Every generation thinks they're the last one. Even Paul assumed he'd still be alive at the end. And it's even worse when swindlers and doomsayers have access to international media like never before.

In reality, the majority of Revelation is about Roman persecution and the downfall of the Roman empire. They couldn't say it outright because Roman officials read peoples' letters, so they had to write cryptic messages. 666 is the number of Nero, which can be proven by the fact that in regions where Nero is spelled differently and adds to 616 instead, copies found there have 616 as the number of the beast.