South African Pastor Claims the Rapture Will Take Place on September 23rd or 24th

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A South African preacher recently claimed that the Rapture will take place on Tuesday, September 23, or Wednesday, September 24, in time for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Feast of Trumpets. 

During an appearance on Centtwinz TV, pastor Joshua Mhlakela claimed that Jesus spoke directly to him in a vision and shared the exact date of Rapture, Yahoo News reported.

“The rapture is upon us, whether you are ready or not,” the pastor told hosts Innocent and Millicent. “God took me to see the future…and there in heaven, in the throne room, I see Jesus sitting… and I could hear him very loud and clear saying, ‘I am coming soon.’”

“To the people that are listening, please pay attention to what I am going to say,” he added before stating Jesus will return “on the 23rd and 24th of September 2025.”

Mhlakela also echoed the same prophecy on his YouTube channel “Exodus 2025,” explaining that he first received the vision in 2018.

“This is what he said to me. ‘From the time Israel returned and became a nation on the 14th of May 1948, there will be 77 years to the Exodus. He was talking about the rapture,” he said in a video posted last month.

 

Mhlakela said that after the Rapture takes place on September 23rd or 24th, it will be followed by 7 years of tribulation “upon all those left behind on the earth” before Jesus returns on the Day of Atonement (September 15th) 2032.

These comments on the Rapture sparked a viral trend on TikTok and social media known as #RaptureTok in which users have shared videos expressing their concerns or mocking it.

According to one TikToker with over 1 million followers, people have reportedly sold their cars and houses, leaving behind items for the rest of the people “who don’t get Raptured.” Meanwhile, TikToker Sonja (@sonj779) shared several “Rapture Trip Tip” videos, including one where she urges people to buy new underwear prior to the Rapture. It is unclear, however, whether her videos were authentic or satirical. 

Although Jesus makes it clear that He will return, He makes it clear that “no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Other Scriptures echo the same sentiment including the apostle Paul who tells the church in Thessalonica that “the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Boonyachoat 

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.