Misinterpretations often treat the verse as a universal rule prohibiting alcohol before 9 a.m. or proof that early drunkenness is impossible, overlooking the specific Jewish cultural norm of sobriety until after prayers; others erroneously claim it endorses Spirit-filling as a form of holy intoxication resembling drunkenness, when Peter explicitly rejects any drunkenness to highlight the miracle's clarity and contrast it sharply with alcoholic impairment.
Acts 2:15
King James Version (1769)
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Peter addresses the mocking accusation that the disciples are drunk by noting it is only the third hour of the day—about 9 a.m.—a time when no Jew would be intoxicated, as they avoided strong drink before morning worship; this defense clears the way for his proclamation that their Spirit-empowered speech fulfills Joel's prophecy of God's Spirit poured out on all flesh, marking the dawn of the church age with sober, divine enablement rather than human excess.