In one of the quotes from the above paragraphs he describes hell as the flaming wrath of God. He uses the repetition of this word to brand it in people’s heads that God isn’t messing around and he could cause a disaster at any moment. Throughout the sermon he talked about the wrath of God and how frightening and painful it will be once it comes. The wrath of God is referred to as divine retribution. He explains, “Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ now awake and fly from the wrath to come”(Edwards 14). One of the things Edwards did not sugar coat is the wrath of God. Edwards preached that they must repent for their sins and turn to God for forgiveness before it is too late and they go into the fire while warning the people that God will judge them for their sins. God is the one holding the spider or insect also known as the people over the fire because of their sinful nature. This quote supports Edward’s purpose for his sermon because he lets people know how powerful God is by relating it to a real world situation. For example, “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire…”(Edwards 4). Some of the metaphors that Edwards uses to depict nonreligious human beings, show how weak and inferior we are in the sight of God. He spoke about God’s extreme punishments and anger that would send people to the pits of hell. Jonathan Edwards wanted to scare people into repentance by preaching about God’s wrath and anger towards them, not about his love. Edwards is saying that God is capable of doing anything he pleases, but he chooses not to because he wants to give people the chance to become a believer by repenting for their sins. Edwards proclaims, “There are the black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you”(Edwards 3). The people need to repent so they have something to stand upon or take hold of to keep them from falling into the boiling pits of hell. Edwards claims that the more we sin it acts as a bellow for the flaming pit of the wrath of God. This quote is a great example of occasion. Edwards declared, “There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God there is hell’s wide gaping mouth open and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of”(Edwards 1).
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