I am always amused by people being so much interested in the future things, Kabbalistic interpretations – anything that sounds good but can not be disproven. We have so many challenging things in the world that Hashem gave us _today_, where the mitzvos apply. Is He really wants us to spend time in speculation instead of addressing what he gave us?
I suspect that people feel better when they get involved into something that is not verifiable. I am “learning Torah”, “learning about Moschiach” and see myself (and is seen by others) as a tzaddik and a masmid. Try doing something where there is an objective challenge, a test to pass, resistance to overcome, people to help… There is a huge difference between a surgeon who saves every patient and the one who just enjoys cutting people up. There should be same in other things.
This was less of a problem in olden time, I think. Your neighbors saw you every day and knew who is real. In our days, it is easier to pretend ( I am not saying on purpose).