Preachers don’t talk about God’s wrath much anymore but it is a big part of the Biblical tradition. We read in the book of Revelation: The angel cut the earth’s vintage [and] threw it into the great wine press of God’s fury. This Word inspired the poem/song by Julia Ward Howe, The Battle Hymn of the Republic. “He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” This poem was written at the beginning of the Civil War and serves to warn the nation that God’s wrath arises in the face of injustice. The sin of slavery demanded atonement which would be extremely costly. Wrath is God’s passionate “NO” to anything which inhibits a world of peace and justice from thriving.
