What does 1 Peter 1:12 mean?
Verses 10 and 11 explained an important truth about the earlier prophets of Israel. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the prophets of the Old Testament had written about a coming salvation by God's grace. They had written about a savior who would suffer and then be glorified. Then they had searched and asked: "Who is this person and when will this happen?"What was revealed to them was this: As they wrote the words of God under the influence of the Holy Spirit, they were serving not themselves but future generations. The Christ would come after their time.
Peter means for his readers (and for us) to understand what a huge deal it is that the message of salvation by God's grace has been revealed to us now. God didn't tell the prophets—or, apparently, the angels, even when they asked—but He has shown us. Hundreds of years after the prophets' time, this good news, or "gospel," about salvation through faith in Christ, was delivered. It was given to Peter's audience by that same Holy Spirit, through the preaching and teaching of others. And now, thousands of years later, it has been delivered to us by that same Holy Spirit.