Heyas! Jesus told us "And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved. But because of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut them short". (Mark13) We also know there are wars, rumors of wars, famines, etc., yet "the end is not yet" Jesus told us. Notice Mark records it as being in the past tense.
There is at least one absolutely true historical interpretation of this whole passage, and it has already been fulfilled within the generation Jesus spoke to by the destruction of Jerusalem and slaughter/persecution around that and following. Many folks make light of this, and such is tragic and spiritually dangerous.
Just as with many prophecies, there are second and third meanings at times. We know that the Son Yahweh promised King David would build the Temple of God is most truly Jesus who sits on the "Throne of David" forever, and the primary promise is not Solomon's Temple. In fact, the Kingdom was taken away from David's physical offspring, so that is why we know that it is the New Jerusalem, The Bride of Christ, who is the Temple Jesus built. We are the living stones built into a spiritual house for offering sacrifices (See Peter's words).
We know that God told Ahaz (who refused to ask for a sign from God) through Isaiah: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." And that actually did occur in history, "virgin" being the the almah who was Isaiah's wife... but primarily we know it is Jesus being born of the truly virginal Mary. So may we not be too dogmatic about our interpretations as some do on the extreme lift and extreme right of the narrow path we walk in faith of our great God and Savior.
I know for a fact we hear of things faster than ever before, almost before it happens it can seem. hahaha I also know that some scientists have proven the speed of light has changed over time, so the physics around Life have shortened in our perspective. We also know that since the Flood, human lifespans were shortened. We also know that the days of potential evil in all of Creation is shortened, since the finished work of Jesus on the Cross and rising from the dead to ascend into heaven until he comes back for his own one fine day.
Sometimes we want to understand things only as we've heard them traditionally taught, yet we forget God Almighty made it plain that even the Jews were condemned for not paying attention to what God actually meant in Scripture due to the traditional interpretations and practices of their Jewish Elders. We must use extreme caution, in my humble opinion, to say "Thus saith the Lord"... when in actuality The Lord did not actually saith thus.
He died. He rose from the dead. He is coming back.
I do not believe things are improving, but I also know that humans are spiritually dead and thus are only associated with evil since the Fall. We are no more depraved now than we ever were since we were kicked out of Eden, in my literal understanding of Scriptures both Old and New (and the belief of many Christians since the 1st Century A.D.). I do know that it is hard to hide behind the idea of how evil human nature is, since the advent of instant communication.
Peace of Christ to you sister, and all who read this thread.
I'm not even near perfect, but I know someone who is.