Communion Pt. 8 – Beware of Leaven

Pro. Jeremiah Shepherd

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Through sharing unleavened bread, all of the disciples symbolically committed, with Jesus, to suffering in the flesh and being obedient to the law as given by God. Through sharing wine, they symbolically received the power of the Holy Spirit to operate effectively in the New Covenant. This is supported in the following passage from John:

John 7:37-39
“37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

But as we’ve discovered, communion is not without obstacles and opponents. Even the symbols of communion can be negatively affected. Interestingly enough, both bread and wine undergo drastic changes to their nature and their effects when they are introduced to one particular element—yeast, biblically known as leaven.

In a process known as fermentation, yeast converts carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and alcohol. It is the exact same type of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) that is used to alter the structure and aftereffects of both bread and wine. Plainly speaking, yeast consumes the sugars present in bread or wine and releases hot air and alcohol.

There are several places in scripture where the word is described as being “sweet”, and they play an important part in the meaning of “leaven”.

Psalm 119:103
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Ezekiel 3:3
“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Even the manna from heaven, sent to the children of Israel tasted like honey (Exodus 16:31).

We must be obedient and avoid the leaven of the Pharisees at all costs, or it will cost us. That leaven is the inclusion of carnal works and/or substance, the emphasis of physical accomplishment, or the requirement of ungodly laws which cause anxiety and/or bring confusion to something originally at peace. So why is leaven used as a symbol of these things?

This makes the usage of leaven by Jesus more powerful. Leaven, more commonly known as yeast, ****is a live, single-celled fungus, activated by warm water, that feeds on the sugars in flour, releasing the evaporated ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide that makes bread rise. The resulting “leavened” bread is bloated and made to appear larger in size than its actual substance. This makes leaven and its affect on bread the perfect symbol of hypocrisy and its negative effects on the word. Both of them consume the natural sweetness, leaving behind emptiness and vanity that bloats rather than fills.

The metaphors and symbols used by Jesus carry astounding depth. Jesus is the word of God, or “bread of life”, sufficient to save and fill those who hunger after Him with righteousness.

John 6:48-51
48I am that bread of life. 49Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Matthew 5:6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Nothing needs to be added. Attempting to do so is a fulfillment of selfish lusts rather than Godly love, suggesting that Jesus is insufficient by Himself. Those who partake of God’s word infused with carnal additions are swollen into laziness and inactivity. Jesus address They rest on their When yeast is added to bread, it appears much larger in volume, but adds practically

Matthew 23:25
25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

nothing. False inclusions only add to the confusion of God’s perfect word in an effort to make it appear more appealing feel more physically satisfying.

Still there’s more to the elements of communion. Remarkably, new wine is also negatively affected by the same leaven.

Wine is the subject of much debate among Christian circles, but the subject may not be as difficult to understand as some suggest, especially when the revelation of leaven is properly understood and applied. Now let’s take a closer look at new wine, especially the Hebrew and greek words. There are many details that can be learned through an exhaustive analysis of the instances of wine in scripture, but we’ll summarize the important points.

Yayin and tirosh are Hebrew words while oinos and gleukos are word of Greek origin. Vinum is Latin in origin and all of these are words that were translated into “wine” in the Bible.

  • The word tirosh (Hebrew) and gleukos (Greek) refers to the grape itself, a newly finished product of grape such as grape juice, boiled grape juice (which is called must), or a cluster of grapes.
  • The other three words, onions, yayin, and vinum have a dual meaning. They can refer to grape juice or to fermented grape juice whereas tirosh and gleukos never refer to an alcoholic substance.

Example of tiros being used in scripture:

Isaiah 65:8
“Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.”

Matthew 26:29
“29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

STRONG’S DEF: 2537 kainós – properly, new in quality (innovation), fresh in development or opportunity – because “not found exactly like this before.”

Ultimately language proves to be a barrier to effective communication once again. This time, those who speak and operate in the flesh are unable to understand communication by His Spirit.

Fermented Wine and Leavened Bread both represent the same thing!!

Very similarly, this same yeast is also added to freshly squeezed grape-juice to produce alcoholic wine. The difference is that wine is sealed in air-tight containers during the process, entrapping the ethyl alcohol that evaporates while baking bread. Therefore wine causes inebriation whereas bread, of course, does not.

THE REVELATION BEHIND IT:

**** Grape juice becomes wine when it is exposed to fungus, and the extended time of fermentation allows that fungus to consume the natural sugars and yield carbon-dioxide gas and ethyl alcohol as by-products. Therefore, the original and harmless state of grape juice (aka new wine) is converted over time by aggressive, foreign microorganisms, into fermented wine which causes drunkenness.**

The Holy Spirit is the “new wine” of the “New Covenant”, and it compares to freshly squeezed grape juice. In it’s newness it is pure, sweet, and uncontaminated, producing clear revelation through powerful manifestations and gifts which reflect that nature of Christ. Over the course of time, people gain access to this new wine and introduce lies that destroy the natural, intended sweetness of truth while yielding the harmful by-products of deception. The original resemblance of the early church’s power to that of Christ is also converted, over time, by aggressive, foreign organizations, into intoxicating false doctrines.

THE FERMENTED CHURCH

What is Fermentation?

Let’s review the dictionary definitions of “ferment” and “fermentation”

DEF Ferment (noun): a state of confusion or excitement, esp. because of suddenly changing conditions:

DEF Fermentation: a change brought about by a ferment, as yeast enzymes, which convert grape sugar into ethyl alcohol.; agitation; excitement.

These dictionary definitions lend themselves to the spiritual revelation and understanding of fermentation. In a spiritual sense, fermentation is the confusion of communion. It is the introduction of foreign “micro-organizations” into the gospel that produces negative side effects. Leaven, which is deceitful hypocrisy, invades the components of true communion, which are unleavened bread and new wine, and causes bloat and/or drunkenness. Such yeast is described perfectly in Jude 1:3-4

Jude 1:3-4
“3Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”.

When the fermentation process has run its course on communion, the bread has become “puffed up” and the wine has become intoxicating.

The end result is a fermented church…

  • Its hypocrites feed on the purity and sweetness of the word, and produce nothing but hot air. Jude 1:12 – “12These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear:”
  • It is pretentious and gaudy, appearing large and prosperous, but it lacks real substance and fails in true obedience and adherence to scripture. To put it scientifically, it’s all about volume (visible and audible) and not about matter (substance and relevance). Matthew 23:5 – “5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,”
  • Being “bloated”, it also causes bloat. Those who “hunger” are immobilized by swelling 2 Peter 2:18 “18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.”
  • It is intoxicating, causing those who ingest of its teachings to be unable to discern, suffer long or endure. It fails at communion, and is unloving Matthew 24:10-11 *”10And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. *****11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

Ultimately, all of these things combine to become an image, not of God intended in the garden, but of the great whore presented in Revelation 17. She is consuming the wine, she is gaudy pretentious and she causes the earth to be drunk.

Revelation 17:1-6; 18
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

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