Latest Audio - 2026-01-24
Who is Laodicea?
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)
"I Prefer the Lawless"
Kurt Hahn – a German Jew – devised the Outward Bound scheme in 1941 as a training exercise for naval cadets to help young men develop character through adventure. He fled to Britain at the time of Hitler, and founded Gordonstoun School in Scotland where many of the Royal Family have subsequently been educated. Hahn believed passionately in the virtues of competence and compassion learned while striving for excellence in vigorous endeavour. Speaking of his charges, who came from all walks of life, he famously said, "I prefer the lawless to the listless". For even today, young offenders sent on Outward Bound courses have only half the reconviction rate of non-Outward-Bounders.
Christ effectively repeats what Kurt Hahn says regarding "the lawless vs the listless" when He addresses Laodicea's lack of character development by saying ...
- I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
- So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15,16)
He prefers someone totally cold and lawless to a listless follower! For it is this lack of zeal for the things of God – particularly lacking a genuine love of the Truth (II Thessalonians 2:10) – that makes Laodicea so spiritually distasteful that Jesus Christ has no option but to spue it into the Tribulation.
Mr. Armstrong's Understanding
So who are these people? Where do they come from? In this very unstable world of 2026, with the spectre of Jacob's Trouble not too far off, these questions have become more and more relevant to our lives!
When Mr. Armstrong was alive our understanding of who would comprise the Laodicean church was that it would arise after the true Church had fled. As a result of the Work of the Church (WCG) – preaching the Gospel to the world as a witness as per Matthew 24:14 – radio listeners who had ignored the message would suddenly come to their senses within the Tribulation and become Laodicea, totally separate from WCG. That preaching to the world as a witness therefore was the open door of Revelation 3:8 and when that door shut, at that precise time the beast would arise, the Church would flee and Laodicea would form from those left behind. Note Mr Armstrong's explanation in the 1972 booklet, The Book of Revelation Unveiled at last!
Yes, multiplied thousands who now hear this warning from God will not heed it now. They are deceived. They still believe and follow their various human leaders, or groups. Their minds are not fully opened to recognize this as God's last warning to this world! They are not repenting or turning to God, now! Oh, how well I know that! But when they see these things actually occur which they heard from no others – when they have seen how the world was deceived and misled about the Great Tribulation, and they have gone through it – when they see these terrifying supernatural SIGNS in the heavens, then, at last, hundreds of thousands of them – perhaps even some of you – will at last recognize the TRUTH, and at last turn to God in complete submission, fully repenting, and coming through Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world! We of this ministry well know that our real reward in the harvest of precious lives will mostly come after our labors are finished! ( The Book of Revelation Unveiled at last! )
That was Mr Armstrong's – and our – clear understanding and perspective at that time and many of us felt that as long as our apostle was with us we wouldn't have to worry too much about being Laodicean. Each week we'd be updated with how the Work was growing and spreading, and be motivated, corrected and encouraged, so the concept of being labelled "Laodicean" wasn't generally part of our thinking. After all, the chances are Christ would inspire Mr. Armstrong to tell us when the time came to flee! Absolutely nothing whatsoever was understood about the 40 years of shattering in which we currently find ourselves. Jesus Christ simply did not reveal this period to him, but in hindsight it has been a very valuable time in which we have had to make the revealed Truth our own, and not "just" what we heard each Sabbath and Holy day.
Church Eras
Within the above understanding was another aspect: the 7 progressive Church Eras of Revelation. These eras – from Ephesus to Laodicea – describe God's Church down through the centuries. But that understanding also recognised all 7 qualities in each successive era as well – with the appropriate one dominant in each case. Notice how Mr Armstrong explains this in his sermon: Warning To The Church :
Let me tell you what I have always said for fifty years. Fifty years ago I was writing this. The message to the seven angels of the seven Churches in the second and third chapter of Revelation has a dual interpretation and meaning. Number one: it is telling of the seven successive eras, or stages of time in 1900 to 2000 years, of the Church. But number two: it was telling of the condition in the Church at all times. But it starts out with the Church at Ephesus; and that was the situation that was the dominant situation in the first and second century, and so on – back at the beginning, in the days, and right after the days, of the original apostles.
