I believe that Scripture teaches that everything will get worse, but everything will also get better. Like the parable where the wheat is growing with the weeds, both goodness and wickedness will escalate until Christ's return.
There will be tribulations, yes. But I don't think it's Biblical to hold to a defeatist attitude that everything will just devolve into chaos. I didn't get into any end-times discussion in this series, I didn't think it would be relevant. But as you've pointed out it would definitely be relevant to some people and some viewpoints, so thanks for bringing it up.
Thanks for the reply. To me it seems like the most important issue. I don't really see how a discussion about the ideal form of government or lack thereof is relevant for a Christian unless you presuppose that the gospel will so transform culture prior to the return of Christ (post-millinialism) that we need to know how a godly civilisation should govern itself. Anyway, I look forward to reading more of your thoughts :)