One of the defining characteristics
of the prophets of the Book of Mormon is that they testify to their audiences (those
they are speaking to in their day and age, as well as us, whom they anticipate
through the record they keep) of an opportunity to stand before the Lord, give
an account of who we have been and have become, and receive judgment. We see
this from Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, Alma and Mormon. And here we see it from Abinadi.
In previous chapters, Abinadi the
prophet, who is standing before an inquisition of the wicked King Noah and
Noah’s corrupt priests, shared marvelous truths about the Lord’s plan of
salvation. At its core, the plan is about and is put into effect by the love
that Jesus Christ has for us, a love that is so powerful that it will give Him
(because Abinadi is speaking about 150 years before Christ’s mortal birth)
power to carry out His matchless ministry, divine sacrifice, and Resurrection.
Now it is time for Abinadi to make
sure that Noah and his priests understand that all people, including themselves,
will one day recognize and confess before God that Jesus’ mission and
accomplishments are real and that the judgment they receive is just (verse 1).
And Abinadi doesn’t lead off by describing the great pleasure of those who
follow the Lord. He emphasizes the pain that those who reject the Lord’s word
will feel at that day (verses 2-3). It must have been pretty obvious to
Abinadi’s immediate audience that he was not preaching in the abstract, but was
speaking mostly about them.
Abinadi uses words like “carnal”
and “devilish” to describe those who have turned away from God’s teachings, but
the most important word he uses is probably “lost.” He makes a point to say
that redemption through Christ makes it possible for those who are lost not to
be endlessly lost (verse 4). But then Abinadi emphasizes that to access Christ’s
redemption, those who are lost cannot persist in evil doings (verse 5).
Abinadi is telling his accusers
that the inquisition they have convened in an attempt to judge him pales in
comparison to the importance and lasting impact of the hearing they all will
receive before the Lord. And he tries desperately to bring to life through his
words the unavoidable nature of this judgment (verses 10-11). And the hope of
eternal happiness that can be theirs through Christ—He who is the endless light
and life of the world, who takes away the victory of the grave and the sting of
death (verses 7-9).
Abinadi’s final warning to King
Noah and Noah’s priests starts in a third person voice that his audience could
rationalize as being intended for other people: “The arms of mercy were
extended towards them, and they would not; they being warned of their
iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were commanded to
repent and yet they would not repent” (verse 12). But then he shifts to the
unmistakable second person plural (“ye”): “And now, ought ye not to tremble and
repent of your sins, and remember that only in and through Christ ye can be
saved?” (verse 13)
He leaves them with no doubt of his
meaning. The effort of Noah and his priests to separate the law they inherited
in the record brought by their ancestors to the New World—the law of Moses—from
the plan of salvation represented in Jesus Christ is a completely futile one
(verse 14). And no matter the outcome of the tribunal convened to silence God’s
prophet in this world, in the world after this one Christ will represent the
Father in meting out justice to everyone based on conditions of their repentance
(verse 15). And that will be the judgment that really counts.
