Believers in the Lord all trust in the Lord Jesus’ promise: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2–3). Many people, based on the Lord’s words, wait for the Lord to come and rapture them into the kingdom of heaven. They believe the Lord’s promise will not come to naught, and that when He comes, He will certainly rapture people directly into the sky. If people are still on earth and have not been raptured, they think this proves the Lord has not returned. Is this view correct?

After the Lord Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, He did go to prepare a place for us. But do you know how He prepared this place? Do you know what work should be done when preparing this? Can you be sure that what the Lord prepared was for us to enter heaven alive? Or was it for us to enter the spiritual realm after death? In the religious world, many people are waiting for the Lord to come and take them up into the kingdom of heaven, but have they thought about where exactly the kingdom of heaven is? Where are those who’ve welcomed the Lord caught up to? Some say, of course, they are caught up into the air to meet the Lord. But is it really like that? How can people live in the sky? Can a person of flesh live after being raptured into the sky? Others say, “They are raptured into heaven!” What are heaven and the spiritual realm? They are where people go after they die. Our physical bodies cannot directly enter the spiritual realm; only after death can we enter the spiritual realm. The Lord prophesied His return so that we would welcome Him while we are alive. Dying and returning to the spiritual realm cannot be called welcoming the Lord. So, isn’t believing that entering the kingdom of heaven means being raptured into the sky just man’s notion and imagining? It’s just simply unrealistic. If our comprehension of the Lord’s prophecies is distorted, waiting for the Lord’s return might all be a wasted effort—just waiting in vain.

So, is the place the Lord has prepared for us in heaven or on earth? Let’s look at what the Lord’s Prayer says: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In addition, the Book of Revelation prophesies: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven … Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:2–3). “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). These prophecies mention “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ,” “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,” and “the tabernacle of God is with men.” This refers to Christ’s kingdom being realized on earth. God will establish His kingdom on earth. The Lord Jesus asks us to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth, so that His will may be done on earth. He never said that God’s kingdom would be established in heaven, and much less did He ask us to hope to one day be raptured into the air. Everyone, think about it—isn’t that the case? So, if we are always hoping to be raptured into the air to enter God’s kingdom, isn’t this out of line with the Lord’s words and His intentions? The kingdoms of the earth will become God’s kingdom. The Lord comes to do His work on earth in the last days, so the kingdom of heaven is on earth. Where the Lord is, there the kingdom of heaven is. The kingdom of heaven will ultimately be realized on earth.

So what does it mean that the Lord went to prepare a place for us? Mainly, He prepared birth families for God’s chosen people on earth, proper circumstances, and the chance for them to welcome the Lord and attend the feast. So, the place where God’s chosen people are born, and the circumstances in which they accept God’s work, have all been predestined by God. Then what did the Lord mean by saying “Where I am, there you may be also”? Now, God has become the Son of man and come to earth. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, we have also been born in the last days and have come to earth to accept God’s work and salvation. This is what the Lord meant by preparing a place for us! The Lord has returned in the last days, but only a few in the religious world have heard God’s voice and turned to Him, accepting Almighty God. These people have been caught up.

God has now become flesh as the Son of man, expressing the truth to do the work of judgment. When we hear God’s voice, welcome the Lord, and are caught up before God’s throne, this is truly being “caught up.” When the church is caught up, this does not mean all believers are caught up, but rather that the wise virgins who hear God’s voice and welcome the Lord are caught up. So, what work does God do after people are caught up? It is what the Bible prophesies: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). It is Almighty God expressing the truth to do the work of judgment. This 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” (John 16:12–13). The work of judgment of the last days done by Almighty God is to establish the kingdom of Christ on earth. Before the great catastrophes begin, God will make a group of overcomers. This group of overcomers will be the pillars in God’s kingdom; they are the ones who will reign as kings with God in the kingdom of Christ. Those made perfect by God during the catastrophes will be the people of His kingdom. All those who consistently refuse to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days will be revealed and eliminated by God and will have no part in the kingdom of Christ. Today, Almighty God has already made a group of overcomers in China. These overcomers are bearing testimony for God all around the world, propagating and spreading God’s kingdom gospel. Now is the crucial time when God is making His people in all nations perfect amid the catastrophes. All who accept God’s work of the last days have followed the footsteps of the Lamb and have been caught up before God. God’s chosen people eat and drink His words, have experienced His judgment and chastisement, and their corrupt dispositions have been cleansed and changed. They have all borne true testimonies. God has already gained a group of overcomers. When God’s work is finished and the great catastrophes of the final three and a half years arrive, this kingdom that belongs to Satan will be utterly destroyed with a crash. All the evil forces that resist God will be destroyed as well, and the kingdom of Christ will then be completely realized on earth. At that time, those who have been saved will enter into the kingdom with God and enjoy rest together. This will fulfill the words of Almighty God: “As My words become complete, the kingdom is gradually formed on earth and man is gradually returned to normality, and thus there is established on earth the kingdom in My heart. In the kingdom, all the people of God recover the life of normal man. Gone is the frosty winter, replaced by a world of cities of spring, where spring lasts all year. No longer are people exposed to the bleakness of the world of man, and no longer do they endure the cold chill of the world of man. People do not fight with each other, countries do not go to war against each other, no longer is there carnage and the blood that flows from carnage; all lands are filled with joy, and everywhere teems with warmth between men. I walk throughout the world, I enjoy from atop My throne, and I live among the stars. The angels offer unto Me new songs and new dances. No longer does their own fragility cause tears to run down their faces. No longer do I hear, before Me, the sound of the angels weeping, and no longer does anyone confide their troubles to Me. Today, you all live before Me; tomorrow, you will all exist in My kingdom. Is this not the greatest blessing that I bestow upon man?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 20).