Laodicea is the DOMINANT condition in the FINAL Church – drowsy, and asleep, and lukewarm. And Christ is going to spew them – most of them – out of His mouth, or at least half of them. Matthew 25 would indicate half of them, and I sometimes wonder if there are half of us that ... We're just not very much on fire for God, brethren. I say that to your shame, every one of you. I say wake up! I'm not going to say, "You're right, and everything is so wonderful, and everything is going fine," and flatter you. I'm going to tell you the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts. And I hope it hurts. I hope it hurts enough that you wake up, and realize, and do something about it. And I hope that you go home from this service, and get down on your knees, and ask for the mercy and the forgiveness of God, and ask Him to come back into your life – because that's what you need to do. And your eternity may depend on it!
Well, now then, I have said that the Laodicean condition will dominate at the tail end. But I have said that all of those conditions – all the way from Ephesus up to Laodicea, all seven – are present at all the time in the Church; but that now, in the Philadelphian Era, we have the Laodicean condition. That's what I am talking about today. It's here. But we are not Laodicea. We also have the condition of Ephesus. We have lost our first love, and it is time to get back to it. Every one of those conditions is in this Church, but the dominant one is what I want to read you now. ( Warning To The Church – July 1, 1978 )
The Apostasy
So the apostasy we witnessed did not come from a clear blue sky. Its seeds were there in WCG in the 1970s when Christ had to lead the Church back on Track following Mr Armstrong's heart failure. Mr Armstrong himself recognised this – and warned us of it:
But, the BAD NEWS, as it appears today, my dear brethren, is that we, undoubtedly of the Philadelphia era – my son's ridicule notwithstanding – are in serious danger of BECOMING also the Laodicean era. I am personally much concerned about that. If YOU are NOT concerned, then indeed we are in mortal DANGER. ( What God Never Did – Never Will – Allow To Happen – GN Aug 1979 )
There was clearly a real danger at that time of WCG actually becoming Laodicea had it not been led back on track. For how does one era end and the next begin? Is it abrupt? Or is it gradual, as one condition becomes progressively more dominant over a period of years? Note what is pointed out in the sermon: From Sardis to Laodicea :
When did the Sardis era end? When did the Philadelphia era begin? Brethren, I want you to know there was no just sudden ending of the one and beginning of the other. There was a transition where one gradually, over a period of some few years, merged from the one into the other. ( From Sardis to Laodicea – June 24, 1983 )
One thing the apostasy should have taught us is that not all who profess to be Church members are truly part of the Body of Christ. Several have yet to genuinely repent – even though they may have been physically baptised. As the apostle John points out: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (I John 2:19) Mr Armstrong also recognised the same within the Church in the 1980s:
[To repent] meant you have to ADMIT you've been going in the WRONG DIRECTION. You have to ADMIT YOU'VE BEEN WRONG. YOU'VE BELIEVED WRONG! YOU'VE LIVED WRONG! YOU'VE DONE WRONG! YOU ARE WRONG, THROUGH AND THROUGH. And many of you have NEVER admitted that
I've come to KNOW even MEN THAT HAVE RISEN UP IN THIS CHURCH to the rank of apostle –well, not apostle but of EVANGELIST. And [they] apparently have NEVER ADMITTED THEY HAD BEEN WRONG. THEY ARE JUST SO 'GOOD'. THEY ACCEPTED THE TRUTH, and they've BEEN ACCEPTING it. They BELIEVE and ACCEPT the DOCTRINE, in THEIR OWN 'goodness' and THEIR OWN 'righteousness' –SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS! And they haven't got any more real salvation than a cat, a dog, or a cow.
