Because of the Mayan calendar, many people believe that 2012 will be the end of the world " the year we are now living in. They believe these are the end times of the Bible.

Jesus says for us not to be ignorant of the times we live in. We should be observant, cautious, and seeking God about life, death, and afterlife. God wants all eyes on him: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness." " "Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Hebrews 4 says we should 'labor' to enter into the rest of God. It doesn't tell us to labor in work, but to labor to enter into rest. This is very profound if you think about it.

Abraham and the Land of Israel

Abraham was the one to whom God originally promised the land of Israel (then called Canaan or the Promised Land). We read about his attitude toward this in Hebrews 11. We are told that he did occupy this land, but he lived there in tents (he didn't even build a house).

In Hebrews 11 we read that even though Abraham knew God had given it to him, he lived there as an alien and a foreigner. He was looking for a spiritual city built by God himself that would be his eternal home. We are told Abraham desired a better country than the one they were in " that was given to them by God.

Abraham, the father of our faith, actually lived on the real estate by the Mediterranean that is called Israel, and he knew God had given it to him. But this was not his focus. He wanted something better and more spiritual. To him, God himself was much more important. All most Christians today can see is Israel, not God. They live opposite to Abraham.

Were the Jews Given All the Land God Promised Them?

As I said earlier, there is a lot of talk today saying God owes Israel more land. These Bible commentators say God never gave Israel all the land he promised to, and that he still must keep his promise to them today. They say the way he will do this is by preserving them in another upcoming war.

God has increasingly given the Jewish people more lands in the various wars " 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982. God has been very faithful to the Jewish people, and has helped them win these wars, even in the face of almost certain destruction. This is remarkable and noteworthy.

But what do the Jews do with the land God has given them? They give it away. They don't retain their inheritance " just like we don't live in our spiritual inheritance as New Testament gospel Christians.

If you read Joshua 21:43-45, which is the story of the people taking the land of Promise, you read this: God gave Israel ALL the land which he had sworn to give them. Could this be more clear? Israel may not have occupied all the land, and we read about this in Joshua too. But the reason they didn't occupy it all was due to their disobedience to God. You can't blame God for their disobedience.

All the Families of the Earth Are to Be Blessed

In Genesis, God told Abraham that ALL the families of the earth would be blessed through him and his 'seed,' or his descendents. We know from Galatians 3:16, 19 that this seed is Jesus, and it clearly says the Bible only meant ONE seed, Jesus, and not many.

The Jews are not excluded from this, they are part of it. They are included in God's New Covenant. But they must do things God's way to be included. Largely, they have chosen not to be included in the things of God, which has been their choice throughout history. Even though God has used them anyway, they have chosen to be disobedient and to reject God's ways.

The same can be said about Americans in general. They have likewise chosen not to be included. We talked about our 'Manifest Destiny' in a prior article, and how it was changed from spiritual to political. In the same way, most Americans (like Jews) choose to live secular lives and exclude the spiritual.

The Jews have already accomplished the purpose for which God called them: they produced Jesus. They have fulfilled their destiny. God still honors his covenant with them, but has always been on God's terms and not theirs. They just continue to reject those terms.

Israel Accomplished God's Will While They Were in Captivity

When did the Jews bring forth the Messiah in his first coming? It was after they were taken captive by the Assyrians, and by the Babylonians, and

while they were still in captivity to the Romans. If God has more work for them, which it appears he does from passages in the New Testament, the Jews do NOT have to be a free, independent nation for God to use them to accomplish his purposes.

It's US who puts this condition on things because of our end time focus and preoccupation. And, I might add, the same thing can be said about America and Americans.

Are we so busy listening to all the end time gurus that we can't hear the voice of God? Each generation gets so caught up in thinking they are it, that they can't see the bigger picture.

I too hope that ours is this generations. And many signs say it could be. But should we put all our eggs in this basket? Every generation so far has been wrong. Is this walking by the faith that Jesus says he is coming back to look for (Luke 18:8)? The faith he wants to see is in fulfilling his Kingdom here and now. Faith that the end is indeed coming is a no-brainer. Just don't use your faith to decide when it will be. Jesus says this is a waste of faith.