What if the nation of Israel is wiped out?

Would the end of the world, the return of Christ be imminent if the nation of Israel as we know it ceased to exist?

Would your faith in Christ be shaken or destroyed if Christ did not return immediately if Israel was destroyed by her enemies?

These are questions I have asked others lately and put them into a panic.  In all honesty I am asking not because I have any definitive answers but because they are so very sure that they do.  You see, as I read and study the scriptures more I see that each of us reads and studies from a very closed cultural context, and a very self-centered one at that.  Just a few days ago I heard several Christians state that if America were destroyed, it would of course mean that the end of the world was here.  Since I have had the privilege of international travel, and have a wonderful believing son-in-law from another country, I see things quite a bit differently.  The end of America as a democracy or country might coincide with Christ's return.  But how very self-centered (and incorrect!) we are to think that Christ's eternal Kingdom is dependent on America!  But what about Israel - "God's chosen nation"?  Isn't its very existence a fulfillment of prophecy of end times?

Firstly, we must remember that the nation of Israel as it exists is not the Israel of the Old Testament.  Are the descendants of Abraham special to God?  Certainly.  But who are the descendants of Abraham?  Romans 4 tells us "This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of Abraham's faith.  He is the father of us all in God's sight.  As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations.  He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.  He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be."

Who is Israel?  WE are Israel.  Romans 4 concludes: "Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness. Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."

Secondly, many are trying to affix a date, a time, of the end.  Yes, we are to look for ripening of the ages with scripture in hand.  But this is so that each generation can be aware of the brevity of life, the need for being ready at any moment to step from this "shadowland" into the reality of eternity.  Too many people are looking to the nation of Israel as a "sign".  Beware of signs, especially those that satisfy our need to label others, to boost our already too-large ego, or to draw us away from growing in Christ as we use our time and energy to satisfy our curiosity.  “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son —except the Father only."  Matthew 24:36

Much of my life I have looked at things (and often still do) from a temporal, "this-is-my-little-world" view rather than the universal and eternal view that the Lord has.  Certainly my finite mind and soul cannot begin to comprehend the complexity and longevity that the Lord could show me, but at least over the years He has allowed me to see how very tiny and extremely self-centered my view usually is.  And for some reason He has allowed me to see that others are caught in the web of deceit concerning the nation of Israel.

** Please don't misunderstand - I stand strongly with Israel and will do whatever I can to support not only her existence but her strength.   Most of all her people are in my prayers as I long to see her multitudes see the hope of the true Messiah and not to place their hope of peace in a worldly nation.  But just as I do not think Christ is dependent on America's existence to carry out the plan for His eternal Kingdom, I do not think He is dependent on the existence of the state of Israel, the nation of Great Britain, the house churches in China or the Islamic state of Iran to carry out His will.  Will He use each of these nations and the individuals in them for His purposes?  Of course.  But He is Sovereign and Eternal and Omnipotent and the nations are in His hands.

"For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations."
Psalm 22:28

Homeschool "Tip" #1 - "Scheduling"

A fairly new homeschooler (getting ready to start her 3rd year) asked me to try to put down on paper (aka blog) an explanation of what I have shown her that works for us for scheduling subjects for the year.  Note:  This is NOT a formula that works for many, maybe not even for a few, but since three different Moms have said they have implemented this (or their version of it) and benefited, I thought I would try to describe how it works for anyone that might find it useful.

The way I do scheduling makes it really easy to not stress over missed days, half days, days when we got only two subjects done because Grandma was in the hospital - you know - life happens and our philosophy is that school should not dictate life.  You know exactly when your 180 days are done - every subject is done.  It might actually be 207 days where some of those are 1/2 or 1/3 days, but you have done not only the equivalent of 180 days, but you will finish every subject (contrary to counting hours on the clock, this counts work done - sort of like the real world?!).

