Jim,
Your story reminds me of a similar circumstance that I was in years ago when I was about to begin leading a Bible study on "eschatology" or the book of Revelation and my plan was to show how many current events were fulfilling prophecies from so long ago and were all happening right now to bring about the tribulation period. I had everything from FEMA camps and RFID chip info to executive orders and legislation calling Christians terrorists and just loads of documentation on what is going on now to show that the trib could begin any time. This was back in 1998 when these subjects were largely unknown still. I had spoken to a select few about what I planned to share and many were coming up to me excited to see what I had and I was very excited about this opportunity.
 
Well, then I made the mistake of sharing a video in which I had compiled a lot of my info from different video sources as a sort of preview of what I would be covering over the course of the time we had, I shared this with a lady who was planning to come and who had a lot of influence. I thought she would continue her enthusiasm and become more excited by what she saw but I was instead shocked to discover that she hated the video and lashed out against me and it by spreading the word to everyone that "Barry's Bible study is not Bible based". By this, she must have meant that I was not planning to open the Bible at Revelation chapter 1 and read it and teach what I thought it meant before moving on to chapter 2 and doing the same etc. To me the subject was Bible based in three dimensional reality before our eyes.
 
I had no idea that this was happening until I approached a different lady who was eager to come only a week before and let her know when we would be starting but she tried to get away from me in the parking lot and I had to follow her to her car. Then she said she couldn't come because her kids had soccer and she wouldn't have time etc. I was dumbfounded and wanted to know why she changed so drastically from just before when she was so excited by my description of what I had to offer and she told me about this other woman who was telling everyone that she had seen my materials and that it was not "Bible based". So she did not want to come any longer. I nearly cried when she hurriedly drove off and left me standing there alone in the parking lot. I was so hurt because no one wanted to come any longer and the Bible study never happened. But God said for me to not be upset because they were not rejecting me but Him. They will not endure sound doctrine but want teachers with itching ears who only teach what they want to hear so they can praise their teachers and the teachers can have their ears scratched. They want Revelation to be a nice bed-time story about people and things afar off but not anything to do with our day, not us.
 
When I was young, say back in the early 70's, end times subjects seemed so far off and I always wondered at the foolishness of people described in the Bible who could take a mark and worship a man as God and all that is described and I wondered how people could be so foolish. Now I am living to see the answer. They just don't want to know the truth until it is too late and they are living the horror that was warned of and ignored because they had more important things to do like kid's soccer practice. Wave bye bye!