When Will the Rapture Happen? How Can We Be Raptured?

Question: Before, the pastors often preached that when the Lord comes, we will be raptured before the tribulation, but now disasters are growing ever greater and we have not been raptured. The pastors say our not having been raptured means the Lord has not yet returned and that He will come and rapture us into the kingdom of heaven during the disasters. I feel a little confused: When will the rapture happen? Are we to be raptured before the tribulation, or during the tribulation?

Answer: Hello! Your questions are quandaries for many believers in the Lord. In regard to rapture, many pastors confirmed that the Lord would come before the tribulation and that believers would also be raptured before the tribulation, but now the great tribulation has come and many believers in the Lord have not been raptured. The religious pastors then say that these believers’ not having been raptured before the tribulation shows the Lord has not yet returned and that He will surely come during the disasters, and they even let believers wait to be raptured amid the disasters. Think about it: Does their perspective have any basis in God’s words? Does it tally with the biblical prophecies? Can some believers’ not having been raptured before the tribulation prove that the Lord has not returned?

Before we can understand when the rapture will happen, we must first understand that God’s return in the last days and believers’ rapture are two different things. The Lord will definitely come before the tribulation; as for when the rapture will happen, it depends on when we welcome the Lord. If we welcome the Lord before the tribulation, we are raptured before the tribulation; if we welcome the Lord during the disasters, then we are raptured during the disasters. In Revelation 3:7–12, there’s the clear prophecy, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said He that is holy, He that is true, He that has the key of David, He that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write on him My new name.” Believers in the Lord all know that the church of Philadelphia is a church that is raptured before the tribulation in the last days. This being so, the Lord will definitely return before the tribulation, for only by the Lord returning and appearing to man can man be raptured—this is for certain.

Maybe some people will ask, “Since the Lord returns before the disasters, why haven’t we been raptured?” The Lord Jesus has told us long ago, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” is mentioned a number of times. From this we can see that the Lord will return in the last days and express many truths. All who focus on listening for God’s voice to greet the Lord will, when hearing someone testifying that the Lord has returned, accept and obey it if they can confirm that it is God’s voice, and are therefore those who follow the footsteps of the Lamb, who dine at the wedding feast of the Lamb, and who are raptured before God. This shows us that when the rapture will happen depends on when we hear God’s voice. Those who hear God’s voice and welcome the Lord before the tribulation are raptured before the tribulation; those who hear God’s voice and welcome the Lord amid the disasters are raptured during the disasters. Therefore, if we want to be raptured before God earlier, then when we hear someone testifying the news of the Lord Jesus’ return, we should listen for God’s voice to welcome the Lord. This is a crucial factor in being raptured before God’s throne.

Today, across the whole world, only The Church of Almighty God is openly testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned as the incarnated Almighty God. Almighty God has expressed millions of words, and they are exactly the Holy Spirit’s utterances to the churches. These words are all the truth, and not only have they revealed the mystery of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, but they also clearly explain the source of human corruption, how Satan corrupts mankind, how God thoroughly saves mankind from the bondage of sin and purifies us, how mankind’s final outcome will be determined, which people will receive salvation and enter the heavenly kingdom, which people will be eliminated, what mankind’s destination is, how Christ’s kingdom will be realized, and so forth. Almighty God’s work in the last days completely accomplishes and fulfills the prophecy of the Lord Jesus, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). Almighty God’s words are the truth, and they conquer man’s heart and make him utterly convinced. Those who are raptured have all read a great deal of the utterances of Almighty God and recognized God’s voice, and so returned before God. This fulfills the Lord Jesus’ words, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). All those who have accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days have attended the wedding feast of the Lamb, enjoying the supply of the living water of life. They are the wise virgins and the ones who are raptured before God’s throne, before the tribulation. By undergoing God’s judgment, chastisement, trials and refinement, they have achieved transformation and purification of their corrupt dispositions and been made into overcomers.

Now the great tribulation has befallen us already, and many people who long for the truth are investigating Almighty God’s work in the last days. They have read many of Almighty God’s words and recognize them as the voice of God. One by one, they are returning before God’s throne. These people are those who are raptured during the disasters. If we want to become one of them, we must hurry to investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days and listen to the words expressed by Almighty God to see whether they are God’s voice. Only in this way can we welcome the Lord’s return and be raptured. If we rely on our notions and imaginings and do not focus on listening to God’s voice to welcome the Lord, that would make us the foolish virgins. In the end, we will miss our chance to welcome the Lord’s return and be swept away by the great disasters.

Editor’s Note: We trust that, from reading this article, you will now know when the rapture will happen, and find the way to welcome the Lord and be raptured. If you have any questions or confusion, you’re welcome to contact us through our live chat options below. We are available 24 hours a day to answer your questions.