“Why don’t these people forget all this groundless “altruism” and just eat, drink, and be merry (which logically is what they should be doing)?”
Because they are being driven/led by Satan, who deceives ... even the “elect” in the end times. And logic has no bearing in those end times and in what people will choose to believe.
As for the antichrist, I believe he will come from one of the organized religion entities (even the ‘elect’ will be fooled). It could either be from the Catholic church organization or from the New Apostolic Reformation crowd of false prophet worshippers. Either way, only those that have been granted discernment, having prayed for it, will be saved from being deceived by the antichrist. He will be that good at fooling everybody.
I harken back to how fooled I was by GWB. During his first term, I actually thought that he and Cheney were good, honest, decent Christians that had only the best intentions for America. Scary that a person can be so wrong on so many levels and still ‘be’ a Christian. I take that as a cautionary warning to all who assume that they know, and are shock sure, what is right and who is “good”, going forward.
I now pray for guidance from God in making those “discernment” decisions... because even though we had no other choice back then, the idea that some are good and decent men could, and no doubt will, be severely tested in the future.