Apologies for wall of text (and weird formatting):
Here a three relevant recent quotes regarding whether WT believes in a “rapture”:
WT, October 2019, para. 14
During the great tribulation, a change will take place regarding the brothers who take the lead on earth. At some point, all anointed ones who are still on earth will be gathered to heaven to share in the war of Armageddon (Matt. 24:31; Rev. 2:26.27)
WT, July 15, 2015, para. 15
15 Does this mean that there will be a “rapture” of the anointed ones? Many in Christendom believe, according to this teaching, that Christians will be bodily caught up from the earth. Then, they expect that Jesus will visibly return to rule the earth. However, the Bible clearly shows that “the sign of the Son of man” will appear in heaven and that Jesus will come “on the clouds of heaven.” (Matt. 24:30) Both of these expressions imply invisibility. Additionally, “flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s Kingdom.” So those who will be taken to heaven will first need to be “changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, during the last trumpet.”* (Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-53.) Therefore, while we do not use the term “rapture” here because of its wrong connotation, the remaining faithful anointed will be gathered together in an instant of time.
WT, July 15, 2013, para. 8 (endnote #2)
"Hence, it appears that all anointed ones who still remain on earth after the initial part of the great tribulation has passed will at some point be raised to heaven before the outbreak of the battle of Armageddon.
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· WT does not define "rapture" in the Insight book (since not the word is not in the Bible), so closest we have is from the Reasoning Book:
Rapture
Definition: The belief that faithful Christians will be bodily caught up from the earth, suddenly taken out of the world, to be united with the Lord “in the air.” The word “rapture” is understood by some persons, but not by all, to be the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The word “rapture” does not occur in the inspired Scriptures.
- A simple Google search presents this as the top religious-related definition: Rapture /ˈraptʃə/ noun (according to some millenarian teaching) the transporting of believers to heaven at the Second Coming of Christ.
As usual, the WT plays word games with this issue.
· When posing the question as whether JWs believe in a "rapture", the writers first state their own WT definition of the word (rather than relying on a dictionary). Any quick check and it becomes very evident that many churches have very different particular points regarding what the rapture would entail (e.g. who gets raptured, in physical vs. spirit form, timing, etc.). Rather than acknowledging this fact and then focusing on the common elements of “rapture” beliefs and definitions (i.e. a group of faithful Christians on Earth will be instantly raised up to heaven before complete destruction of wicked mankind). Instead WT writers pick and choose very particular (and varying) points what "many in Christendom believe" regarding the rapture, being sure to pick a version of the rapture that has very specific elements which do not align with WT teachings.
· The WT consistently references:
o Matthew 24:30 when referring to the remaining (JW) anointed being brought up to heaven, whereas
o 1 Thess 4:17 when citing Christendom’s scriptural justification of “rapture”
Although both verses speak to the same event, to the casual reader it would appear they are different concepts because they are presented as consistently relying on different scriptural support.
· Interestingly, as a reminder, even the WT writers acknowledge this is really just a terminology issue in the end:
- “Therefore, while we do not use the term ‘rapture’ here because of its wrong connotation, the remaining faithful anointed will be gathered together in an instant of time.”
- Definition of “connotation”: an idea or feeling which a work invokes for a person in additional to its literal or primary meaning. (So it all boils down to how the WT writers “feel” about the word “rapture”.)