For everybody who has read the article, what are your opinions on it?
The Revelation repeatedly refers to a time period of 3.5 years , e.g. 42 months, 1260 days, a time, times, and the dividing of time, middle of the week) perhaps to make it as clear as possible that these are not loosely connected events haphazardly happening over long periods of time.
Technically there's a 7 year period which is significant, but it's mostly the back half where the action intensifies. The start of the final 7 years is marked by an agreement to rebuild the temple, (no one knows when this will happen). For 3.5 years there is world peace. This is sometimes referred to as the plastic peace, or as Paul puts it, "when they shall say peace and safety, sudden destruction will come".
Then something dramatic happens and the peace is taken away. There's a sudden shift against anyone who isn't complying with the standards of the government, in this case that standard being an electronic chip which society uses for buying and selling. You can't buy or sell without it, and these people who refuse to take it are somehow turning it into a moral/spiritual issue which is gaining traction.
The trumpets are meant to get the world's attention for this reason. Like in just about any disaster situation, the disaster tends to causes people to reconsider their values. While good people talk about rejecting the mark, God will break the world from its doddering complacency and make them take notice.
