“For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying peace and safety! then destruction will come upon them suddenly life birth pangs upon a woman with child and they shall not escape” (1 Thess. 5:2-3 RSV). The statement is clear. True peace never really comes to the land of Israel. A proclamation of peace is made, which is rapidly followed by sudden destruction.
In order for this prophecy to be fulfilled, an artificial peace must exist in Israel. What is the likelihood of that occurring at the present time?
On June 23, 1992, the Israeli people elected a Labor government headed by Yitzhak Rabin. It is interesting that Rabin may be just the man who fulfills the terms of Thessalonians.
The job is not new to Rabin as he was Prime Minister from 1974 to 1977. He is admired by supporters as both peacemaker and a man of war.
Dove or hawk?
Four months before the elections, The New York Times, February 20, 1992, reported that: “The dovish side of the man who today recaptured the leadership of the opposition Labor Party would yield large parcels of Israeli-held territory in exchange for peace with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries. The hawk is the former armed forces chief of staff who, as Defense Minister four years ago, instructed his soldiers to use all means available to suppress the then-nascent Palestinian uprising. His orders led to bone-crushing practices that have been widely condemned abroad and certainly have not ended anti-Israeli resistance.” As Defense Minister, Rabin had ordered house demolitions and deportation in an attempt to curb uprisings.
Yitzhak Rabin has experienced a military career that many a modern-day soldier would cherish. In 1967, after rising through the ranks, he was the commander of Israel’s armed forces during their lightning victory in the Middle-East war.
During his first term as Prime Minister, Rabin displayed a method of dealing with the Palestinians which, if repeated, could bring about a condition of artificial peace. While publicly negotiating for peace, he used sudden force to achieve his objective. “On July 4, 1976, while Rabin was Prime Minister, 103 Israelis were held hostage on a hijacked Air France airliner in Entebbe, Uganda. The hijacking was the first to be carried out by Palestinians, in this case the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Rabin contravened government policy by opening negotiations with the terrorists and secretly preparing for a commando raid on the airport” The World Almanac (1974).
1992
In the months leading up to the general election, Rabin publicly proclaimed that peace would come to the land if his government was elected. The first step in this direction was to stop all building for new settlers in the West Bank and Gaza strip. The New York Times, June 25,1992, reported that, “Rabin’ s priorities as Israel’s next Prime Minister would be to promote peace by ending construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.” On July 24, 1992, Rabin announced that his government had indeed done just that. Stopping such construction was sure to placate both surrounding Arab peoples and the government of the United States.
Peaceful proclamations?
A hasty reaction might indicate that the Rabin government is truly committed to resolving problems and is not interested in a false proclamation of peace. Yet could this be nothing more than a repeat of his earlier pattern of leadership? Could he be planning to just talk about peace? An article in the The New York Times of July 24, 1992 indicates the moratorium on construction is nothing more than peaceful proclamations. “The government of Yitzhak Rabin decided not to interfere with more than 8,700 units that are now in various stages of construction — in some cases, little more than a hole in the ground. In addition, the moratorium did not affect 1,000 new apartments planned for areas around Jerusalem that Rabin considers an integral part of Israel and not negotiable.”
Peaceful cries are beginning to come from the Holy Land. The New York Times reports that the PLO and Palestinian delegates to the Mideast peace negotiations are welcoming Rabin’s initiatives. Hanan Ashrawi, spokesperson for the Palestinian delegation, observed, “It looks as if the peace process has been rescued.”
Will this be the cry of peace and safety before our Lord returns?
As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we look to Israel and pray that an everlasting peace will be established. We realize, however, that many events must transpire to bring the Jewish people to a point of repentance and acceptance of their Messiah. Included in these events is the issuance of a cry of peace when, really, there is no peace. The man who is now prime minister of Israel may be just the person who is suitable to this scenario.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One