Before each year begins, I determine a "Daily Schedule" for each child.  I determine at that time which subjects they will cover, decide how often each week we will do that subject, and for how long each day (estimated).  Now part of it is from teacher's books (recommendation), part of it is from what I have learned works best for our family (taking into account extracurricular, social and farm activities), and part is just what we prefer to do (we work longer M-Th and only do half-day Fridays).  So, Step 1 is to make a "Daily Schedule" (see picture example).  You can find samples online for how long each subject should take your child each day to count as a "credit hour" (for High School).  This Daily Schedule is more like "Suggested Schedule" for us, since some days Math might only take 15 minutes and another day might be a test that takes an hour and a half.



[For older students I do a "High School Plan" when the student is 7th or 8th to try to determine what I think they will cover each year to be ready for any major college (yes, that's in bold because it is a working plan and what I think versus what I end up doing is pretty fluid, allowing me to plug into coops, free classes, free/cheap curriculum, different or more extracurricular as they develop special interests, etc. as the opportunity arises).  If they can do Biology in 8th instead of 10th (they are ready and it is available), mark that subject off your list as "done" and that will allow them more time for other things in 10th!]

After you determine which subjects your student will take that year, the next steps are easy.  Assuming you do a 180-day school year (doesn't matter if it's traditional or year-round or some other form such as "Farm-Comes-First-School-Comes-After" ) you then just need to determine how many days of the 180 you will do each subject.  For instance, we do a full year of Math in 144 days (giving us one "Math Free" day per week, which we chose to be on Fridays).    I look at the book(s) and determine how many Lessons/Tests, etc. there are to finish that subject (be sure to include in your count days for tests, quizzes, labs, etc.).  Then schedule that number of days (e.g. Days 1- 144 then you're done for Math).  If for some reason your child is sick, or you have to take an emergency day off and they all fall on Tuesdays, then yes, you might have more Math to finish at the end of the year than say Science, if the latter is only done on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  No sweat.  "School" or "This Year" is only "done" when all the days for all the subjects are done.  Is it as clear as muddy water yet? (My Dad used to love to say that - - !)

So, for example, you do Science (the whole book including labs, quizzes and tests) for 108 days a year (I like to use multiples of 36 to keep the subjects somewhat easier to schedule), which is three days a week, you just take the whole of your year, and divide it into 108 days.  Yes, some days your student will do Science for 30 minutes and some days it will be 2 hours, even though your "Daily Schedule" plans for 1 hour each of the three days, but it's amazing how it so often evens out overall for the day (one subject longer than usual, two others a bit shorter, etc.).  And our focus again is not on hours in school but actual work accomplished (guess by now you've figured out that I am a big proponent for people earning what they accomplish, not in putting in hours - how great we can teach our children this lesson from an early age!)  Just take each subject, schedule it out into the number of days you want.

One other note - be sure to include a realistic time for non-academic things (chores, extracurricular, travel time, etc.) and of course take into account practical aspects such as subjects that require more attention from Mom being done during baby's nap time, middle school son being at his best during mid-morning to tackle his least-liked subjects, Dad working night shift and needing to sleep on Thursday and Friday mornings, etc. when scheduling specific subjects and times.  The key is - do what is best for YOUR family.  Your schedule will look different than anyone else's and the only time you need to be strict about exactly when something is scheduled and done is when it involves other families, coops, outside classes, etc.
It's a tricky balancing act to level out flexibility and discipline, academics and spiritual growth, social activities and family time, but it is worth every effort to read, revise, rework and reward what works best for your family situation.  Don't compare or compete with others, just enjoy this special blessing of the time spent with your children.  In other words, just find what works for you.

Lastly, never forget that character is more important than academics.  If you teach them diligence, stewardship, honesty and respect they will learn academically whatever they need to when they need it (i.e. it doesn't matter if you spent "too much" time on Ancient History and "too little" time on American History), and more importantly they will carry that character with them throughout every aspect of their lives, as well as through the years.  I always remind others that Character trumps Academics because I need to hear the reminder myself.  Constantly. Continually. Carefully.  Most of all, prayerfully.

Have fun scheduling!  I wish I enjoyed grading assignments as much as I enjoy planning them!