Are We Headed For Jericho?

A friend recently turned
me on to the CBS television series,

Jericho. I watch so little network television
that I confess to never having seen the show before this
week. Obviously, then, I am quite uninformed as to the

overall plot and

previous episodes. What I saw Tuesday evening,
however, stunned me. Why? Because it very aptly depicted
what could become a very real-life scenario for these
United States in the not-so-distant future.

If I accurately picked
up the basic plot of the show, average, freedom-loving
citizens in the Western U.S. are fighting against
tyrannical elements of their own government, including
military forces. The State of Texas has declared its
independence from the corrupt new government and another
civil war is breaking out in America. And all this was
predicated upon a nuclear attack, which some believed
was an inside job. Am I close?

Contributing further to
my amazement was the way Jericho used real-life
political events to depict America`s fall into tyranny.
I was flabbergasted to see the characters of Jericho
refer to the Continuity of Government act as the
foundation for the government`s declaration of martial
law after the nuclear attack had occurred.

Ladies and gentlemen,
the Continuity of Government (COG) act is not television
make-believe: it is the real deal.

To read up on COG, go to
Wikipedia`s entry at

Continuity of Operations Plan.

In addition, I have
reported the potential problems associated with COG in
this column.

See

here.

See also

here.

Here is a quote from the
Wikipedia entry: "The George W. Bush administration
put the

Continuity of Operations plan into effect for the
first time directly following the September 11, 2001
attacks. Their implementation involves a rotating staff
of 75 to 150 senior officials and other government
workers from every Cabinet department and other parts of
the executive branch in two

secure bunkers on the East Coast . . . .

"The Bush Administration
officially admitted the implementation of the plan on
March 1, 2002. Key congressional leaders say they didn`t
know this government-in-waiting had been established.

"On July 18, 2007 Rep.
Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., a member of the U. S. House
Committee on Homeland Security, was denied access to the
classified version of the continuity of government plan.
Though members can access classified information, this
is the first time documents have been denied."

As I wrote on

January 12, 2007, "In a nutshell, proponents of
COG envision a terrorist attack that would precipitate
the suspension of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically,
COG would authorize Congress to appoint its own members,
including those in state legislatures, without a vote of
the people. COG even envisions the enactment of such
authority for reasons of `incapacitation` (whatever that
is) even if no emergency exists."

Noted author, Dr. Jerome
Corsi,

wrote this of Bush`s enactment of COG,
"Translated into layman`s terms, when the president
determines a national emergency has occurred, the
president can declare to the office of the presidency
powers usually assumed by dictators to direct any and
all government and business activities until the
emergency is declared over."

Contrary to the ranting
of politicians and media talking heads about how great
things are going in these United States, millions of
Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the total
corruption, crookedness, and chicanery of government
officials. They have had it with being lied to, cheated,
and beaten down with thousands of rules, regulations,
and laws, which serve only to empower the political and
business elite. They do not trust any of their
politicians to tell them the truth. Their money and jobs
are disappearing; their children are being brainwashed
in government schools; their homes and property are
being taxed out of existence; and even their country`s
very sovereignty is being forfeited to foreign
interests. I believe the level of frustration and anger
is rising to the point that a Jericho scenario
could very easily occur.

I personally believe
there are only three reasons why we are not already
living the Jericho experience. One, people have
been quite comfortable in their own personal lifestyles.
They have enjoyed comfortable homes, nice automobiles,
fine clothes, and pleasure-filled vacations. Who in
their right mind wants to give up the tranquility of
hearth and home? Two, most of America still rests upon a
Christian foundation. As such, Americans believe in
peace and harmony. They believe in law and order. They
believe in submitting to authority. Three, there has not
been an overt, large-scale attempt by government to
confiscate the firearms of the American people.
Remember, it was the Crown`s attempted

gun confiscation at

Concord that ignited the

American Revolution back in 1775.

However, the
materialistic comfort of the average American is quickly
fading away. People are losing their jobs, their
livelihoods, their homes, and their savings. More than
that, they are losing hope for a better tomorrow, and
they are losing confidence in their government to
honestly protect their freedoms—even their national
identity.

Plus, most Christians
know that there is such a thing as lawful rebellion.
Even Christ`s early disciples said no to various
governments during extreme situations. And for us
Americans, freedom and liberty runs deep in our veins.
Many of us have not buried our Don`t Tread On Me
banners. We share the sentiment of Benjamin Franklin who
said, "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."

Furthermore, Hurricane
Katrina put the American people on notice that their
government is more than willing to confiscate their
firearms. Plus, the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling
regarding the right to keep and bear arms is likely to
authorize even tighter government regulation on this
fundamental right. Even more disconcerting are the
reports we are hearing from soldiers coming home from
Iraq and Afghanistan telling us that they are being told
to prepare for orders to turn their weapons on the
American people, should the President declare martial
law. (I have had more than one Iraq War veteran tell me
this.)

I am afraid that the CBS
television series Jericho is more than fantasy:
it could be a prediction of the future. As Thomas
Jefferson said, "I tremble for my country."

Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the
pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola,
Florida. He hosts a

weekly radio show. His
website is

here.