15. Demonstration. If it were my intention to relate each and every thing which occurs in the Old Testament pertaining to this matter, I would undertake a lengthy, yet unnecessary, labor. I shall be content to have related a few testimonies. In the Psalms we read:1 “He shall rain snares upon sinners; fire and sulfur and the spirit of storms shall be the portion of their cup.” And again:2 “Thou shalt make them as a furnace of fire… The Lord in his wrath shall trouble them, and fire shall devour them.” In Job:3 “All darkness is hidden in his secret places; a fire which is not kindled shall devour him.” In Isaiah:4 “Behold, the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his fury in indignation and his rebuke in a flame of fire; for the Lord shall judge in fire and with his sword unto all flesh.” And again:5 “Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be extinguished.” In the prophecy of Malachi:6 “For behold, the day shall come, kindled as a furnace; and all the proud and all who work impiety shall be stubble, and the coming day shall set them aflame.”
Now who would judge that by these colors not real but metaphorical fire is depicted? The discussion concerns a fire which burns, which grows into a flame, which devours, which is not extinguished, and before which the reprobate are like stubble to be set alight. But these things demonstrate real fire and cannot be twisted toward metaphorical fire without violence.