp sword’ is signified as “a sharp sickle with which to harvest the earth in the great white throne judgment”, just as He is using His Word to reap us in “this present time”, [Rom 8:18]. The ‘sharp sword’, the ‘sharp sickle’, and the tormenting fire of both judgments is the Word of God, which will judge “every man” (1Co 3:13-15):

Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;[This is not “the marriage supper of The Lamb” mentioned in the first part of this 19^th chapter. This is the last gasp of dying flesh at ‘the battle of Armegeddon’, ‘when the thousand years of being ruled with a rod of iron are expired’, Rev 20:7]
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. [the same “all men” of Rev 13, who “receive the mark, name, number and image of the beast”]
Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive [as spirits] into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword [or “sharp sickle”] of him that sat upon the horse, which sword [or sharp sickle] proceeded out of his mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.  

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The works of all men are burned and all men are saved by “fire and brimstone”. It is the same fire in both the judgment of this present time and the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death. The fire of the first judgment is referred to simply as fire in 1Co 3:13-15, or it is called “fiery trials”, in 1Pe 4:12. It is never referred to as “the lake of fire” which does not appear until after the thousand year rule and after the “short season” of rebellion which immediately follows the thousand year reign of Christ and His elect.

Summary:

We have seen that our end is better than our beginning, and our death is better than our birth. We also saw that being “dead in Christ” is a spiritual statement concerning the spiritual condition of those who die in Christ in this present time. Dying to “life in this world” and living our new life as a “living sacrifice unto God”, are part of our judgment in this present time (Rom 8:18). We have seen that those who are being judged in this present time are signified by the 144,000 who will be raised up in the first “resurrection to life” at the beginning of the thousand year reign, as contrasted to those who will be raised up in the resurrection of the great white throne judgment after the thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ.

We have seen that the two groups of three angels in Revelation 14 signify the two resurrections of Revelation 7. The first being “the resurrection of life” of the 144,000, and the second and last resurrection being “the resurrection of judgment” at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death (Rev 20:11-15).

We have seen that the first group of three angels in this 14^th chapter are those who endure the fire and brimstone of the Lord’s Word in this present time and who have been given the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus and are blessed in their death in this present time:

Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them [“the resurrection of life”, Joh 5:27-29).

We have seen that “the dead which die in the Lord” are those who are granted to have a part in the ‘blessed and holy first resurrection” which ‘first resurrection’ transpires at the beginning of the thousand year reign.

We have also seen that the judgment of the second three angels is the great white throne judgment which concerns the judgment of all who were not given to have a part in the blessed and holy first resurrection.

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

The earth is not reaped by the first three angels of the first part of this 14^th chapter. Those reaped by those first three angels are those who have the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus. Those who have “the patience of the saints… keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” are the 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” as contrasted with “the clusters of the earth’s… grape” harvest.

But we have also seen that the Son of Man, who is Christ, “comes on a cloud to reap the clusters of the earth’s vine” in the judgment of the second group of three angels. There is no mention of the preaching of the gospel nor “the patience of the saints”, nor “the faith of Jesus”. Instead the first two angels of this second set second judgment “come out of the temple in heaven”, and the third angel comes out of the altar. We know that the temple and the altar both signify those in whom Christ dwells in this present time. ‘The temple and the altar’ signify those in this present time who repent of their sins and are granted to have a part in that blessed and holy first resurrection:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. [Those who rule with Christ for 1,000 years are those who come up in “the resurrection of life”, Joh 5:27-29]
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

It is through those who are given to have a part in this first resurrection, “our Lord’s Christ”, that Christ will ‘gather the clusters of the earth’s grapes”, the very last crop which ripens, with the same sharp sickle, which is nothing less than the “sharp two edged sword… which is the fiery… Word of God”.

Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

We have seen that the “winepress of the wrath of God” of these verses, is the same “wrath of God” contained in the seven plagues of the seven angels which must be fulfilled in every man who would enter into the temple of God in heaven (Rev 15:1 and 8).

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Finally we saw that the 1600 furlongs of blood signifies the blood of Christ which has been shed by every person who ever lived. 2 times 8 times signifies the witness of our new man against our old man. Multiplying that witness against our old man by 100, signifies the perdition of our flesh, and it signifies the destruction of all flesh.

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?s=the+number+eight

The number 8 symbolizes our new man, who, even though “we have Christ in us as “this earthen vessel”, still must be “saved… by fire” as our old man’s iniquities are burned out of us.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

“Earthen vessels” are signified by the number ten and its multiple of ten times ten or 100. ‘Earthen vessels’ signify our dying corruptible bodies of flesh and blood which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” and must “go into perdition”. So, 2x8x100 = 1600 furlongs.

Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

We will end this study by pointing out that just as the two groups in chapter seven have much in common, they both come up through great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, yet they also differ in that the first group in chapter 7 is numbered and the second group is not numbered. The first group is judged in this present time and have the patience and faith of the saints, keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. The first and the second group are both judged by the ‘fire and brimstone… wrath of God’. It is only the first group who are being judged in this present time, and who ‘have the patience of the saints, keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus’. These words are not used to describe the second group being judged by the second group of three angels.

The first group judged by three angels are called “the firstfruits unto God and the lamb” while the second group judged by three angels are called ‘the clusters of the grapes of the earth” which ‘grapes’ as any farmer knows well are anything but ‘firstfruits’ and are instead the very last thing on the farm to ripen and to be harvested.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will discover the meaning of the sea of glass mingled with fire, and we will discover what the significance is of getting the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name. We will also discover the Biblical significance of “having the harps of God”. Most importantly we will see the connection between the wrath of God, and the “manifest tokens of His judgment” (2Th 1:15)

2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

Here are the verses for our next study:

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Rev 15:3  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.
Rev 15:4  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest

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The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 20 Discussion

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Isa 5:1-7  Wherefore, When I Looked That It Should Bring Forth Grapes, Brought It Forth Wild Grapes?

Isa 5:1  Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
Isa 5:2  And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
Isa 5:3  And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
Isa 5:4  What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
Isa 5:5  And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
Isa 5:6  And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Isa 5:7  For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

The scriptures really are the retelling of the same story over and over and over. Each telling of the story gives us additional details about the mind of our Creator not included in the previous revelations of His mind. These words in Isaiah 5 are a retelling of what happened between God and His creation at the very beginning. God planted a garden in Eden, and in Adam He placed us all in that garden and gave us everything we needed to be well fed and healthy. All we had to do was be obedient to His commandment: "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it". But we listened to the deceiver who told us that God was lying to us, and so we ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We became aware of the fact that we are naked and that we need to hide the shame of our nakedness. We did not just naturally become aware of our need for repentance of what we had done. Instead we just naturally blamed others for our own sins, and so it has always been. As the book of Job demonstrates, we even go to the extreme of condemning God for the way He has chosen to deal with His creatures. We condemn our Creator so we can maintain our own integrity and our own righteousness (Job 27:5; Job 29; Job 40:1-8). We want to be responsible for our sins so we can also take credit for all the good things we do. We do not like the way God is working with His creatures, and we just know that we could do a better job than He is doing. We think that we have a plan which is manifestly better than His way. So we question our own Creator, as if our ways really were better than His.

Paul was inspired to point out what we just naturally do:

Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Paul is referring to this event:

2Ch 20:4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
2Ch 20:5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
2Ch 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Our Creator has every right to judge us, and He is doing so:

Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

This is figurative language, but all who come to Christ do so only after having blasphemed His name, after believing in and living by the false doctrines of Babylon, and being scorched with fire and having those doctrines and those works burned up by the great heat of His fiery words:

Jer 5:12  They [God's own people] have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
Jer 5:13  And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Just "because [we] speak this word" His words are in our mouths fire, and our old man becomes wood to be devoured by the fire of His Word.

In this particular 'speaking of His Word', which is telling us what God is doing, instead of a 'garden' we are told "My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill". It is the same story. "The dream is one (Gen 41:25)." We are Christ's work. We are His vineyard, and He gives us all we need to be His children. He gives us all His Words, and yet even after we witness Him miraculously feed thousands, and even after we "believe on Him", we still deny and reject Him and His Words (Joh 8:30-44). We do so because we "cannot hear His words", and because we were formed as marred vessels, with the law of sin and death in our members, from the Potter's hand.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 

Young's Literal Translation gets the Hebrew qual tense right, demonstrating that God's creation is a work in progress and was never to be considered as having been completed at the time of the Garden of Eden.

Jer 18:4  and marred is the vessel that he is making, as clay in the hand of the potter, and he hath turnedand he maketh it another vessel, as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make. (YLT)

The apostle John demonstrates that God's creation process is not intended to be progressing in but a few men in this age:

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek: helkuō - drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Paul tells us how God has designed that but few will come to Him in this age. He restricts the masses from seeing Him by placing within us all "the law of sin and death":

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh ["vessel of clay"]) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

This same story is repeated in Micah:

Mic 6:1  Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 
Mic 6:2  Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
Mic 6:3  O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. 
Mic 6:4  For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
Mic 6:5  O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord.

