Signs of the Times?

I believe in imminency, which means Christ could return any moment.  That's enough for me to be as ready as I can be ready.  You can't get more expectant than possibly right now.  However, I believe God allows us to see more to get us even more ready for His appearing.  Any moment is difficult to sustain and everyone reading here knows that.  Are these signs of the times?

In a technical sense, the signs of the times are all related to the second coming of Jesus Christ, not the rapture.  The sign that Christ's coming is near is a sign for His return to the earth, not believers being caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess 4:16-17).  Nothing has to happen on earth for the rapture to occur, no signs needed.  No signs have to occur before the rapture.  So are these events and circumstances  to occur before the catching up of the saints?  Are they signs?

Let me illustrate.  The coronavirus might be at least pestilence-light.  It's not on the level of what we see in the tribulation period as a sign of the second coming of Christ, but it hearkens to that event.  If this level of disease does what it has done, what will something much worse be like?

For a long time, I have thought that disease would be the factor that starts bringing the whole world together.  It won't all be together until later, but what we see occurring today could be moving us closer to the final event.  Every country has this common cause of fighting disease.  Physical life takes prominence.  Health becomes more important than national interests.  Citizens show willingness to give up personal autonomy for purposes of safety.  It's easier to control the many with only a few.

All the forms of media cause people to more vulnerable to deceit.  Temporal interests become preeminent and break down resistance to lust.  This puts apostasy in the fast lane.  Anyone who knows the Bible can see how evil this world has become.

As a sign during the tribulation, Israel will be saved.  Well, Israel exists now, when it didn't between 70 and 1948 AD.  The rise of the nation Israel isn't a sign, but it is an occurrence that makes way for several signs in the future.

We don't live in an age of signs.  They have occurred in the past during certain periods.  Signs will arise to confirm to the Jewish people that the Messianic age, His kingdom on earth, is soon to come.  These will authenticate another baptism of the Holy Spirit during that future age.

Events and circumstances today remind us of signs which are to come.  They aren't here yet, but we could say that this increasing knowledge relates to what Daniel prophesied in Daniel 12:4.  Prophetic knowledge will increase as mankind gets closer to the end.