which side matters to Relevation?

A lot of people today are interpeting all the sayings in the last book as refrencess to technological advances of the world, such as the locusts or whatever being some sort of battle tank, instead of some creature. Is that assumption made so people can guess when they're going to be raptured or what is the reason for it? With all this anxiety, you'd think there'd be a college for the end times...Apopaclypse Prepratory Academy, or something...