“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards is the epitome of a fire and brimstone sermon. Edwards was able to deliver this speech with strength, power and charisma. However, this sermon effectively portrays Edwards' interpretation of the sinful nature of man and the wrathful nature of God even when read silently. Jonathan Edwards is able to effectively communicate that his position as a reverend is a means to legitimize his ability to interpret the Bible and all of its scriptures. Edwards finds success in his speech through the use of vivid and violent imagery. In this way Edwards is able to do two things, one convince his parishioners that as a man of God he has the authority to be an interpreter of the Bible. He forces his audience to trust him by building strong emotional reactions that incite fear and panic in his audience. In this way it plays on the public's loyalty to the Bible and biblical and religious authority figures. Jonathan Edwards is careful to create a specific focus throughout the sermon. This focal point quickly becomes his interpretation of God and his wrath. Over the course of the sermon Edwards creates and visualizes his own interpretation of the nature of God. Edwards expands on this in section 2 when he says, “Often we read of the fury of God” as well as “And in many other places. Then, in Revelation 19:15, we read of the “press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” The words are extremely terrible. If it had only been said "the wrath of God," the words would have implied that which is infinitely terrible: but it is "the ferocity and wrath of God." The fury of God! the ferocity of Jehovah! Oh, how terrible it must be! Who can pronounce or conceive what such expressions carry with them... middle of paper... hell is not just a spiritual or mental place or concept. By creating this physical notion of hell, Edwards can continue to express the severity of their damnation. “There are the black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, filled with a terrible storm and great with thunder” Obviously by the time this was written and delivered both the Old and New Testaments had been written. However, it is interesting to note that Jonathan Edwards actually discusses and describes only one Old Testament God. This God has only one pleasure, and that is to throw most of humanity (those who are sinners) into the pits of hell. There is no discussion about the changes that come with the New Testament. He never mentions how God's old pleasure in torturing humans is now prohibited by Christ's sacrifice on the cross. This strengthens Edwards' contention that he is truly an authentic interpreter of the Bible.