‘I was trembling, sweating,’ Adeboye recounts night he thought he missed rapture
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has shared a personal and humorous anecdote about a “rapture scare” he experienced, using the story to warn couples against the danger of going to bed with unresolved conflicts.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has shared a personal and humorous anecdote about a “rapture scare” he experienced, using the story to warn couples against the danger of going to bed with unresolved conflicts.
Addressing congregants during the May 2026 Holy Ghost Service at Redemption City, the octogenarian cleric emphasised that the uncertainty of the timing of the rapture should be a primary motivation for maintaining peace within the home.
Recounting an incident during a trip to the United States, Adeboye described the moment he woke up in the middle of the night and could not find his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye, on the bed. File: RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and wife, Foluke
“I woke up, looked to my side, and my wife wasn’t there. I thought she had gone to the toilet,” he said.
After checking the ensuite toilet and another one in the sitting room, only to find them empty, he said panic began to set in.
He continued, “I went to the sitting room because there’s another toilet there. The toilet there was empty, so I used it. Then I came back, and my wife was still not in bed. Ah, what is she doing? So I went to the toilet in the bedroom, and she was not there.
“I went back to the living room, and I checked the door. The door was locked from the inside. Ah.”
“I sat on the bed, and I was trembling,” the cleric confessed.
“In the cold air-conditioned room, I was sweating. Oh, God, you mean she’s gone, and I’m left behind. Almighty God, what have I done? Why have you left me behind?” he said.
According to him, the scare lasted until the Holy Spirit reminded him that his wife had not actually accompanied him on that trip to America.
“Thank God for the Holy Spirit. When all of a sudden I remember on that particular trip, she didn’t come with me,” he said.
While the story drew laughter from the congregation, Adeboye used the anecdote to drive home a point about marital reconciliation.
He cited the biblical prophecy that during the rapture, “two shall be in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.”
“That is one of the reasons why I don’t go to bed with any unresolved issue between my wife and me,” he explained. “I don’t want God to come and take her away and leave me on the bed.”
Adeboye, who has been married since 1967, told the audience that he remains on a “honeymoon” because “under no circumstance will I go to bed without settling with my wife.”
“The sun must not go down on your wrath,” the cleric warned couples.
“Ask members of my family,” he concluded. “They will tell you the last prayer I pray every night is: ‘Lord, if you return before tomorrow morning, don’t leave us behind.'”
PUNCH reported earlier that Adeboye had shared a set of marital guidelines for young men and women, warning that marrying for beauty alone or ignoring practical foundations could lead to a “deep trap.”
He was also reported to have stated that Nigeria’s next president, ahead of the 2027 general elections, has already been determined by God, and that divine will ultimately prevail.
