Paul in his statement to Timothy said "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come..." - 2 Tim 3:1-5
He didn't focus on external events. Other writers did that in various other locations within Scripture.
His emphasis was on a pronounced deterioration of human character. And if you look at the statements that follow later in the chapter, the warning appears to be directed at the community of believers!
He described a culture that was:
- consumed with self-interest and gain
- proud, arrogant, abusive
- disobedient, disrespectful
- ungrateful and irreverent
- without love, unforgiving
- slanderous, without self-control
- having only a "form of godliness" (in name only) but lacking in substance
