{"id":33308,"date":"2025-09-23T15:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/33308\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T15:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:07:13","slug":"people-sell-homes-cars-as-south-african-pastors-rapture-warning-goes-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/33308\/","title":{"rendered":"People sell homes, cars as South African pastor’s \u2018Rapture\u2019 warning goes viral"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African preacher Joshua Mhlakela\u2019s prophecy<\/a> about the \u201cRapture<\/a>\u201d <\/a>has taken over social media, sending some believers into a frenzy while others mocked the prediction for the future. The now-viral pastor claimed he had a vision that Jesus Christ<\/a> would return on September 23 or 24, 2025, around the same time as the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.<\/p>\n

\"Know Know key details regarding South African preacher Joshua Mhlakela\u2019s prophecy about the \u201cChristians\u2019 Rapture\u201d(Unsplash) What is Rapture? Why people think the world will end soon<\/p>\n

Speaking to CettwinzTV, Pastor Mhlakela described what he called a supernatural encounter, saying the rapture was imminent. He claimed that true believers would be taken to heaven.<\/p>\n

Within hours of his prediction, the hashtag #RaptureTok went viral on TikTok with thousands of videos, ranging from tearful testimonies to comedy skits, emerging on the platform.<\/p>\n

People sell cars and houses ahead of Rapture<\/p>\n

Some followers appear to be taking the prophecy literally. LADbible reported that one person said, \u201cI’ve already transferred the deed to my house. I just need to give this car away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others have quit jobs, saying they no longer need earthly commitments. A TikTok creator with more than a million followers claimed people are \u201cleaving items behind for those who don\u2019t get Raptured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Satire fuels the trend<\/p>\n

But not everyone is buying Joshua Mhlakela\u2019s idea. For many, the rapture buzz has become a goldmine for jokes. One viral skit offered \u201cRapture Trip Tips,\u201d telling viewers to \u201cbuy new underwear\u201d so their final impression is not embarrassing. Comedian Kevin Frederics also shared an Instagram post questioning the concept.<\/p>\n

Others poked fun at the panic. \u201cCan the people that believe rapture is happening tomorrow send me all their money?\u201d one user wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Why do some believe in Rapture?<\/p>\n

The idea of a rapture is rooted in evangelical theology, with references often linked to 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15, where the Apostle Paul speaks of believers ascending at Christ\u2019s return. The fact that Mhlakela\u2019s date lines up with Rosh Hashanah, also called the Feast of Trumpets, only added to the frenzy. The blowing of the shofar in Israel has been cited in TikTok videos as symbolic proof.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Man sells car believing the rapture will happen on September 23: \u2018I’m catching a flight to heaven\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Not the first prediction about the world’s end<\/p>\n

Predictions about the world’s end have come and gone before. Harold Camping famously predicted the rapture in 1994 and 2011. Others have latched on to the Mayan calendar in 2012 or David Meade\u2019s planetary alignment theory in 2017, but none of them came true.<\/p>\n

Also Read: What is the Rapture and why some think it’s coming this week? All on \u2018RaptureTok\u2019 TikTok trend<\/a><\/p>\n

FAQs:What is the Christians\u2019 Rapture prophecy?<\/p>\n

It is a claim by South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela that Jesus will return on September 23 or 24, 2025.<\/p>\n

Why are people selling belongings?<\/p>\n

Some believers say they won\u2019t need possessions if they are taken to heaven, prompting sales of cars, homes, and even job resignations.<\/p>\n

What is #RaptureTok?<\/p>\n

It is a TikTok trend where users post both serious and satirical videos about the prophecy, mixing fear with comedy.<\/p>\n

Has the Rapture been predicted before?<\/p>\n

Yes. Evangelical figures like Harold Camping set previous dates in 1994 and 2011. Other doomsday predictions, such as the Mayan calendar in 2012, also never came true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South African preacher Joshua Mhlakela\u2019s prophecy about the \u201cRapture\u201d has taken over social media, sending some believers into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[28084,28083,42,28082,43,28081,14868,6838,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-33308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-christians-rapture-prophecy","9":"tag-evangelical-theology","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-joshua-mhlakela","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-rapture","14":"tag-rosh-hashanah","15":"tag-tiktok-trend","16":"tag-top-news","17":"tag-top-stories","18":"tag-topnews","19":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}