Back in June, a South African man named Joshua Mhlakela came out on the CENTTWINZ TV YouTube channel, explaining that he had seen Jesus in his dream. In this dream, he had been told that the Rapture would occur on September 23rd, and 24th of 2025. He recalled, “God took me to see the future, and then he brought me back… and then in heaven in a throne room, I see Jesus sitting on his throne… and I could hear him very loud and clear, ‘I am coming soon.’” Giving the public three months to prepare, it was enough time for the news to pick up on social media and for people to share their reactions.
The Rapture is a Christian belief that during a world-ending event, all Christian believers will be brought to meet Jesus in the clouds and go to heaven. Although this rapture prediction was widely popular, it was not the first. Many people have pinpointed dates through interpretations of sacred text, such as William Miller in 1844. People have also interpreted public fears as signs of the Rapture, such as the recent pandemic. However, the difference between the prediction from 1844 and the predictions from 2020 is the existence of social media.
With the development of technology and the algorithms that pick up anything that will keep viewer engagement, it did not take long for Mhlakela’s claims to become widespread. The hashtags #rapturenow and #rapturetok quickly blew up on TikTok and earned thousands of posts. Many people supported this prediction and encouraged people to take action in order to prepare, while many made fun of this prediction and the reactions towards it.
Among the actions that the Rapture believers took, some of them included giving away their belongings and money, selling their houses and cars, and some people quit their jobs. They even tried to give advice to those who they thought would be left behind. One person destroyed all of their technology with their bare hands, and one allegedly handed their children to CPS in preparation. This craze was mocked by many people on TikTok.
This corner of the app was labeled RaptureTok, and they were left to conspire until the day finally came, and then… nothing happened. Many were shocked and upset, some were not surprised, and Joshua Mhlakela, who was live at the time, was quite embarrassed, but unapologetic. Unfortunately, a lot of people were left without homes, belongings or transportation as a result.
However, Mhlakela did not give up his pursuit. Returning to the CENTTWINZ TV channel, he angrily asked, “Where’s your part? I did my part, I delivered the message, why didn’t you rapture the people?” He then corrected the date according to the Julian calendar, saying that the rapture would occur on October 6th and 7th. Again, nothing happened.
History shows that humanity has tried to predict the future to no avail. The rapture may happen in our lifetime, or it may not. All humanity can do is let time pass, and enjoy the life that we have.
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