The generation that left Egypt and died in the wilderness is often regarded as a failure. I do not entirely accept that because they lived 40 more years and died in the hope and promise that their journey would be completed by their children. Just so with we who live our lives waiting for Messiah's return. We may not see that event, but we faithfully live our lives in the hope that our children will. Herein lies the difference between cyclical time and the hope embodied in linear time.