A lot of people have come into this Church, and a lot have become ministers and have gone through Ambassador College. They've been taught. But they never had the Spirit of God, and they NEVER REALLY COMPREHENDED THE SPIRITUAL TRUTH. ( Passover Examination – March 4, 1982 )
The Vital Need for Repentance
This critical need for repentance is something we ALL need to take to heart. It would be dangerous indeed to think this applies just to other people, other church groups, for it is specifically mentioned in Laodicea's case:
- I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
- As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Revelation 3:18,19)
God's looking for those who will follow His Way whole heartedly, as brought out so many times in the scriptures, and so very often by king David in the psalms – a man after God's own heart!
- But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
- When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
- (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. (Deuteronomy 4:29-31)
The Fruit of Laodicea
One aspect many forget is that eventually, when they have finally learned their lesson and fully repented, the numerical size of Laodicea appears to be even larger than that of Philadelphia: 144,000 from all tribes in Israel except Dan, plus an even larger innumerable multitude from across the earth. WCG never approached anything remotely near this size. But this repentant fruit will be produced within the Tribulation – not before – for that key aspect of repentance is why they are allowed to go into Tribulation in the first place (Revelation 3:19)!
WHO Are the 144,000? You have probably heard many interpretations. They are all in error. Men are unable to interpret this prophecy. The first thing to notice is that the TIME of the sealing of this 144,000 is yet in the future – it is after the Great Tribulation and the heavenly SIGNS, and just before the plagues of God's Judgments! It has not happened yet!
Second, this prophecy is plain, and means just what it says – 144,000 of the 12 tribes of Israel – 12,000 of each tribe. Where are they today? Where are the lost ten tribes? But these 144,000 are not all!
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands… And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9, 13-14)
And what is sealed in the foreheads? They are sealed by the Holy Spirit, in their foreheads. If you will turn to chapter 14:1, you will see that it is the Father's name that is written there. Jesus' very last prayer for His Church was that they would be kept in the FATHER'S name. Today we find the churches of this world under every possible manmade name; many named after men. But 12 times in the New Testament His own Church is the CHURCH OF GOD – yes, GOD'S Church. ( The Book of Revelation Unveiled at last! )
Today's Dominant Condition
So what is today's dominant condition? It certainly is not Philadelphian. But is it Laodicean? Looking at the apostasy in the light of what Mr Armstrong says above about some even becoming evangelists who have no more real salvation than a cat, a dog, or a cow, it is exceedingly doubtful if a large number of those who were with us in WCG were really part of God's Church at all.
But the REAL question is, has that position changed today? What is now the TRUE situation within the plethora of splinter groups? How many have actually taken that full step of genuine, heartfelt repentance, resulting in being impregnated by the very Spirit of Almighty God? Undoubtedly some have – and are therefore described as "the remnant [Strongs 3062 – residue/remainder] of her seed" (Revelation 12:17) when grouped with those who are actively in close contact with God, daily LED by the Spirit that flows through them as zealous embryonic Sons of God. But does it apply to all who profess to be in God's Church?
Could it be that a large number – with a Laodicean mindset – are not YET part of her seed at all? They have YET to repent? Have YET to take that initial major step towards conversion – even though they may have physically gone through the ritual of baptism but just "got wet"? Could it be that such people will only truly repent when they find themselves within the Tribulation, just as Mr Armstrong taught all those years ago? Though I'm sure he never imagined such people would be comprised not of mere radio listeners, but include a significant proportion of those who sat in Church services every week as well!
- Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.
- And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
- And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
- And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. (Ezekiel 33:30-33)
It appears that one of the purposes of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 could be to wake up the Laodicean church – reminding them of what they should have taken on board years ago, and letting them know it is not too late to reap an eternal reward, but it will come at a price.
Who is Laodicea?
So who IS Laodicea today? Fortunately that is not for us to decide. Jesus Christ – and Jesus Christ alone (John 5:27) – has been given that job by the Father. So at this stage absolutely NO ONE – no human – knows. Yes, "let the people decide" (the meaning of the word Laodicea) is a dominant view within the democratic world at large. And Churches of God within such countries also exhibit the same characteristics – including a characteristic lack of both zeal and love of the Truth in many cases. But the final Laodicean Church is not yet visible. It has yet to form. For until one group is taken to a place of protection and final training, and another group remains to face the coming Tribulation, absolutely no human being can categorically say for sure who is in which group.