God wants us to know that He has given our flesh every opportunity to do what is right, but He also tells us, and He also wants us to know that "in [our] flesh there is no good thing" (Rom 7:18). He wants us to know that this is by His design. He wants us to know that His physical creation was created for the express purpose of taking that physical creation and destroying it. He even tells us it "was made to be taken and destroyed" simply because it is "corruption". It is through the destruction of that physical creation that He is bringing forth the spiritual end-product of which Christ Himself is, at this time, the only begotten Son to have yet received "the redemption of the purchased possession":

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

2Pe 2:12  But these [flesh and blood], as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

We are at this time "sealed with that holy spirit of promise", but not yet possessors of "the redemption of the purchased possession". So God is working a work within us, and it involves Him, "through... Christ in [us]" (Php 4:13), giving us all we need to be obedient to Him, but He has also first placed within our natural bodies the inability to submit to Him and His laws, and He, as our sovereign Creator, gives us this story to bring us to see what He is working in us.

Here we have His own words telling us He made us "corruption", which He is intent on destroying as the means and the mechanism of producing a creature which is conformed to His image:

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

How is He transforming us? He is doing so by "the transforming of [our] mind[s]. By burning out the mind of our old man and renewing our mind with the mind of Christ.

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

He gives us this parable of what He is doing to us:

Isa 5:1  Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

We must notice how the holy spirit presents this story to us. Christ wants us to "sing a song to [our] beloved touching His vineyard".

What are we commanded to sing to our God?

Jdg 5:3  Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

2Sa 22:50  Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.

We are to "give thanks to [our] Lord" by singing praises to Christ "touching [us], His vineyard" which He has placed "in a very fruitful hill". Hills are ideal for planting vineyards, and Christ knows what He is doing, and He goes to great lengths to give His vineyard the best of everything in this physical, natural realm:

Isa 5:2  And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

If Christ planted "the choicest vine", how is it possible that it "[brought] forth wild grapes"? We are told the same thing about everything God first created. It was not just a 'good' creation. Rather it was a "very good" creation:

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

If Christ's vineyard is located in "a very fruitful hill... planted... with the choicest vine", how is it possible for 'the choicest vine' to '[bring] forth wild grapes'?

There is only one way for that to happen, and this is how the scriptures tell us it happened:

Job 1:20  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
Job 1:21  And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Isaiah tells us the same thing. From chapter one Isaiah's message is a message of God's judgment upon His rebellious people. Then in the 63rd of 66 chapters Isaiah is inspired by God to tell us why God's people rebel against Him:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Jeremiah tells us how Christ has "made us to err from [His] ways". This is what the holy spirit reveals to us of the "very good... vessel of clay" which Adam, and all "in Adam" are:

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7  At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

We are not what we are by our will. We are clay in the Potter's hand. "So are ye in my hand..." Adam, and all "in Adam", are "marred in the hand of The Potter". The apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that the "very good" creation God made in the Garden of Eden had absolutely no ability to choose to do what is pleasing to God in and of ourselves:

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

This is the message of Isaiah five. The reason "no good thing... dwells... in my flesh" is because Christ saw to it at creation that we, "[His] vineyard", were marred in His hand with "the law of sin which is in [our] members... that is in (our) flesh". Our "marred vessel[s] of clay" were designed to "[bring] forth wild grapes" even under the best of conditions, and that is what these verses are telling us. They are telling us that we are flesh in which is no good thing, and that even under the most favorable conditions flesh is still nothing more than "corruption".

There is not one mention in all of scripture of the false doctrine of "the fall of man". Eve, who came out of Adam, had within her members the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life before she ever touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and according to the holy spirit, those three sins encompass "all that is in the world":

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, [1] the lust of the flesh, and [2] the lust of the eyes, and [3] the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

It is no coincidence that those are the three original sins committed by Mother Eve, and they are presented to us in that very same order, encompassing "all that is in the [sinful] world":

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was [1] good for food ["lust of the flesh"], and [2] that it was pleasant to the eyes ["lust of the eyes"], and [3] a tree to be desired to make one wise ["the pride of life"] she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

So the Lord's garden had been given every opportunity to bring forth good fruit, and instead it brought forth "all that is in the world... the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life", all before Eve ever touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She did so because that was what 'was in her, that is, in her flesh' (Rom 7:18).

We are told "God is love", so why would a loving God "[make] us to err"? Why would a loving God 'give and then take away'? Why would the Lord plant His vineyard in a fruitful hill, gather out the stones, plant the choicest vines, and build a tower and a winepress in His vineyard if His intention is to make it bring forth wild grapes?

The answer to all those questions is that the fruitful hill is a temporal 'fruitful hill'. It is not a spiritual Mount Zion, and it cannot bring forth anything but wild grapes even though it was planted with the choicest grapes. The choicest vines are our "very good... flesh and blood...  bodies of... corruption" (1Co 15:50). We are just naturally the kind of vines that bring forth wild grapes, simply because the fruit and works of a "marred... wild beast" with "the law of sin in [his] members" is 'wild grapes'. As long as we are in that state we "cannot enter into the kingdom of God".

