This may be something obvious but I am going to say it anyway; it is possible to get really unbalanced in studying Bible prophecy. For a long time that fact kept me away from the whole topic. I was also kept away by the spectacle, for instance, of two equally godly people (in my eyes at least) having such divergent opinions - no, convictions, even -  concerning such things as timing of the rapture or who the Beast was and arguing with others about the obvious truth of their position. It is so easy to go off the deep end when it comes to prophecy.

But now I realize that we are still obligated to study prophecy since it is a major portion of the Bible and because we are coming closer and closer to the fulfillments of those prophesies that puzzled saints of the ages. These are exciting times and the more we know the better off we are.

I also began to realize why so many people are off-track in their prophecy; they approach the Bible to know it (prophecy) rather than Him. But there are no promises to the seekers of "It", whatever "it" may be. There arepromises, however, to seekers of Him. Many Bible readers are very well-versed in Daniel and Revelation. These favorite books of their's are worn through constant perusal but they also have whole books that God also inspired that are white and clean. The pages stick together; the pristine gold trim witnesses against the owner. Jesus said the scriptures - "the whole counsel of God" - - testify of Him. In context that was the Old Testament that He was referring to. We should look for Jesus Christ in every book of the Bible and ask for the God to apply His Spirit to our hearts to be more like Him.

This is a seemingly backdoor approach, but by studying all of Scripture we make ourselves more sure of a wider context and we then are better able to relate the other parts of Scripture to those more prophetic ones. I say "seemingly backdoor approach"; it is actually seeking God FIRST, the One who leads us into all truth. I am embarrassed to admit how often I have been guilty of this very thing, of seeking to know this detail or that, at the expense of spending quality time with God and having Him just revealing His Son in His Word so that I might be more and more like Him.