Failed Rapture prediction prompts apologies as Sept. 23 passes without event

A viral prediction that believers would be taken on September 23 failed to materialize, prompting apologies from several figures who promoted the prophecy. South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela claimed Jesus appeared to him in a vision and said he would return during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, known as Rosh Hashanah, which fell between September 22 and September 24. During a livestream that has since been deleted, Mhlakela said, 'the Lord is on his way' and he was coming 'with a host of angels.' He added, 'I wonder how God works this out, in terms of the minute and the second,' as hours passed and the date shifted to September 24 without an event. At 12:17 a.m., the livestream ended with the remark, 'see you tomorrow,' and Mhlakela urged followers to keep waiting, saying, 'September 23rd, 24th. One of these two days, he is coming.' Since then, he has not appeared on social media, and a broad backlash online has spurred a wave of apologies from faith leaders and Christian influencers who had amplified the prediction.

Across platforms, Rapture-related videos flooded feeds as believers who were convinced Doomsday was at hand faced disillusionment and, in many cases, financial losses. An Australian man, Tilahun Desalegn, shared a clip of his car being towed away, declaring, 'I won't need her beyond September, because I'm going home to where my father in heaven is.' Desalegn, who describes himself as a prophet with more than 30,000 followers on TikTok, later posted a new video apologizing to the world for spreading the September 23 prediction. 'I will never publicly talk about the rapture again,' he wrote in the clip, which had been viewed more than 643,000 times. In another post-rapture video, a man believed to be Kingsalem Igwe, a Nigerian self-identified Christian prophet, said he was convinced the Second Coming was imminent after listening to Mhlakela. 'I'm here with all humility to apologize to everyone. I only believed a man who claimed Jesus told him,' he said in a video posted on TikTok by critics.

Meanwhile, other believers sobbed as they faced a rollback to ordinary life and responsibilities. Critics online urged caution, arguing that predicting a specific date for the Rapture runs contrary to biblical teaching. Vladimir Savchuk, a pastor, author and YouTube preacher, said, 'If someone sets the date, they are directly contradicting Jesus's word.' He noted that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 suggests Christ will not return until the rebellion is revealed and the Antichrist is evident, a timeline that cannot be definitively foreseen by human calculation.

Despite the apologies that followed, many Christians and skeptics online continued to scrutinize those who promoted the prophecy. Do not be deceived, warned one reader in response to Mhlakela's now-deleted livestream, asserting that no one knows the hour of Jesus' return. Others urged accountability while acknowledging that end-times predictions have recurred in online discourse, often gaining and losing traction within days. The episode highlights the persistence of online prophecy culture, where viral predictions can spread rapidly even when their sources are later discredited.

The Rapture, understood in some Christian traditions as a sudden rescue of believers from a coming tribulation, remains a fixture in certain eschatological circles. However, authorities and many clergy members have emphasized that the Bible warns against assigning dates to the event, urging adherents to stay prepared rather than fixating on calendars. As the public conversation continues, questions remain about how to address viral predictions that fringe into mainstream social media and the responsibilities of those who amplify them with large audiences.