To your overall point of wanting to understand the scriptures as God intends, that's why I already said you need to discard preterism heresy and these reinterpretations of the text and trying to allegorize away prophecy (which the apostles forewarn about unironically). Abandoning preterism because it is a heresy that is an automatic damnation sentence is pretty much mandatory (unless you wanna burn in hell for some reason.) Besides this these aren't requirements like that, but are recommendations but that are solid. Read the Bible cover to cover by itself, by yourself too. No commentaries, just read it as a book and believe. Believe even small if you need to, believe the story for at least the context of itself and that will alone basically solve most common misconceptions and issues on just the first readthrough. After studying the holy scriptures a good bit, then read and study and endeavor to understand the Three Ecumenical Creeds, chiefly the Athanasian Creed which completely identifies and correctly interprets the essential salvic pillars of the Christian religion and become a Christian. Praise Jesu