And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
2 Chronicles 36:15-16
We should not understand the wrath of God as a pot of water on a slow heat, rising slowly but steadily in temperature—because of our accumulated sins—until it reaches the boiling point, when it is poured out upon rebellious mankind in all of its scalding fury.
On the other hand, we should not understand the wrath of God as little more than a figure of speech, a metaphor for the troubles of mankind, brought on by the foolishness of their own decisions.
How should we understand the wrath of God, then? It is not His first response to sin and rebellion, to be sure. It is rather a last resort, after all merciful endeavors have been exhausted, after having sent many messengers—rising up early and sending them—only to have their voices ignored by apathy, or silenced by imprisonment or death.
The knowledge of the kindness and mercy of God should lead us to repentance. The knowledge of the wrath of God should keep us from taking His kindness and mercy for granted.
