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The Media in Prophecy

The fall of Babylon was accomplished by a coalition of nations: Media and Persia. By race, the Medes were an Iranian people. Persia, of course, is also modern Iran. So the two are connected in ancient times, and in a way united in the present day.

But we have often thought of another possible connection, which Ron Oja first brought up some years ago. He says that God is "hooked on phonics," and so many things are prophesied inadvertently. Ron's gifting is to discover the lighter side of prophecy, as he is convinced that God also invented laughter and humor. Who would have guessed?

In this light, the ancient nation of Media may have a modern fulfillment in the media. In other words, today's media may play a key role in the overthrow of Mystery Babylon.

Of course, it is plain that the media has already played a key role in helping Babylon remain a "mystery" (that is, a secret, hidden from public view). But that role may be changing even now with the collapse of so many major newspapers. The latest to close is the Post Intelligencer in Seattle, which is distributing its final edition today.

http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/2009/02/23/philadelphia-newspapers-bankrupt/

Bankruptcy, of course, is not a death sentence, but relates more to a Jubilee, because it cancels previous debt and gives them a new start on a different footing.

We are seeing the transformation of the media from news print to internet news. The P. I. in Seattle will cease printing news, but they are setting up an internet news service in its place. Even so, they are putting 90% of its staff out of work, and the 10% who remain will get significant pay cuts.

As journalists and reporters lose their jobs, it is getting more and more difficult for them to find work. What will they do? Many will have to find work in another profession or reinvent themselves. I suspect that many of them will find that they are now free to report news that had been previously suppressed.

For example, White House correspondents have had to be very careful about reporting "bad news" about the President or its cabinet, because they would quickly lose their "press pass" to the news briefings. That is just another form of blackmail that has gone on for a long time. Once these reporters become more independent, however, it is likely that a lot more of the suppressed news will start to surface. The CIA then will have to release a lot of disinformation to keep people confused.

Secondly, the recent release of the Yoo memos has angered many reporters, because the Bush administration was following Yoo's legal opinion that "national emergency" meant that the president had the power to suspend the right of free speech and freedom of the press. Newsweek reported on March 2, 2009,

In perhaps the most surprising assertion, the Oct. 23, 2001 memo suggested the president could even suspend press freedoms if he concluded it was necessary to wage the war on terror. 'First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully,' Yoo wrote in the memo entitled, 'Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activity Within the United States'."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/187342/page/1

The media has always been the primary source of information for daily events. When used properly, it is the watchdog that prevents governments from overstepping the boundaries of power. When it is controlled by the government, the people only get information that is permissible and favorable to that government. Hence, the Soviet Union was brought down by the lowly fax machine, because the government lost control of the spread of information. The official newspapers lost credibility, and the people lost "patriotic devotion" to the state, once they were able to compare actual eyewitness reports with the official reports from the state-controlled press.

Much the same situation could be happening here in America. This time, it is the internet that is the problem. The spread of information is even greater today with the internet. And now there is the problem with all of those unemployed reporters, who, I suspect, have some unreportable information in their files. And because Mystery Babylon requires secrecy in order to maintain its power, I suspect that many reporters are about to turn on their old slave-master.

A "perfect storm" appears to be brewing, both in the financial system and in the media. With the media, the bankruptcy of major newspapers, the loss of jobs among reporters, the rise of the internet, and the anger caused by the Yoo memos, could easily converge into a perfect storm that helps to breach the gates of Babylon.