Our desire to be counted part of Philadelphia shouldn't be influenced by the promise of a Place of Safety, but more what that will mean – being pillars in God's temple, foundational members of the government of God, and teachers of the Way of God. This focus is far more important and we simply trust Jesus Himself to protect His Church physically at the right time. Realising that OUR righteousness is as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6), our concentration must be to "seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these [physical] things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
Our goal must be to be counted with those who "overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Revelation 12:11) Over and over again, Jesus Christ instructs us, as His end-time Church that our focus must not be on saving our own physical lives – (Matthew 10:39, Luke 9:4, John 12:25) – but rather on the things God counts as important: His character being built within each one of His sons.
Yes, there is a time of great trouble coming on this world, but instead of desperately trying to save our own necks, we need to keep our focus on why were called as the firstfruits and the training programme we are part of: making the Gospel available via His end-time apostle once more ... giving His people the correct spiritual food in due season ... personally getting back on track when we see we have wandered off ourselves ... and to do it all, not fearing what must come, but knowing and trusting that it is God's good pleasure to give His begotten sons the Kingdom (Luke 12:32):
- For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
- Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
- What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? ...
- ... For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
- Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:29-31,38,39)
- For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for prosperity and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
- Then you will call upon Me, and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart . (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NASV)
The world’s largest oil reserves… vast gold reserves… rare earth elements… mixed with terror finance… narco-terrorism and revolutionary socialism
This is:
Venezuela 2026
USA: The Midnight Raid On Venezuela
“Cocaine trafficking was a transparent excuse for attacking Venezuela. US President Donald Trump ordered the midnight raid and seizure of the country’s president because he sought a bigger prize…” (jpost.com)
But First - Venezuela Country Profile
“A virtual guide to Venezuela, officially, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, a country in northern South America that borders the Caribbean Sea in the north and the North Atlantic Ocean in the east.
Neighboring countries are Colombia in the west and south west, Brazil in the south and Guyana in the east. The country shares also overlapping maritime borders with Barbados, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico.
With an area of 912,000 km² Venezuela is slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Germany or slightly more than twice the size of the US state of California.
Venezuela has a population of 34 million inhabitants (in 2024) of whom 6 million live in the capital and largest city Caracas. The country’s population is concentrated along the Caribbean coast, only 5% of all Venezuelans live south of the course of the Orinoco river. Official language is Spanish. There are also 26 recognized regional languages.
The main religion is Christianity (80%), Roman Catholic 48%, Protestant 32%.” (nationsonline.org)
Poor Economic Management
“Venezuela is one of the most highly-urbanised countries in Latin America. It has some of the world’s largest proven oil deposits as well as huge quantities of coal, iron ore, bauxite and gold. It has been one of the world’s leading exporters of oil but the country experienced poor economic management in the early decades of the 21st Century.
Former president Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013, styled himself a champion of the poor during his 14 years in office, pouring billions of dollars of Venezuela’s oil wealth into social programmes.
The government of his successor, Nicolas Maduro, has had to struggle with plummeting oil prices and an economic and political crisis that has left Venezuela in a state of near-collapse. The country struggles with rampant inflation, goods shortages, unemployment and crime. Seven million Venezuelans have fled abroad to neighbouring states.” (bbc.co.uk)
Why Venezuela? Why Now?
It’s Not About Drugs
“It was never about fentanyl, cocaine, or marijuana, nor was it about democracy. The drugs were just an excuse. It’s really about the oil.
Here’s the proof: Venezuela is not a major drug producer but a minor cocaine transit country, with 90% headed to Europe. The world’s largest cocaine producer is right next door in Colombia, with neighboring Peru and Bolivia running second and third. None have the huge oil reserves that Trump covets.
Venezuela does not produce or apparently traffic in fentanyl, the far more lethal illicit drug in the United States. The major producer is Mexico, and the chemical to produce it is supplied by China.
