How to Become a Trillionaire
A couple years back, I wrote an article that explained how easy it would be for someone to start a conservative news service and become very wealthy. This process could be streamlined by buying the likes of CNN, firing all the liberal reporters and replacing them with a conservative news staff. With about 90 percent of all news organizations in the hands of leftists, a network that catered to viewers on the right would certainly be an instant hit.
If someone purchased CNN and had no political bias, they could easily improve the financial health of the network. I’m amazed that anyone would watch a network that fixates on attacking Donald J. Trump. As CNN’s ratings have drifted lower, the company shareholders seem oblivious to the loss of viewers. In fact, CNN’s head, Jeff Zucker, was recently rewarded with a new title of chairman of Warner Media News. He was also given a big fat pay raise.
Before Fox News came on the scene, CNN had up to 4 million views during primetime. Over the years, the network bled viewers as it transformed into a leftist propaganda mill. Through the first five months of 2019, CNN had a daily average of 654,000 viewers — down 8% from a year ago, compared with 1.39 million for Fox News (down 3%) and 1.02 million for MSNBC (up 3%).
I know President Trump likes to mock CNN for its rating decline, but the network will never face a financial peril. About 70% of CNN’s revenue comes from carriage fees from cable and satellite operators, which continue to grow even as more consumers cut the cord. S&P Global Intelligence said CNN took in $974 million for its flagship channel in 2018, up nearly 7% from the previous year.
Another thing that protects news outlets like CNN is their sacred crow status. AT&T is the current parent company of CNN, and gives management a free hand in what so-called news it decides to air. Zucker told The Los Angeles Times in an interview that AT&T has respected CNN’s independence. Last year, AT&T donated money to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization that defends press freedom around the world.
There was a time when network officials on various levels were very watchful of ratings and content. When ABC broadcasted the variety comedy show Turn-On, a racier derivative of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, the show’s strong sexual and political humor got the show cancelled after airing that single episode. At least one station (WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio) did not return to Turn-On after the first commercial break, and others on west-coast delay refused to air it at all.
CNN is into its second decade of declining ratings and journalistic standards. I don’t know of any other non-government business outside news that has been so poorly managed.
The rapid growth of the internet has created the opportunity for firms to achieve vast amounts of wealth. During the past year, several high-tech companies achieved a market cap of one trillion dollars. All of them are in areas where the majority of their employees voted for Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election.
If a fairly rich or ingenious person was to create a conservative version of Facebook, Google, YouTube, and various other social media sites, they could very likely create a trillion-dollar corporation. As they would steal away traffic from the current giants, I predict they would have the same reaction that CNN had when Fox News stole half of its viewers within the first few years. They would conclude that they need to become more leftist in what content they allow on their platforms.
In a normal world, someone would have probably already decided to build a media site that would appeal to 80 million evangelical Christians in North America. Every time a rich person has gotten the idea, Satan must have come along and told him it wouldn’t work. I live in a community that had four primary chicken restaurants, and someone had the forethought to decide Benton, AR, needed one more.
The media’s obsession with spreading its demonic leftist agenda, with no regard for money, shows the true importance of salvation in Christ. Satan’s minions want power, wealth, and fame; but their greatest impulse is to help their master steal your soul.
It will be a long time before any one individual will become a trillionaire. Jeff Bezos of Amazon got up to $148 billion before his divorce knocked him down to $111 billion. Once all believers are raptured home to glory, I’m sure the value of our heavenly mansions will put Bezos to shame.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21 NIV).
–Todd
On Observing the Times
Jesus looked directly and deeply into the eyes of the pious religionists and elitist-legalists (the Pharisees and Sadducees). His omniscient, penetrating, piercing, eyes saw into their very souls. These religious zealots and lawyers sought to disprove the claims by His followers that He was sent from God. They wanted Him to immediately perform a private miracle for them, thinking, no doubt, that He would fail, giving them fodder for their attacks against Him.
Jesus, in answer to their probing demands that He show them a sign to prove His commission from Heaven, said:
When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:2-3)
Thus begins the introduction to my latest book, Discerners: Analyzing Converging Prophetic Signs for the End of Days, to be released very soon. The Lord’s admonishment is one of the strongest given for those who are supposedly responsible for knowing what God’s Word, the Scripture, has to say about issues and events –about circumstances—of the times surrounding their lives.
The Pharisees, in particular, were supposed to know, in-depth, God’s Word to Jews. Yet, these not only didn’t recognize the fact that the Messiah was among them, they mocked Him and wanted to–and eventually did—kill Him.
Jesus had performed miracle after miracle. The signals were in every direction that He was who He was–the very Messiah for whom all of believing Israel longed.
Rather than embracing their future King, they mocked, harassed, and ultimately murdered Him, with the help of the Roman government.
They wanted a “sign” from Him, yet He had done wonders that everyone in Israel knew about except, seemingly, these Pharisees and Sadducees who confronted Him.
This man of Galilee represented a threat to their authority of being religionists and legalists who ran things. They couldn’t have their controlling apple cart turned upside down. Theirs was a very lucrative business, and they wanted no Messiah ruining their money-making enterprises.
Saul of Tarsus, of course, was, before his Damascus Road experience, one of the chief prosecutors/persecutors who sought to end the lives of those who followed Jesus–the one whom religionists and legalists considered an imposter, but whom His followers believed and claimed to be Israel’s Messiah.
We must wonder today about those, particularly among the so-called clergy—who cannot or will not discern the times. These totally ignore, or refuse to accept, God’s Word on things to come. They spiritualize or allegorize prophecy yet future concerning Christ’s soon return to put an end to this rebellious world system.
Would Jesus say the same to these today as he said of the religionists of that day?
“O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”
The Bible consists of–as my friend, the late Chuck Missler, used to inform—about 27 percent prophecy. Of that, approximately 14 percent is yet to be fulfilled. Yet only a very few pastors in the pulpits will touch on the prophetic portions. If they do, they spiritualize it or allegorize it to such an extent that they give their congregations little indication that these are things to come, in a literal sense. They certainly don’t examine the prophetic portions about prophecies yet to be fulfilled, checking on and including issues and events of the times that are unfolding–times that even a modicum of examination and exploration would divulge are absolutely ripe with prophesied things on the very cusp of taking place.
Such things to come are bulging at the proverbial seams, trying to burst forth.
Looking at the political situation in America today, as well as at the moral comportment of so many, what discerner from a believer’s perspective can deny that evil men and seducers are growing worse and worse?
Seeing the battles, with the nation divided almost down the middle, who with a discerning spirit can deny that rebellion against the God of Heaven is raging, or that that same God, the Holy Spirit, is acting as never before as Restrainer against the evil that is ramping up moment by moment?
Who that has been given discernment by that same Holy Spirit can but recognize that worldwide hatred for Israel is coming to a head, just as the prophet Zechariah foretold?
All prophetic signs are in process of converging at this very moment during these strange and troubling, although exciting, times; they are exciting because it all means the Lord Jesus Christ must be about to call all believers into the clouds of glory to be with Himself.
The believer that Jesus Christ is who God’s Word says He is must be dedicated to observing these matters unfolding so near the time of His return to establish His righteous kingdom on this rebellious earth. It’s time for Christians to be discerners.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)
–Terry