It is perhaps unsurprising that King Noah was extremely unhappy with Abinadi at this point. Abinadi had undercut the very foundation of Noah’s authority. In the ancient world, kings ruled through the authority of God, and the religion provided the conceptual and legal foundations of rulership. Thus, when Abinadi affirmed that the law of Moses was to be lived, and declared that they were not living it, he undercut the very foundation of King Noah’s ability to rule. That was certainly dangerous, sufficiently dangerous that the king was willing to cut short the interrogation and simply have Abinadi put to death.
The way in which Abinadi was able to withstand those who came for him is not stated, other than “God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time.” Perhaps Abinadi understood the full implications of “at this time.” He would be destroyed, but Jehovah had put him in this position, and it was the fulfillment of Jehovah’s will that would not be denied.