>>When those words were written it was assumed that the End of Times would be coming soon. Didn’t happen as expected nor in 1000 when many believed that it had to be then. Then every year or so some True Believer with Great Insight convinces a gullible flock that next month is the time.
It matters not.<<
I disagree, with the exception that I do agree that various people will attempt (and have attempted) to use it for their own gain. People have been doing that with Christianity since it’s inception.
I also have little doubt that on the day it actually happens, someone will be making the very argument you are making.
. The day it DOES happen,
The current situation is far from being the prelude to the End. Jim Jones convinced thousands of people that it had come thirty years ago and that things were beyond horrible when they were just a little out of whack.