PROVO, Utah -- Abinadi is one of the most eloquent witnesses in all of scripture of the coming of the Messiah and His mission, said David R. Seely during the 28th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium at BYU Nov. 12.
"Not only did he prophesy the coming of Christ but he explained the doctrinal significance of His mortal ministry," said Brother Seely of the BYU Department of Ancient Scripture.During his symposium address, Brother Seely explained that the fabric of scripture is woven with types and shadows.
"One of the keys to understanding scriptural stories is to learn to recognize and explore the types and shadows of these stories," he said. "Men like Adam, Enoch, Melchizedek, Abraham and Moses lived exemplary lives that pointed the children of the covenant toward the central event in history-- the coming of Christ. The accounts of their lives were monumental and cast a shadow into the future, pointing all who emulated them toward Christ."
Brother Seely said the story of Abinadi is full of types and shadows. "Its meaning is brought sharply into focus as we look to scriptural history for the types it represents and as we explore the shadows it projected into the future.
"The story of Abinadi looks back to the type of Moses, the prophet like unto Christ (Deut. 15-18), and to Isaiah's prophecies of the coming of God to earth as the Messiah (Isa. 52:53). His life and death foreshadow the coming of Jesus Christ. Abinadi through the type of Moses explains the law and through his interpretation of Isaiah explains the prophets.
"In short this remarkable Book of Mormon prophet explains to us the meaning of the Old Testament as it would be fulfilled in Christ. Most important, Abinadi explains in great doctrinal detail the significance of the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ and His atonement. He explains to us what Isaiah meant when he said that the Messiah would 'see his seed' (Isa. 53:10) and he invites us to become the seed of Christ."