Why you of course You know, I always thought that this statement (2 Peter 1:20-21) was an assurance for us that the prophets of old who wrote the scriptures did not write THEIR OWN INTERPRETATION of the revelation God gave them; rather, they wrote exactly what the Spirit wanted them to write... Yes they had the HS enlightening them but, what is your point? If not that we are all given the HS, in infallibility. Now if the HS enlightens all of us the same way as the prophets(It would have to or we would not be able to understand on our own) Then why do we need the Books to begin with? If you don't belive that we all have the HS guiding us perfectly in reading the Scripture then you agree with me. If you agree with me what was your point in your response?
But let us discuss this personal instruction by the Holy Spirit. Anyone want to tell how we know if/when the Holy Spirit will illumine our minds to correctly comprehend Scripture?
When we accept His will and die to ourselves? If I, in a state of humility, don't belive I'm capable of understanding Scripture on my own, could that be an indication of the HS illuminating my mind?
Of course this is NOT my point. My point was that that particular verse doesn't say what [apparently] most catholics [and a lot of protestants] THINK it says. It has to do with how Scripture comes to us---God's word penned through the prophets. What they wrote was not their own interpretation of God's Word. I wanted to make that point because I get tired of people using that verse incorrectly. Find a different verse to prove YOUR point (that no one can understand the Word of God without a magic sternum to interpret for them); but STOP twisting 2 Peter 2:21.
You wrote: When we accept His will and die to ourselves? If I, in a state of humility, don't belive I'm capable of understanding Scripture on my own, could that be an indication of the HS illuminating my mind?
Could be, but I wasn't asking about His illuminating our minds with just any truth---I was asking specifically how the Holy Spirit illumines our minds to correctly understand the Word of God. What does Scripture say about understanding Scripture? Well, here's one to start with:
Psalm 119:18 "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things from Thy law."
[Hint: You will see a lot about this in Psalm 119.]