Eschatology study is often studiously neglected by Christians for a number of reasons:

One reason is fanatacism: Many who profess a deep interest in all things eschatological seem to be so consumed by this hobby horse (and they have indeed made it such) that they seem to lose interest in other Bible knowledge, and common sense beside.The case is often made that the study of endtimes lends to imbalanced Christian lives. We are told we should rather keep the unity of the Faith than divide needlessly over non-essentials.

Another reason is frustration. Many sincere Christians have studied the same prophetical passages and come up with widely divergent beliefs. How can this be? It's the same Bible that we all study, isn't it? It's the same God that we seek to understand. right? Why are the results so different?

Before answering these questions, it is important to understand that the study of endtimes is important and has a very practical outcome in our walk with the Lord. And the issue of timing of the rapture (Pretrib, Prewrath, Post-trib, etc.), while certainly of lesser importance than loving God with all of our heart (which assumes beforehand a vital saving faith), affects our walk with Christ nonetheless. I am convinced that there are at least some of the Pretrib persuasion who focus so much attention on the Rapture and the "early out" theology of La Haye, Lindsay, etc. that they assume -wrongly- that they will be out of here when the events after Rev. 4:1 start to unfold. I believe these things are both discoverable and worth discussing. To discuss these things is not to endanger our unity but to strengthen it (since it is the unity of a robust faith - or should be - and not a wispy sort of ephemeral thing).

Many students of the Bible seem to have given up on the very possibility of ever understanding any of the endtimes doctrines. This is unfortunate, because it assures that they will have no breakthrough in these truths. And it also makes certain that they will not recognize any new truth that may come from others. "I can't figure it out, so anything you have found must also be doubtful." This impasse has even been given a name: Pan-Tribbism. "What ever pans out is OK".

Is this what God wants? One fourth of the Bible has to do with prophecy. That is a large percentage to write off as unknowable. How do we get past this impasse? Are you ready? Are you sitting down? This may shock you. Read your Bible and pray. It is that simple. The impasse comes only when people have their commentaries closer to them than their Bibles. The confusion comes when we accept the conclusions of others as our own.

Remember this:
God is not the author of confusion.
God Is the author of the Bible.
The confused are not reading their Bibles!

The best way to clear up the confusion is to put away all "helps" for awhile while studying the Bible, and just reading it again and again. With prayer, of course. This what I did for about a year with the issue of the timing of the rapture. There were certain nagging pieces of the Pretrib puzzle that just would not fit. That's when, starting with Thessalonians, I did a thorough study on the subject. Eventually a light went on, not that prewrath was correct, but that pretrib was wrong. It is amazing, absolutely amazing, how many pieces of the puzzle fit after that. (Some of those pieces of the puzzle were in the wrong part of the picture altogether.)

One's view of rapture timing can effect how one lives their Christian life. This is why I started the email discussion group, ABCProphecy. ("ABC" stands for "Antichrist Before Christ"). Of all the different views, I believe that the Pretrib view especially is a serious unscriptural impediment to the faith. When my eyes were opened to this fact and the fact that I had wasted 20+ years teaching an unscriptural doctrine I felt a burden, if not to convince others that Prewrath was correct, at least to get them to reexamine their Pretribbism. I believe that Pretribbism is not something a Christian would normally believe in if he just read his/her Bible and prayed for guidance. To come to believe this abberation from orthodoxy, in the words of "South pacific", you have to be carefully taught. I believe it (Pretribbism) is also the default factory setting of almost all the Bible colleges and universities that crank out graduates. That was certainly how I came out. It took a while to unlearn this.

The very times we live in are the keys that open up what used to be obscure passages. Once Israel became a nation, for instance, those passages made a lot more sense.As we approach the times of the end things that used to be unknowable become much more clear. I believe that is what the verse in Daniel means when it says "Knowledge will increase". It has nothing to do with technical know-how, modern authors notwithstanding. it has to do with understanding of the prophecy. Many of the closed books of prophecy are now opening up in our time. Understanding eschatology is not only possible, it is becoming more and more important as we come closer and closer to the times of the fulfillment of these once-dark prophecies.