The Promised Land

It is considered the most sacred place on Earth. But it has also been carved up, sub-divided and fought over for thousands of years. Was the area known as "The Promised Land" really given by God to a "chosen people?" For the Jewish people, it is the land where David was King, where Solomon built a great temple and where Abraham and his descendants could live in peace and prosperity. Christians believe they have a right to this area because, according to the New Testament, Jesus will first appear here when he returns for the Day of Judgment. Since the Crusades, Temple Mount in Jerusalem has remained under Muslim control and is the site of one of the most sacred mosques in all of Islam. Perhaps God's real promise was not to Abraham, but to all of humanity, and that a "promised land" was to be earned–not simply given. Could this land of religious tension and endless warfare actually become a Promised Land of peace as foretold in the Bible?