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'{{ref improve|date=November 2011}} '''Fire and brimstone''' (or, alternatively, brimstone and fire, translated from the Hebrew גפרית ואש) is an [[idiomatic expression]] of signs of God's wrath in the Hebrew [[Bible]] ([[Old Testament]]) and the [[New Testament]]. In the Bible, they often appear in reference to the fate of the unfaithful. "Brimstone," possibly the ancient name for [[sulfur]]{{fact|date=November 2011}}, evokes the acrid odor of [[volcano|volcanic]] activity. The term is also used, sometimes pejoratively, to describe a style of Christian [[sermon|preaching]] that uses vivid descriptions of judgment and eternal [[damnation]] to encourage repentance. ==Biblical references== [[Image:Fumarola Vulcano.jpg|thumb|left|Brimstone forms around volcanic vents]] In The [[King James Version|King James]] translation of the Bible often renders passages about fiery torments with the phrase "fire and brimstone". In [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 19, [[God]] destroys [[Sodom and Gomorrah]] via a rain of fire and brimstone, and in [[Deuteronomy]] 29, the Israelites are threatened with the same punishment should they abandon their covenant with God. Elsewhere, divine judgments involving fire and sulfur are prophesied against [[Assyria]] ([[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 30), [[Edom]] (Isaiah 34), [[Gog]] ([[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] 38), and all the wicked ([[Book of Psalms|Psalm]] 11). As an interesting side note, the breath of God, in Isaiah 30:33, is compared to Brimstone: "The Breath of Jehovah, like a stream of Brimstone, doth kindle it." Fire and brimstone frequently appear as agents of divine wrath throughout the [[Book of Revelation]] culminating in chapters 19–21, wherein [[the devil]] and the ungodly are cast into a lake of fire and brimstone as an eternal punishment: "And [[Antichrist|the beast]] was taken, and with him the [[false prophet]] that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" ([[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] 19:20, [[Authorized King James Version|KJV]]). "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10, KJV). "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and [[pimp|whoremongers]], and sorcerers, and [[idolater]]s, and all [[liar]]s, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8, KJV). The specific mentions to brimstone are, of course, translational; later translations (i.e. [[New International Version|NIV]]) refer instead to sulfur. Also, there is disagreement over the interpretation. One view{{fact|date=November 2011}} is that they show how sinfulness and rejection of God's love can result in serious problems. Others{{fact|date=November 2011}} suggest that they represent an active inflicting of punishment by God. volcano. ==Islamic reference== The story of prophet Lot finds mention in several [[Qur'an]]ic passages, especially Chapter 26:160-175 which reads: "The people of Lut rejected the apostles. Behold, their brother Lut said to them: "Will ye not fear (God)? "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust. "So fear God and obey me. "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds. "Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males, "And leave those whom God has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!" They said: "If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!" He said: "I do detest your doings." "O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!" So We delivered him and his family,- all Except an old woman who lingered behind. But the rest We destroyed utterly. We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded not)! Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe. And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might Most Merciful." ==History== Brimstone was not only associated with the wrath of God or judgment but it was also used as a purifying agent. The [[Greek Orthodox]] would burn brimstone to ward off evil and disease. Some{{fact|date=November 2011}} might state that this is why God's breath is compared with Brimstone and why brimstone is often used in carrying out divine judgment. That is, the brimstone is used to purify the land from evil. [[Puritan]] preacher [[Thomas Vincent]] (an eyewitness of the [[Great Fire of London]]) authored a book called "Fire and Brimstone in Hell", first published in 1670. In it he quotes from Psalm 11:6 "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, this shall be the portion of their cup." Preachers such as [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]] and [[George Whitefield]] were referred to as "fire and brimstone preachers" during the [[First Great Awakening|Great Awakening]] of the 1730s and 1740s. Edwards' "[[Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God]]" remains among the best-known sermons from this period. Reports{{fact|date=November 2011}} of one occasion when Edwards preached it said that many of the audience burst out weeping, and others cried out in anguish or even fainted. ==See also== *[[Afterlife]] *[[Sulfur]] ==External links== *[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbrimstone.html ''The Straight Dope'' on Fire and Brimstone] {{Hell}} [[Category:Christian eschatology]] [[Category:Hell]] [[Category:Homiletics]] [[Category:Fire in religion]] [[de:Strafpredigt]] [[ru:Жупел]]'