Ah, if only these people listened to Jesus :
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority
Then Christ would have given them "peace of mind", LOL !
;)
Matthew 24:3
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
^ People care about timelines
... vs 4-8
4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
^ Jesus gives something to look for
vs 36
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
^ So it is not for us to know the exact date, but being aware of the "the times" is still important (from what Jesus said).
Jesus didn't "throw us a bone" there is a reason why he gave us VERY SPECIFIC signs to watch out for, why? From your post it would seem you hold the opinion that trying to figure out ANYTHING about the End of the World is fruitless.
It's a copout position IMO. "Have your cake and eat it too" kind of argument. According to Matthew 24, it is exremely important for the people living in the times he is describing to recognize it and act upon it in an aggressive way:
vs 42-44
42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
I personally see a Biblical contridiction here. We are supposed to be "ready" for something that we "will NOT expect"
Isn't that a command to "expect the unexpectable"?
-Sab