1Co 6:9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Before someone comes to me and tells me that in quoting Jeremiah 18, I stopped just short of the verse which proves that we have free choice, and that all these verses of scripture I have quoted just do not mean what they say and that God does not "make us err from [His] ways", let me deal with that blind and rebellious spirit.

Here is the next verse of Jeremiah 18:

Jer 18:8  If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

Of course it is obvious that the words "free will" appear nowhere in that verse. But our rebellious Babylonian "man of sin" is incapable of voluntarily abdicating the throne of God in the temple of God within us (2Th 2:3-12). So he makes that verse say that we can voluntarily choose to "turn from [our] evil" ways.

It is Christ Himself who informs us:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

And then He adds this little bit of truth:

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

The point Christ is making to us here in Isaiah 5 is that our dying temporal flesh, when given every opportunity to bring forth good fruit, is utterly incapable of doing so. So He poses the question concerning His vineyard:

Isa 5:3  And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 

Isa 5:4  What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 

Having just been told that He fenced it, gathered out the stones, planted the choicest vines, and built a tower in a fruitful hill (vs 1-2), it is obvious that there is nothing more that can be done with this particular vineyard to get it to produce good fruit.

What to do? What was it Christ had intended to do all along?

Isa 5:5  And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
Isa 5:6  And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

False doctrines from false prophets and false ministers are the briers and thorns of scripture as this verse among many others demonstrates:

Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

"I will take away the hedge thereof", is the same as taking away all the cloths and jewels the Lord had given "His pleasant plant", which demonstrates that the vision of Isaiah 3 and 4, is the same as the song we are to sing to our beloved here in chapter 5:

The vision is one (Gen 42:25-26):

Isa 3:18  In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
Isa 3:19  The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
Isa 3:20  The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
Isa 3:21  The rings, and nose jewels,
Isa 3:22  The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
Isa 3:23  The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.

That is what happened to Job. This is what Job said after losing everything he owned in one day, including his seven sons and three daughters:

Job 1:20  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
Job 1:21  And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Job is a type of us, and we are "the vineyard of the Lord":

Isa 5:7  For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

Before the Lord began to judge Job, He had "a hedge" around Job, just as He fences in His vineyard and places a tower in it to protect His prized possession. In Isaiah 5:5 He even refers to His fence as "the hedge thereof", which He tells us He is taking away, just as He removed His 'hedge' from about Job. Then He actually sent Satan to destroy all Job owned. But the Lord's prized possession is a work in progress, and the taking away of the hedge and the destruction of the kingdom of our old man is but an essential part of the work the Lord is doing to the children of men.

This is how Paul frames what God is doing with all men of all time:

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Along with His Christ, Christ is securing the salvation of all who are "in Adam":

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

So it is "in Christ... the last Adam" that we become the "vineyard of red wine" of Isaiah 27, and we will "sing a new song" in praise to God for His new vineyard:

Isa 27:1  In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Isa 27:2  In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
Isa 27:3  I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. 
Isa 27:4  Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
Isa 27:5  Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me. 
Isa 27:6  He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
Isa 27:7  Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?
Isa 27:8  In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
Isa 27:9  By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. 

Psa 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Mike,
Sorry to be asking you questions when you are busy. I do have some wine at times, I was wondering what the bible says about that, is it ok, or isn’t it? I feel that we must not get drunk.
Cheers,
D____

Hi D____,
This is an easy question to answer.

Christ turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and he served wine to the apostles at His last passover.

Joh 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
Joh 2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
Joh 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
Joh 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Joh 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do [ it].
Joh 2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Joh 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
Joh 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare [ it].
Joh 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,
Joh 2:10 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.
Joh 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

All of the arguments of the so- called ‘Women’s Temperance League’ to the contrary, this was not grape juice. If it were grape juice, then verse ten would make no sense whatever. The Greek is ‘oinos’, and it means fermented wine.
It is the same word used when we are told that the good Samaritan poured wine into the wounds of the man that was robbed, beaten and left for dead.

Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

How absurd and stubborn it is to argue that this man poured grape juice into an open wound. But how logical it is to say that he poured fermented wine containing alcohol in to an open wound.
Anyone who would argue that the good Samaritan poured unfermented grape juice into an open wound would probably argue that the Corinthians got drunk on grape juice.

1Co 11:21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
1Co 11:22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

So you are exactly right. There is nothing wrong with drinking at home, but always and at all times in moderation.

Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

The Lord is always “at hand” and sees every move we make, and we will all be judged by what is “written in the books, according to our deeds”.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

We are neither responsible or accountable for those works. They were all “written in His book before there were any of them”.

Psa 139:16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

So we will all be judged “according to our works” and we will all “reap what we have sown”. and we will “give an accounting” of what God has done through us in these vessels of clay.
So by all means continue to “have some wine at times”, but do so in moderation, for this is pleasing to our Lord.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike