Chapter 13:6 says “He (the beast) causes all to provide themselves a mark on their right upper limb or on their forehead,” You have the choice to put the mark on yourself. You have the choice to do evil deeds or think evil thoughts. You have the choice to offend God by choosing sin over what is righteous.
The evil one uses the beast to deceive Gods people. He wants you to spend countless hours in front of the television or the computer screen. The more time you spend doing that, the more time he has to deceive you, to cause you to fear, to lie to you, to tempt you, to cause you to sin. The more time you spend staring at your smart phone, the less time you have to spend time with your loved ones and the less time you have to discover God’s will and purpose for your life. The evil one wants to keep you in a trance, in a hypnotized state so you cannot see what is really going on. He doesn’t want you to see what he is really doing which is stealing your time, destroying your peace and slowly killing your spirit.
The television, computer, cell phone, radio is not evil. What is evil is the evil that you allow yourself to do, see, hear or think through these devices that is offensive to God and causes you to sin. What is evil is when you say yes to the evil one by giving into temptation, and by watching and listening to things that go against what God considers sacred and holy. We have the free will to choose. We have the free will to turn the station, not to go to that webpage, to spend intimate time with our loved ones, to close the laptop, to turn away or to just turn it off.
The start of World War 2 was in 1939, which was 77 years ago. I believe that the evil one was hurled to the earth as it says in Chapter 12:13 around the time Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Just as it says in Chapter 12:12 ¹²“Woe to the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows that he has but little time." It’s no coincidence that all these things have occurred since the late 1930’s. We have seen and continue to witness the great fury of the evil one, the steep decline of civilization in the world, the fear, the hate, the lies, the immorality and the destruction.
The evil one doesn’t want you to be prepared for the Day of Judgement. He wants you to be kept off guard, because the more people are deceived, the more souls he will have to join him in hell on the Final Day. 1 Thessalonians 5 says: Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It is not too late. Repent of your sins and turn to God, ask Him to come into your life. Seek Him and he will show you the Truth. In John 14, Jesus says “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
In John 14:6, Jesus says,“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
 
 Again, no one knows the exact day and time of the Judgement Day except God. One thing to note about the importance of the relationship between the two time frames previously discussed in the reading, the 1260 days (3.45 years) of being taken care of in the desert and the authority of the beast for 42 months (3.5 years). Both the place in the desert (the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia) and the authority of first beast (television media in homes of the public) came around about the time of 1939. If we assume that the beast will have authority until the end of time, then when the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. ends there will be .05 years (3.5 minus 3.45 years) until the end of time. If we hypothetically assume that the relationship will end this year (2016), there would be 77 years between now and 1939. The ratio between the figurative time of 3.45 years and actual time of 77 years makes 1 figurative year equal to approximately 22.32 actual years. This same ratio makes .05 figurative years equal to 1.12 actual years or 1 year and 43 days. So basically if we hypothetically say that the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia would end this year according to this theory there would be approximately a little less than 1 year and 2 months left.
 
Few things to note about recent events regarding national relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia:
    • Saudi Arabia has been accused of funding the plot of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001
    • In 2004 Canada surpassed Saudi Arabia as the number one importer of crude oil into the United States
    • On December 7, 2015 then US presidential republican nominee Donald Trump called for a ban on all Muslims traveling into the United States. Islam’s holiest city, which is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the Muslim faith itself is Mecca, which is located in Saudi Arabia
    • In May 17, 2016, the U.S Senate passed a bill allowing the victims of 9/11 to sue the Saudi Government for any role in the terrorists plot.
    • Saudi Arabia threatened to sell off up to $750 billion in U.S. assets if the U.S. passes legislation allowing its government to be held liable in 9/11-related lawsuits.
    • On September 9, 2016, Congress approves a bill to allow 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia, later that month on September 29, 2016, Congress overrides President Obama's veto of the 9/11 bill.