The Two Cups | AdventAI

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Nov 27, 1879

The Two Cups.

At a recent communion service, before passing the cup, over which thanks had been given, the pastor said, "There is a cup of which we read in the Scriptures, concerning which it is said, 'Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it moveth itself aright, when it giveth its color in the cup. At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder!' That cup through a terr'ble mistake has frequently found its way to the Lord's table! The cup which we now pass to you, my brethren, contains no alcohol, no serpent, no adder. This liquid which you now put to your lips is the unfermented juice of the grape, similar to that which our Saviour used when he instituted this sacred ordinance, and which he called, as if to avoid mistake, 'the fruit of the vine.' The other cup we would not dare to offer you. It contains alcohol, poison, death; and is no fit symbol of the Saviour's blood, which has life in it; nor did our Lord intend that such wine should be supped by his followers at his table or any where else. Some of you have been reclaimed from intemperate habits. You need not fear as you put this cup to your lips. It is the cup of blessing! In it there is no alcohol to set your veins on fire, and awaken the appetite which divine grace has conquered."—National Baptist.