End Times Expert Breaks Down Revelation — and Reveals Why He's Convinced There Will Be a 'Rapture\

Author Jeff Kinley is hoping to inspire Christians to dig a little deeper into Bible prophecy in an effort to understand exactly what the scriptures say about the end times, warning believers that the "storm clouds are gathering."

Kinley, author of the new book "Wake the Bride," is cautious not to name specific dates, time-lines and figures, but he believes that the current world dynamic is providing some signs that humanity is forging ever closer to what he and other Christians believe will be a biblical end.

"It looks like things are really shaping up for a showdown in the Middle East," Kinley told The Church Boys podcast. "I mean, think about it, if someone came in right now and brought peace to that region, that area, to that conflict, we would hail them as a world leader."

He believes that this is exactly what a figure known in biblical prophecy as the Antichrist will accomplish during the tribulation period — a term that some Bible scholars use to describe a proposed seven-year time-frame during which the Earth will face unprecedented challenges.

Listen to Kinley break it all down below (interview starts at the 36:00 mark):

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Kinley, among many other evangelicals, believes that there will be a rapture event during which Christians will leave Earth and ascend to heaven before the chaos of the seven-year tribulation period unfolds; it concludes, in popular theology, with the second coming of Christ.

"Everybody really senses that this is a powder keg — that something is really getting ready to happen there with Russia moving in," he said of the current situation in the Middle East, noting that people are wondering how the Islamic State, Syria and Russia all play into a potential biblical end-times paradigm. "So it's a real dark moment in history — it's a volatile moment in our existence."

Despite being cautious and noting that there's no real way to know when end-times events will unfold, Kinley said that there are signs unfolding around the globe and in the Middle East, in particular, that lead him to believe that the situation is moving in that direction.

"It's really unknown as to how these things are really going to play out, but I do think that these things are like chess pieces being placed into their exact locations to prepare for what I think will be a future conflict in that area," he said.

Kinley defended a pre-tribulation rapture, which, despite seemingly having widespread support among some evangelical cohorts, has come under fire from other Christian leaders; he believes that Christians will be spared from God's wrath during the tribulation.

"As you look at the pattern of scripture, we see four things that are happening that tell us that there is a rapture event coming, and I think one of them is just the pattern of deliverance and rescue throughout scripture, specifically in the Old Testament," he said. "God never promises to save his people from tribulation or hard times as it relates to the world ... however, when God himself lowers his wrath and his fury on the Earth, his pattern has been to remove the righteous prior to that event."

Kinley continued, "He did it, of course, with Noah before the flood. He did it with Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, and he did it with Rahab with the battle of Jericho before he destroyed that town."

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Taking these examples, Kinley said that believers are generality spared in the biblical narrative when God outpours his wrath, and contends that the rapture would be no different, as it would spare Christians from many of the horrors of the last days.

As TheBlaze previously reported, some evangelical and Christian leaders reject the notion of a pre-tribulation rapture, opting for other options, including a midtribulation, posttribulation — or merely a rapture of sorts that is one and the same with Jesus' second coming.

Read a detailed explanation of the rapture debate here.

Kinley also discussed his views on the Antichrist, who he believes will rise after the rapture to bring "some semblance of stability to the Earth," though that calm and security will be short-lived, as chaos will unfold along with a series of judgments that God will be impose.

For now, he's hoping to inspire believers to be more aware of what the scriptures say about what's to come.

"The climate is coming together and the storm clouds are gathering," Kinley said.

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