The Rapture Lie That Won’t Die

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#1220

The Rapture Lie That Won’t Die

How Many More Times?

Back in 2025 a man from South Africa said that the Rapture of the Church would happen on September 23^rd or 24^th. He was unequivocal about it as well. I of course took notice and addressed his claims in a podcast on September 6^th and I gave the man a little room because the Blessed Hope is imminent and could happen on those dates. But I also noted that Jesus Himself told us to not set dates most likely because people want to do it. We like knowing the future as attested to by the vast amount of money spent on psychics and astrologers which, by some accounts, is 15-16 billion dollars just last year by itself. That’s a lot of money for false information and yet it makes my point. People will pay money to know their future even when it’s proven over and over again to not be accurate. Anyway, the man in question here is one Joshua Mhlakela, who is from South Africa. When those dates came and went without the Rapture happening he was ridiculed for making a false claim. Right after that he amended the dates to October 7^th or 8^th blaming it on a mix up of what calendars he was using. Well, here we are in 2026 and both of these dates are in the past. And now he is wanting us to believe that another date is etched in stone again. I kid you not, he is back at it again. In two podcasts on the popular podcast Centtwinz where sisters Innocent and Millicent interviewed Joshua again he explained why he was wrong before and what the new dates will be. I guess we need to see what he’s saying now to assess his logic.

He Didn’t Miss It

Joshua says that the prophecy he was given can only be understood after it passed and he didn’t fully understand it much like the prophet Daniel. As I listened to these two podcasts I kept thinking that he really is sincere and he truly wants people to change and even repent with the news of an upcoming Rapture date which is now April 4^th or 5^th but cannot go past May 14^th of this year. He says God told him there will not be a World Cup this year which is in June because of the Rapture. He then supports the original dates as warnings to people to be ready and the so-called delays as the beginning of the reveal of the Rapture. The confusion is on his shoulders but the truth is still the truth. And he then says that all the good that’s come out of these predictions justifies him not dismissing it as it would weaken its impact. It’s like if people realize that God is coming back it justifies being incorrect. Overall, his explanation is that he says his earlier failed rapture date was not a lie or false prophecy, but a misunderstanding of timing that was supposedly part of God’s design. He refuses to apologize, says the earlier September announcement fulfilled the “delay” pattern in Matthew 25, and argues the real rapture timing is Passover / 16th–17th of Nissan, which he translates to April 4–5, while also insisting his prophecy cannot go past May 14 because Israel would then turn 78. He says the delay was meant to wake people up spiritually, test hearts, and shorten the tribulation by six months. Did you get all that?

No Man Knows

I guess I have to ask when will people stop doing this. It’s not like Jesus warned us to not do it:

However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert! (Mark 13:32-33, NLT)

The doctrine of imminency is at the heart of all these predictions of the Rapture of the church and just in the Gospel of Mark it seems pretty clear Jesus wants to know that as an article from gotquestion.org explains:

“Day” and “hour” are often used in Scripture as references to time in general (see Matthew 7:22; 10:19; 24:42, 44, 50; 25:13; 26:45). But in Mark 13, Jesus focuses on a specific event in the future. Because no one knows the day or the hour of His return, Jesus stresses the need to pay attention, stay awake, and be ready at a moment’s notice. Multiple times in Mark 13, Jesus calls for vigilant watchfulness: “Be on guard! Stay alert!” (verse 33, NLT), “Watch for his return” (verses 34, NLT), “You, too, must keep watch!” (verse 35, NLT), “Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning” (verse 36, NLT), and “Watch for him!” (verse 37, NLT).

In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says that no one knows the day or the hour of His coming, not even the angels, but only the Father. Mark 13:32 repeats the same warning in parallel form, again stressing that the exact timing is hidden. Then in Matthew 25:13, after the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus tells His listeners to watch, because they know neither the day nor the hour. Together, those are the clearest direct statements. If you include closely related wording, there is also Acts 1:7, where the risen Jesus tells the disciples that it is not for them to know the times or seasons the Father has fixed by His own authority. That is not the exact phrase “day or hour,” but it teaches the same principle of hidden timing. That’s four times we’re warned. How hard can this really be? So, when it comes to Brother Joshua telling us that Jesus will return on any date, I pause. And when he says he’s a billion % certain I am more than concerned.

Sincerity Isn’t Enough

I give the interviewers credit for giving Joshua Mhlakela a platform to explain himself and they did make him be definitive on the new dates, but the Bible is also very clear on not knowing the day of the hour of His return. No matter how many times you talk about misunderstanding a message directly from Jesus Himself which he claims is how he heard all this, God doesn’t contradict His Word. Paul warned us about these things in Galatians 1:8:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to and different from that which we preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment)! (AMPC)

This brother is on shaky ground now if we apply this verse to his date setting as coming from a glowing Jesus. I know that’s harsh, but if we are going to use the Bible to test the prophecy, this plays a part. Brother Joshua as he is called seems like a Godly man. He knows the Bible and I believe hears from God. But no one is above being deceived. If they say they saw Jesus I would remind us that the Apostle Paul made it abundantly clear that Satan can fool us:

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, (2 Cor 11:15, NASB1995)

Even if someone says that Jesus Himself appeared before them and said that the Rapture will happen on a future date they still must be held to Biblical scrutiny. No exceptions. So let me be very clear again, by disagreeing with these believers I am not doing anything more than disagreeing with them. I am not belittling all the good they’ve done or their Bible knowledge overall. I am only doing what Paul admired in the Bereans and checking with the Scriptures before I accept a word of prophecy:

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, ^[k]for they received the word with ^[l]great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11, NASB95)

What Now?

I can say with a straight face that, yes it could happen on April 4^th or 5^th or even in May. But that’s only because I believe in immanency which is to say that it could happen at any time which includes now. Paul said it could happen in his time and he was correct even when it was 2,000 years or so ago. When he counseled the Thessalonians to not worry about missing the Rapture he was correct. Paul laid out the reasons why it hadn’t happened then and those same criteria work in our age. The list of those things are also very simple and because the Rapture didn’t happen way back in the early days of Christianity doesn’t mean it was invalid. It just meant that it would happen at exactly the right time, when everything is in place. The various pieces mostly showed up in every generation really but not all at the same time. But this begs the question of how we need to live our lives. If the Rapture doesn’t happen on the new dates, we need to do two things: forgive those who made these predictions and then deal with the detractors who will be demeaning anyone who even remotely believes in the Bible and the doctrine of the Rapture. The first thing might just be easier than the second one, however both will take time. Joining in the chorus of mockers who will be yelling “I told you so!” won’t help at all. These brothers and sisters in Christ will already feel bad so pig piling on isn’t the best approach if it ever is. We must lovingly speak into their lives and find out why they were blind to the Devil’s deception so it won’t happen again. As for the unbelieving skeptics, well trying to defend the Bible on the Rapture won’t do any good either. For them the best approach is to let Holy Spirit guide us for each person and to create the opportunity to speak into their lives. Other than that, we need to pray for them privately and let God do the rest. Overall, I like what Jesus told us in Luke 21:28:

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (NKJV)