The failed rapture prophecy of South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela has left many of his followers in shock, with some lamenting the loss of jobs, homes, and personal belongings after acting on his prediction.
Mhlakela had claimed that the rapture a Christian belief that Jesus Christ will return to take believers to heaven at the sound of trumpets would occur between Tuesday, September 23, and Wednesday, September 24.
The pastor said Jesus appeared to him in a vision and revealed the exact date of the world’s end, which he tied to the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish festival that some Christians interpret as prophetically linked to the rapture and second coming of Christ.
“The rapture is upon us, whether you are ready or not, the rapture will happen in 14 days from now,” Mhlakela declared earlier this month in an interview with YouTube channel CettwinzTV.
While the rapture remains a central belief in many Christian teachings, history is littered with failed predictions by doomsday preachers who claimed to know the appointed time. Mhlakela’s prophecy has now joined that long list.
