Expert: Rev. Stuart Woodward - 6/15/2011

Question
As a minister, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this, and get a gauge on where the Baptist ministers/pastors/lay leaders are on this issue.  I would have approached the pastors at my church, but I am not interested in being thought of as a kook.

So here's the deal.  Jesus would return before the generation that saw the restoration of Israel would pass.  The restoration was in 1948.  I've read in the Bible that there are a few references to a generation being specifically 70 years (though in one passage a generation is referred to as up to 80 years, through struggle).  1948 plus 70 is 2018.  As I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, I take 7 years off and I get 2011.  This leads me to suspect that the Rapture will take place sometime this year.  

Now this disclaimer.  After the Harold Camping escapade, which I watched with fascination, I am not interested in date-setting, and if 2011 passes without a Rapture, then I will conclude that I was wrong or misinterpreted what's written.  But, we are to know the seasons of the year, and we are not meant to exist in darkness but in light, so I can go both ways on this.

So, just to reiterate: is there any interest in this promise from Jesus about 70 years after Israel is restored going on in evangelical circles behind the scenes?  I'm not crazy nor a fanatic, so please don't think I'm standing with a placard on the street, but thinking about this issue has stepped up my feelings of urgency about living in the end-times and spurred me to start conversations about salvation.
Thank you!

Answer
Hello Matthew,
Thank you for your question. If it helps I don't regard you as a 'kook'. I am English and minister in England and regret to say that by and large there is far too little interest in the things of the second coming of Jesus among Baptists here. Some seem to take the view that because Jesus said no one could know the day or hour we should ignore it, forgetting that He also told us that those who watch the signs of the times would be ready.
There is nothing wrong with your reasoning but it depends on a few unprovable assumptions. One is that the recognition of Israel in 1948 is the restoration the scriptures refer to. I have heard speakers look to an earlier date and others say that the scriptures re not referring to the modern nation state at all. The second is how we are to define the term 'generation' and the third is whether or not you are right in believing in a pre-tribulation rapture.
Whatever the truth, if your research has the effect of making you ready then that is a good thing.
The other context of prophecy regarding the signs of the times certainly makes me believe the return of Jesus is not too far away. The wars and rumours of wars issue together with the increase in earthquake activity is sobering. I also tend to the view that if God intervened at the tower of Babel, He can't be far from stepping in again and rescuing mankind from an excess of knowledge.
Regarding the interest in these things in the evangelical community I cannot really help you as far as the USA is concerned. In England there are still some Pentecostal groups that keep the issue to the fore but they are not overly influential in the wider sphere. Perhaps one of the other USA based experts could help you here.
I hope these comments are of some help and encourage you to keep on studying. May we both be ready when the moment arrives.
God bless you.
Stuart Woodward