So why send the Air Force, Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard, and squadrons of lawyers to Caracas in the middle of the night?
It’s ‘ALL ABOUT OIL’
It’s about the world’s largest proven oil reserves sitting under Venezuela. It’s ‘our’ oil, Trump declared. ‘We built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, drive, and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us during those previous administrations. And they stole it through force. This constituted one of the largest thefts of American property in the history of our country,’ he thundered as Nicolás Maduro was on his way to a New York jail cell. (jpost.com)
Oil Is Still The Lifeblood Of Prosperity
“Forget fentanyl and cocaine. The substance Donald Trump really wants to stop flowing out of Venezuela is crude oil to China. This is not because America craves the stuff itself. The United States produces more oil than Saudi Arabia and more gas than Russia. No, what really bothers Washington is Beijing’s special deal with Venezuela’s narco-communist thugs: to buy oil on the cheap, reportedly at a $14-per-barrel discount on the price of Brent crude, the world benchmark.
That’s a deal that came to an end with the extraordinary events of the past few days. From now on, sanctions-busting tankers heading out from the Venezuelan coast will be turned back by acting President Delcy Rodriguez, if not by the American navy, to the huge frustration of China’s leaders.
Whether we like it or not, the rest of the world’s obsession with climate change is fading – and with it fades any realistic prospect of artificially pricing fossil fuels out of the energy market through carbon taxes.
The race to dominate the artificial intelligence industry, with its massive demands for electricity, is being fuelled not by windmills but by gas in America and coal in China.
Instead, thanks to the exorbitant cost of wind and solar energy, our industrial electricity prices are four times those of America.
As Venezuela reminds us, the world economy relies on fossil fuels now, and probably well into the future. It’s a lesson we can’t afford to ignore.” (dailymail.co.uk)
Ties With Terror
“This is where Iran and Hezbollah enter the picture – not as slogans, but as logistics. For Iran, Venezuela offered something rare: a friendly regime with weak oversight, access to ports and airstrips, financial opacity, and ideological alignment against the United States and its allies. It was a permissive environment in the Western Hemisphere – far from Middle Eastern scrutiny and uncomfortably close to American shores.
For Hezbollah, Latin America has long served as a fundraising and facilitation zone. Illicit trade corridors, shell companies, and criminal schemes that exploit diaspora networks were not incidental. They were infrastructure, and Venezuela provided state cover. When narcotics money intersects with terror finance, the threat is no longer theoretical. It is operational. What was dismantled was not merely a government, but an ecosystem.
Venezuela was never just Venezuela – it was the moment when narco-terrorism, revolutionary socialism, antisemitic scapegoating, and global paralysis finally collided, and the world was forced to choose between preserving a broken system and confronting what it had spent years refusing to name.” (jpost.com)
Venezuela’s Greatest Crime
Lost in the din of spurious explanations for President Trump’s assault on Venezuela is THE REAL CRIME. It wasn’t about drugs, it wasn’t about the oil itself, it was about MONEY, DOLLARS, as the following article explains:
“The official explanations for the destruction of Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and the prolonged asphyxiation of Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela vary in detail but converge in tone.
Each was framed as a moral intervention: weapons of mass destruction, protection of civilians, restoration of democracy, the war on drugs.
Each was accompanied by an avalanche of humanitarian rhetoric, legal justifications stretched to breaking point, and an obedient media chorus.
Yet history has a way of stripping power of its disguises. When the dust settles, a far less noble pattern becomes visible. These leaders did not merely defy US foreign policy preferences; they committed a far graver transgression.
They challenged THE MONETARY ARCHITECTURE OF AMERICAN POWER by daring to sell oil outside the dollar system. That, more than any human rights concern, marked them for punishment.
At the heart of US global dominance lies not simply military might, but monetary hegemony. The dollar’s status as the world’s default reserve and trading currency is the invisible scaffolding that sustains American imperial reach. It allows the United States to run chronic trade deficits without consequence, finance wars without domestic sacrifice, and weaponise sanctions with devastating effect.
