Two years after Abinadi delivers his initial call to repentance before the people of King Noah, he returns in disguise to deliver his final and ultimate declaration that God’s judgments will be poured out upon this impenitent and rebellious generation. In the Spirit of the Lord, Abinadi tries, convicts, and sentences his detractors in the court of God’s justice, rendering them incapable of countering his irrefutable evidence of their wickedness in wantonly violating the Ten Commandments.
“I Will Visit Them in My Anger”
The universal message of the prophets to a wayward people is repent or be destroyed. Salvation comes solely through the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. The message of the Savior, through His prophets, is that the faithful and obedient may come and freely partake of the eternal joys of the gospel, while the rebellious and impenitent will suffer the consequences of damnation. The record concerning the wickedness of the people is the record that readers of the Book of Mormon hold in their hands. The words of Abinadi concerning the evil of King Noah and his people resound to the four quarters of the earth as a warning of the consequences of unrepentant disobedience. The imminent destruction of Noah and his circle of wicked followers corroborates of the truth that the word of the Lord will always be fulfilled.