Читать книгу 1, 2 Peter and Jude Through the Centuries - Rebecca Skaggs - Страница 38

Here, Peter sets his argument on suffering into a larger context: the trials his readers are experiencing are not random or unintentional on God’s part. They are directly connected to the suffering and glory of Christ himself, foretold by the prophets. Most likely, these are Jewish figures (including apocalyptic ones) as well as Christian ones in the church at the time. For Peter, the salient point is that they “made diligent and careful inquiry” into these things. These two words are linked in Ps. 118[119]:2, LXX, and convey the sense of “searching out” the testimonies of the Lord and “seeking out” the Lord himself (Michaels, 1988: 40). Peter is emphasizing the devotional intensity with which the prophets pursued knowledge and understanding of God’s promised plan, as revealed by the “Spirit of Christ.” According to Peter, this revelation has to do with the sufferings and ultimate glorification of Christ. Even though the prophets knew they would not see the fulfillment of these promises, they ardently sought to understand them.

In our author’s time, many of these promises had already taken place, but more is to come. There is the “grace to be given you when at the end of time Jesus Christ is revealed” (vv.11, 13). This grace goes beyond the salvation they experience in the present. Both terms (“salvation” sought by the prophets and the “grace” yet to come) are in a similar grammatical construction, with the preposition peri, indicating that they are to be taken together. Assuredly, Peter expects the final revelation of Christ to be in an eschatological context (vv.5, 9). The mysterious nature of this revelation is further highlighted in that, while the prophets intensely searched to understand it, the angels themselves “long to look into these things” (v.12).