KnoWhy #95 - Why Did Book of Mormon Prophets Speak of Future Events as if They Had Already Happened? (Mosiah 16:6)

Some parts of Abinadi’s lengthy response to the priests of King Noah have struck many readers as odd due to the fact that Abinadi, when speaking of Christ’s coming, used past tense verbs, and then explained his way of speaking by adding that he was “speaking of things to come as though they had already come” (Mosiah 16:6). Using past tense verbs or participles to speak of something that will yet happen in the future may seem unusual to modern readers, but this is actually a recognized characteristic of ancient Hebrew prophecy. Abinadi’s grammatical usage is not unique in the Book of Mormon. It can also be found in several other passages in the Bible.