The 2025 #RaptureTok Rapture
Rapture Set for Sept 23-24, 2025; Rescheduled to the Julian Calendar
A South African preacher went viral with dates he was 'a billion percent sure' of. Then came October 7-8.
What was said
“He said to me, 'On the 23rd and 24th of September 2025, I will come to take my church.'”
— Joshua Mhlakela (South African preacher, in YouTube interviews) · said Jun 17, 2025 · due Sept 23-24, 2025 (then Oct 7-8)
Both dates came and went. 'Jesus would use the Julian calendar' is the most creative excuse since Whisenant's missing year zero.
The fine print
From an interview posted on the CettwinzTV YouTube channel on June 17, 2025 (per Newsweek), timed to Rosh Hashanah. The claim went viral on TikTok as #RaptureTok; Newsweek counted more than 321,000 posts mentioning the Rapture. In a Sept 26 follow-up he said the date should have followed the Julian calendar and moved it to October 7-8: 'I'm a billion percent sure.' Critics pointed to Matthew 24:36 ('no one knows the day or hour'). Jokes are aimed at the forecast, not the man. He later set a new date, October 12-13, 2026, which has its own entry. A further window, April 4-5, 2026 with a May 14 hard stop, has its own entry.