There are many ways to get sidetracked in life, and in studying the Bible, and in studying Bible prophecy. Some of these pitfalls, stumbling-blocks the Scriptures often calls them, overlap, and are well worth looking at.

Failing to Use Scripture as a whole

Scripture is not a pick and choose buffet. Unfortunately we as men often tend to try to use the Bible in such ways. Sometimes it is because we simply like certain parts of the Scripture more than others, which is natural, and some part for sure are more important than others. And last but not least it can come from our just being too lazy to do our homework! However:

Scripture is adamant: We need to use
the whole thing!

Moses said it first.

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.”
Deut 4:2 WEB

He reemphasized it again later.

“Whatever thing I command you, that shall you observe to do: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
Deut 12:32 WEB

In other words, use the whole thing. Now Moses did emphasize that whatever the Messiah commanded, everyone had to do.

“It shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
Deut 18:19 WEB

And Paul says the same thing.

“ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2Tim 3:16 KJV (emphasis added)

It is true that we use different parts
of Scripture differently.

We are not under the law of Moses, which has been nailed to the cross, Col 2:14. Instead we are under the “law of Christ,” 1Cor 9:21. So we don’t offer animal sacrifices, we have the sacrifice of Christ. And we observe the Lord’s Day (the first day of the week, Acts 20:7 Rev 1:10), not the seventh day, the Sabbath. Even so, the law of Moses is still profitable for “doctrine” (which is really just teaching, didaskalos is the Greek word). An example would be Paul in 1Corinthians 9 using an regulation from Moses law about an ox (Deut 25:3), to prove that ministers of the gospel should be paid. Paul says,

“9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it for the oxen that God cares, 10 or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake,”
1Cor 9:9-10 WEB

Still, failing to use “all scripture” for doctrine
often distorts our vision,

and our understanding of many things, including prophecy. If you really want to distort your understanding of Revelation or Isaiah, do what the liberal seminaries consistently try to do: study those books in isolation from the rest of Scripture. They use fine phrases like, “seeing how a book stands on its own,” but it is can be fatal to real understanding.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901