De-dollarisation is therefore not a technical adjustment; it is a political heresy. States that flirt with it are not treated as economic innovators but as existential threats. Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, and Maduro learned this lesson at catastrophic cost.
The modern architecture of dollar supremacy took shape after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971. When the United States abandoned the gold standard, it faced a problem: how to sustain global demand for an unbacked currency. The solution was geopolitical rather than economic. Through strategic arrangements with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies, oil — the most critical commodity of industrial civilisation — was priced exclusively in dollars. In return, the US provided military protection and political support.
Thus emerged the petrodollar system. Any country needing oil needed dollars; any country holding dollars funded US deficits; any country clearing transactions passed through US banks.
Monetary power was fused with military power, and global finance became a tributary of American sovereignty. This system transformed the dollar into a tool of empire. Against this backdrop, attempts to trade oil in non-dollar currencies were not mere economic experiments. They were challenges to the central nervous system of US power.
The US response was predictable: intensified sanctions, attempted coups, recognition of parallel governments, threats of arrest, and now increasingly reckless rhetoric about military action. The charges — drug trafficking, authoritarianism, democratic failure — are interchangeable props. THE REAL OFFENCE IS MONETARY DISOBEDIENCE.De-dollarisation, in short, threatens not American prosperity alone BUT AMERICAN IMPERIAL BEHAVIOUR.
As more countries quietly seek alternatives to the dollar, the question is no longer whether the system will fracture, but how violently the guardian of that system will react. Empire rarely retreats gracefully. It punishes first — and explains later.” (frontline.thehindu.com)
The Almighty Dollar IS Under Threat
“The American obsession with de-dollarisation cannot be understood without grasping how deeply the dollar underwrites the US economy. Dollar dominance allows the United States to import more than it exports, consume more than it produces, and borrow without fear of currency collapse. It allows Wall Street to siphon global savings, the Pentagon to operate hundreds of overseas bases, and Washington to impose unilateral sanctions with extraterritorial reach.
If countries begin trading oil and strategic commodities in non-dollar currencies at scale, this privilege erodes. Demand for dollars falls, borrowing costs rise, inflation becomes domestic rather than exported, and military adventurism becomes fiscally constrained. DE-DOLLARISATION, IN SHORT, THREATENS NOT AMERICAN PROSPERITY ALONE BUT AMERICAN IMPERIAL BEHAVIOUR.” (frontline.thehindu.com)
Fact Or Fiction?
So much has been written about the American banking system, especially around the time of the Civil War. During the Civil War (1861-1865), President Lincoln needed money to finance the War from the North. Some sources claim that the Bankers were going to charge him 24% to 36% interest. So that is where greenbacks came into play.
Greenbacks were emergency paper currency issued by the United States during the American Civil War that were printed in green on the back.
Was Lincoln assassinated because he went against the banks? The banks wanted to charge people interest, and Lincoln knew it was wrong to do that. With greenbacks, NO ONE WOULD BE CHARGED INTEREST, just what they owed.
“He reportedly said, ‘I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the financial institutions in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe.’” (azquotes.com)
President John F Kennedy vs Federal Reserve
Many claim that President John F Kennedy was assassinated because he wanted to destroy the Federal Reserve bank.
“On June 4, 1963, a virtually unknown Presidential decree, Executive Order 11110, was signed by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy with the intention to strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Federal Government AT INTEREST. With the stroke of a pen, President Kennedy declared that the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business.
This matter has been exhaustively researched by the Christian Common Law Institute through the Federal Register and Library of Congress, and the Institute has concluded that President Kennedy’s Executive Order has never been repealed, amended, or superseded by any subsequent Executive Order. In simple terms, it is still valid.
President Kennedy’s Executive Order 11110 gave the Treasury Department the explicit authority: ‘to issue silver certificates against any silver bullion, silver, or standard silver dollars in the Treasury’. This means that for every ounce of silver in the US Treasury’s vault, the government could introduce new money into circulation based on the silver bullion physically held therein.
