Technology has made the end times possible. As a result of the Enlightenment, followed by the Industrial Revolution, followed by our current progress in information/communication we have surpassed all previous gains historical or otherwise. That technology has ushered in the last days.

E.g., the "mark of the beast" (Rev 13:16-18, 14:9-11) would have been impossible even as late as the mid-20th. However, the exponential growth of computer technology in the last few decades has rendered it not only doable but inevitable. It makes a cashless economy possible, and once all transactions are carried by the computer networks, it is ridiculously simple to require "that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Rev 13:17). Ever try to use a credit card that has been rejected for insufficient funds? The merchant swipes the card, his terminal talks to a computer perhaps thousands of miles away, and immediately the merchant is informed that the card can't be used.

And how long will it be before cards are obsolete, replaced by implanted microchips that serve as unfalsifiable personal IDs? Given the plague of identity theft, an alternative that eliminates it will be an easy sell. It's unique to the individual. It can't be forgotten, lost or stolen. There's no fumbling through a wallet full of plastic for the right card. Wave the chip past the reader and everything else is done by the computers. What citizen of the 21st century wouldn't welcome that convenience and security?

Once that's in place, the mark can be implemented. Anyone not accepting the chip or the authority of the AC will out of the loop. There will be no cash. No one will be able to buy without the chip. No merchant will be able to sell to someone without it. And if the person does accept the chip prior to the mark, but refuses to worship the AC, it becomes a lo-jack device that pinpoints the person's location for the authorities every time an attempt is made to use it, or it is in the proximity of a scanner.

The technology for the mark exists right now. All that's left is good, old fashioned salesmanship.