Posted on 10/04/2026 9:10:03 AM PDT by DFG
The Christian pastor who sparked panic with a failed prediction of the Rapture has made a new claim that the end-times belief is near.
Pastor Joshua Mhlakela, a South African preacher, recently said he has calculated the exact time of the biblical event in which believers are lifted into the clouds to meet Jesus Christ, claiming that it will happen between October 12 and 13.
The Rapture is a belief held by some Christians called 'eschatology,' which is the study of end-times events, marking the Second Coming of Jesus and Judgment Day for non-believers.
Mhlakela has claimed in multiple interviews and his own videos online that both God and Jesus have appeared to him in visions, revealing when the Rapture would take place and what the fallout on Earth would look like.
The controversial pastor declared: 'God told me because there's no other date coming out, 12 to 13 October, which is the true feast of trumpets, which is when I will be meeting my savior face to face in the rapture.'
Mhlakela has drawn widespread skepticism and criticism for his wild predictions, including incorrectly marking the date of the Rapture multiple times in 2025.
He sent social media into a frenzy when he alleged the biblical event would take place on September 23, 2025, convincing scores of believers who watched his predictions online to sell their homes and cars and even quit their jobs.
'There's no other final. I mean, there's no other rapture date. This is the final date for me,' Mhlakela claimed in an interview on September 17.
The pastor claimed his previous false predictions were not errors, but the work of God, who was delaying the final judgement to give humanity more time to repent.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.com ...
He’s like an economist. He’s forecast six of the last two raptures.
two thoughts:
1. at least the rapture will occur AFTER Prime Big Deal Days.
2. this guy is an idiot! ... Doesn’t he understand that he needs to make these kinds of predictions at least a couple of years into the future to give him a decent attention runway?
Must re read the booklet 88 REASONS WHY THE RAPTURE WILL BE IN 1988.
“”The pastor claimed his previous false predictions were not errors, but the work of God, who was delaying the final judgement to give humanity more time to repent.””
***
Oh, right. That’s what the false prophets always say when their “prophecies” don’t come true. That God changed His mind. Or... that we didn’t have enough faith for God to act on our behalf. Or something else equally as asinine and lame.
I remember that one. Pretty convincing at the time EXCEPT it predicted a date that cant be predicted.
Oh I think Jesus is WHITEHOT. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high and on mighty cherubim called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
I think it’s coming soon, but doesn’t this guy know how many people before him have been embarrassed by predicting something that only Christ Himself knows?
It's Pastor Aboogadaboogadaboogada's name!
I’d say the Bible is the real final authority. Guess that means that pastor Mhlakela’s word on the stock market won’t be worth much, either.
My grandmother always quoted a story she read somewhere about St. Francis. He was hoeing his garden when someone asked him what he would do if he learned the world were to end tomorrow. St. Francis said he would ‘keep hoeing’.
I pray that it’s today, but no one knows but God....
The guy’s a liar.
I'm not saying there is no truth in it or that nobody should consider it, only that it is important to know that this is not the only or the historic interpretation or position among Christians. As the majority of Christians in the world are either Catholic, Orthodox and other Eastern Churches who do not ascribe to modern Dispensationalism vastly outnumber the American influenced Evangelical Protestants and Protestant Fundamentalists that are the ones who primarily embrace modern Dispensationalism, it is important to point out that it doesn't represent the views of most Christians. If you do ascribe to the above views and are not a professed member of a church that teaches something different, that’s OK, only that it isn’t seen as the only and definitive interpretation. We’re all entitled to our good faith beliefs about this and shouldn’t feel threatened or defensive about it.
Previous generations of Dispensationalists have said the same thing as today’s Dispensationalists, just changing the names and places to match the news of the day as it changes. In their view of the times they lived in, things could not possibly be worse and that all the pieces were in place. It was around 50 years ago when Hal Lindsay and his ilk were saying the exact same thing, but it goes back further than him, about 150 years. Personally, I don't think all of the critical pieces are in place and that things are going to get a LOT worse for a long time before the End. We haven't seen anything yet.
No Christian denies that there will be an End Time when all this will occur, but (as I said) not all Christians ascribe to the novel Dispensationalist interpretations of how and when this is going to occur. That's all I'm saying.
It is undeniable by anyone familiar with Scripture that there have been a series of dispensations throughout salvation history. It is a matter of interpretation, for example, whether these dispensations replace each other or flow one into another as gradual fulfilling of God's plan.
This is a separate issue, however, from the popular and novel End Times schema that is found in Dispensational circles.
I have researched this deeply for many years or I wouldn't presume to comment on it. Many before Darby (including some of the Early Church Fathers) held millennial views and one obscure Catholic priest in the 1800’s that wrote about it, but no one before Darby held today's pre-millennial Dispensationalist schema of the End Times before him. Not even the Reformers. It was almost entirely his own invention.
Some early Church Fathers (living before 1000 AD) believed in millennialism, but (taking the Book of Revelation literally) they thought the Second Coming would occur 1000 years after Christ. Of course they were wrong on this, not realizing this number is symbolic. In any case, they did not believe in the popular modern schema of pre-millennial dispensationalism held by many today.
When handling prophecy in this manner, it is always a moving target until one of these days (or years, or decades, or centuries) we will, in fact, have the Second Coming upon us "like a thief in the night" with "no man knowing the day or the hour." Our Lord, you remember, told us, "It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority" because "of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” “If any one says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Lo, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Lo, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; if they say, ‘Lo, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.”
This is why believers should not be preoccupied with looking for signs and ALWAYS be ready.
Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. Once, and at a time no one can predict or estimate known only to God and not revealed to us, not even in ballpark figures. Unexpected, like a thief in the night. We all just need to be ready for his coming, whether it be at the time of our own deaths, or at his definitive Second Coming. If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready.
When does the spaceship land and take him home along with the rest of Heavens Gate gang?
Nope. Not all end time events have even unfolded yet. But they are well on the way. We can see the pieces being built and coming into play.
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