As a result, more than $4 billion in United States Notes were brought into circulation in $2 and $5 denominations. Although $10 and $20 United States Notes were never circulated, they were being printed by the Treasury Department when Kennedy was assassinated. Following President Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, the United States Notes he had issued were immediately taken out of circulation, and Federal Reserve Notes continued to serve as the ‘legal currency’ of the nation.
Kennedy knew that if the silver-backed United States Notes were widely circulated, they would eliminate the demand for Federal Reserve Notes. This is a simple matter of economics. USNs were backed by silver and FRNs were (still are) backed by nothing of intrinsic value. As a result of Executive Order 11110, the national debt would have been prevented from reaching its current level (almost all of the $9 trillion in federal debt has been created since 1963).
Executive Order 11110 also granted the US Government the power to repay past debt without further borrowing from the privately owned Federal Reserve which charged both principle and interest and all new ‘money’ it ‘created’. Finally, Executive Order 11110 gave the USA the ability to create its own money backed by silver, again giving money real value.” (foundationfortruthinlaw.org)
Follow The Money
As the article points out, the national debt would have been prevented from reaching its current level - $38 trillion - with over $1 trillion in interest payments in 2025 - and increasing - year on year!
When we strip away all the biased accounts of events, and throw out the conspiracy theories, what are we left with?
What Actually Happened?
- Both President Lincoln and President J F Kennedy defied the banks and printed government currency.
- The other factor which it’s vital to note, loans carried no interest, or usury, in Bible terms.
- Both men were assassinated.
- Their successors quickly removed the new currencies and went back to the old system.
As always - it’s not what they say - it’s what they do.
Perhaps President Trump Should Take Note…
Trump’s Attempt To Take Charge Of The Fed
“President Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook is the most dramatic step yet in his effort to take control of the independent central bank and its vast authority over interest rates. Trump has for months demanded that the Fed lower rates to boost the economy, make housing more affordable, and lower the cost of servicing the national debt. He has castigated Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not moving sooner to cut them. By replacing Cook, he could add enough voices to the seven-member board of governors to potentially outvote Powell and move interest rates in his preferred direction.” (wsj.com)
Fed Chair Powell Says He’s Under Criminal Investigation
“Fed Chair Powell says he’s under criminal investigation, won’t bow to Trump intimidation. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is under federal criminal investigation related to the $2.5 billion renovation of the central bank’s headquarters and his congressional testimony about that, Powell said. Powell said the probe was the result of the Fed ‘setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of President Donald Trump.’” (cnbc.com)
Venezuela 2026
The lesson we can learn from the latest event is that you attack the US banking system and their currency at your peril.
The Petrodollar System
- “Monetary power was fused with military power…
- Global finance became a tributary of American sovereignty.
- This system transformed the dollar into a tool of empire.
- The almighty dollar MUST be protected against all threats…
- The real offence is monetary disobedience.
- De-dollarisation threatens not American prosperity alone but American imperial behaviour.”
Basic Principle
“…the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)
America is a mega borrower.
America’s 2025 interest payments were over $1 Trillion - and continue rising into 2026.
America is drowning in debt - to the tune of $38,602,386,910,588. That’s $38.6 trillion dollars (at the time of writing).
American power is tied to the ‘almighty dollar’.
Prior to 1971, the US dollar was backed by gold.
But today the American dollar is an unbacked currency.
To answer the question:
Why Venezuela? Why Now?
Both President Lincoln and President J F Kennedy defied the banks… both men were assassinated.
Venezuela was challenging American Power - the Power of the almighty Dollar.
“It is the one transgression that cannot be forgiven, negotiated, or reformed away.
Those who commit it are not corrected;
THEY ARE DESTROYED.
The lesson is written in the ruins of Baghdad, the chaos of Libya, and the suffering of Venezuela.”
(frontline.thehindu.com)
American power currently relies on the almighty dollar. But Bible prophecy reveals that God will break the pride in US power. More information on this vital subject can be found in The United States and Britain in Prophecy.
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
Read online or contact email to request a copy
