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Has the time of peace and safety arrived?

It appears that some sort of peace deal was agreed to on October 8, which the Israeli Knesset is contemplating today (October 9).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/10/09/israel-hamas-peace-deal-what-we-know/86593386007/

President Donald Trump announced on Oct. 8 that Israel and Hamas have agreed to implement the first phase of a peace deal aimed at ending the two-year conflict…

"An agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid," Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari wrote on X. …

The first phase of Trump's plan called for the release of Israeli hostages within 72 hours of an agreement in exchange for the release of Palestinians jailed in Israel.

Once every hostage has been released, Trump's plan said Hamas members who agree to give up their weapons would receive amnesty. It also called for the immediate restoration of humanitarian aid.

Note that the reason Hamas took prisoners of war two years ago was in response to the Israeli policy of imprisoning and torturing Palestinians—many of them children. The whole idea from the start was to force the Israelis to release them in a trade. So it appears now that some sort of trade is the main part of this agreement.

However, today’s euphoria could end very quickly. The Israelis have a long track record of killing negotiators in order to stop peace deals. The Israelis attacked Iran last June after agreeing to negotiations, and they bombed Hamas negotiators in Qatar on September 9. The article above continues…

The deal appears to be a step toward ending the brutal conflict. However, a previous ceasefire during negotiations to end the conflict fell apart in March.

Israel conducted airstrikes into the battered enclave on March 18 that ended a truce that began in January.

This peace deal does not include disarmament of the defense forces of Hamas. They are not so naïve as to believe that disarming will bring peace. Hamas leaders know that they cannot trust the Israeli terrorist government. It would only give Israel the power to fulfill its goal of ethnic cleansing and to turn Gaza into a Jewish “Riviera” (as Trump put it).

Hamas has appeared willing to hand over governance of Gaza to a coalition of Palestinian technocrats as part of the plan. It has been less willing to completely disarm and commit to playing no future role in the governance of Gaza.

In a statement, the group thanked Trump for his efforts to end the war and bring about a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

"Our people's sacrifices will not be in vain, and that we will remain faithful to our pledge and will not abandon our people’s national rights: to achieve freedom, independence, and self-determination," a statement posted to Telegram said, according to Reuters.

Once the prisoners of war are released, pressure will ease against Netanyahu, giving him an opportunity to renew the bombings. The excuse will be that Hamas did not fulfill all of their obligations. In fact, nothing will satisfy the Israeli government, which is determined to take the entire land of Palestine (and more) for themselves. They will not give up this dream until they have driven out or killed every Palestinian in the West Bank and Gaza—or the land becomes uninhabitable because of nuclear fallout.

Nonetheless, Paul commented on this situation in 1 Thessalonians 5:3,

³ While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

Therefore, I have little confidence in any lasting peace. In fact, I see this peace deal as the signal that “destruction” is coming “suddenly.”

With that in mind, note that the price of silver broke above $51/oz today for the first time ever. I wrote years ago that when silver reached $50/oz it would signal the Jubilee and the downfall of Mystery Babylon. As I write this, the price has again dropped just below $50, but my main projection has been that silver would close the week at $50 or higher. So watch the price movement today and tomorrow.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the 4^th day of the feast of Tabernacles this year. It correlates with the 4^th miracle-sign in the gospel of John, where Jesus multiplied the bread and fed the 5,000. See John 6:1-13, or read my commentary on John’s Gospel.

We are now in the time of Tabernacles (from Tuesday to Tuesday). The peace deal and the price of silver are presenting these signals during the feast, making them more significant than usual. Let us continue to be watchful and see where it leads us by next Tuesday.