I believe an important overlooked sign about the coming Antichrist may have occurred in 1992.  The sign occurred during this 1992 Israeli election. The reason I believe this is because of something the Apostle Paul said:

 “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.  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 like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 New American Standard Bible).

 In order for me to show you the sign, I need to first provide you with some background.  In the verse mentioned above, we must remember that Paul was writing this to first-century Christians.  By saying, “you yourselves know full well,” we can infer that Paul was reminding his readers about some commonly accepted view the early church had about prophecy.

At this time, the book of Revelation had not yet been written.  The main book for the study of prophecy in Paul’s day was the Old Testament book of Daniel.  And the fact that Jesus quoted much from the book of Daniel caused the early Christians to take the book and its prophecies seriously.

I believe Paul was reminding his readers of a passage from Daniel about the Antichrist coming and making a security agreement with Israel.  Daniel said:

 “And he (the Antichrist) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wings of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate” (Daniel 9:27).

 You see, the prophecies in Daniel are mainly concerned with Israel, the surrounding nations and the Messiah.  So, when Paul said, “While they are saying ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction will come upon them,” Paul was talking about unbelieving Israel and the coming of the one who will cause the destruction.  In other words, while Israel is saying “Peace and safety,” then the Antichrist will come with his false security agreement.

Now coming back to the sign that may have begun occurring in the 1992 Israeli election.  Paul’s words, “Peace and safety” can also correctly be translated from the Greek as “Peace with security.”   And if you recall, this was what was being offered to the Israeli people in the 1992 election.  When the Israeli people voted for Rabin, they were rejecting Shamir’s old policies of security without peace, and accepting the Labor Party’s new polices of pursuing peace – peace with security.

You see, in that election the Israeli people actually began saying “Peace and safety!” by voting for Yitzhak Rabin’s peace with security policies. And, if you listen, you’ll notice that every following administration has been saying it to this day.  This 1992 election marked the turning point in the Middle East peace process.  The Israeli people began accepting the implementation of UN Resolution 242 – trading land for peace.  It started Israel down the dangerous road of trading land for peace, leading them to the precarious situation in which they find themselves today.  This has set the stage for the coming seven-year security agreement with the Antichrist.

Rabin’s victory secured Israel’s acceptance of the American-sponsored peace process that had its beginning at the Madrid Conference.  That following year, in 1993, Rabin signed the Oslo Accords that started Israel down that “slippery slope” that the Shamir government so feared – the road of trading land for peace.  In October 1994, Rabin signed a treaty with Jordan and, in December, he was awarded the Noble Peace Prize.  Then, at a peace rally in November 1995, Yizhak Rabin was assassinated.

The more I think about it, the more I believe a prophetic road sign in history occurred in that Israeli election in 1992.  In that election, the majority of the Israeli people actually began saying, “Peace and safety!”  And, as I have said, this election marked a daring turn in the Middle East peace process – trading land for peace.  Yet, if I’m right, and this was a prophetic road sign in history, then the implications for Israel and our world are frightening.  According to the Apostle Paul, instead of the peace the Israeli people so desperately cry out for, “sudden destruction” is on its way.

In other words, the beast of Revelation is soon to rise from the sea. 

Stay tuned!