The Rapture is near 鈥 at least according to an apocalyptic prophecy by one South African man who says it will fall on Sept. 23 or 24.
His claim has gone viral, with some believing it will mark the end times and many more mocking it on social media.
鈥淭here are millions and millions of Christians in the world today, maybe even hundreds of millions of Christians in the world who believe in modern prophecy and consume media that鈥檚 populated by these modern prophecies,鈥 said Matthew Taylor, a senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic-Christian-Jewish Studies.
Here鈥檚 a look at the theological concept of the Rapture and its role in history:
What is the Rapture?
The Rapture is the belief of some evangelical Christians in a future event where Jesus will return to Earth to take true believers to heaven before a period of great tribulation that culminates in the end of the world.
鈥淓veryone else remains on earth for a tumultuous and troubled period,” said Amy Frykholm, author of 鈥淩apture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America.鈥
鈥淯sually, in this kind of storytelling, the people who are 鈥榯aken up鈥 in the Rapture are a surprise,鈥 she said, 鈥渨hile many people who were believed to be good Christians are left behind.鈥
Jesus鈥 return to Earth, also known as the Second Coming, is referenced in the Old Testament鈥檚 Book of Daniel and the New Testament鈥檚 Book of Revelation, said Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Dartmouth College.
Believers who were persecuted in early Christianity during the time of the Roman Empire saw the Book of Revelation as an assurance that God would eventually prevail over evil, he said.
Does the word 鈥楻apture鈥 appear in the Bible?
No.
But there are commonly cited passages used to support the belief, including in 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians and Matthew 24.
History of the belief
Belief in the Rapture began in the mid-19th century in Britain and elsewhere in the English-speaking world, said Frykholm. It added a secret exclusivity to the Second Coming, which was an already accepted belief at the time, she said.
The Rapture belief spread through 20th century Bible conferences, evangelical media and the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible, which detailed the Rapture in footnotes, Frykholm said. Pop culture also advanced the belief, including through the evangelical Christian horror film 鈥淎 Thief in the Night鈥 and the popular 鈥淟eft Behind鈥 novel series.
What is the latest prediction and what are the reactions?
Joshua Mhlakela, a South African man who describes himself as only a believer with no religious title, says God allowed him to see the future in a widely viewed published three months ago.
In it, he recounts seeing Jesus on a throne and hearing him say that he is coming soon: 鈥淗e says to me: 鈥極n the 23rd and the 24th, 2025, I will come to take my Church.鈥”
His prediction has stoked debates by Christian commentators and gone viral on social media, including on TikTok under the hashtag #RaptureTok where many have mocked it as another false claim by another false prophet.
Some have noted the dates overlap with the start of Judaism鈥檚 which began this year on Sept. 22 with 鈥 the Jewish New Year. Others pointed out that if it occurred now, it would follow the killing of U.S. conservative activist and evangelical Christian and coincide with the wars in and .
鈥淚deas about the Rapture are best understood within the larger framework of apocalypticism, an ancient Jewish worldview that predates Christianity,鈥 Kim Haines-Eitzen, a professor of ancient Mediterranean religions at Cornell University, said via email.
She said apocalyptic ideology often surges during or after traumatic events, noting that many early Christians believed the end times would come in their lifetime.
鈥淭heir writings are now used by contemporary Christians who share Mhlakela鈥檚 view that the Rapture is imminent鈥攑erhaps even today,鈥 she said.
Past predictions of the Rapture and Jesus’ return
California doomsday preacher the Rapture would happen on May 21, 2011. His independent Christian media empire spent millions of dollars to spread the word. He gave up public prophecy when it did not come to pass.
Predictions about Jesus’ impending return to Earth and the end to the world are not unusual, but they don’t all include a Rapture element.
One notable example came in the 19th century, when U.S. farmer and Bible interpreter William Miller began to tell his followers that Jesus would return sometime between 1843 and 1844. Miller said he based his calculations on his reading of the Bible.
鈥淎 lot of his followers gathered and were preparing to be translated into heaven. It didn鈥檛 happen by the date that he thought it would,鈥 Balmer said. 鈥淭hen he went back to his calculations and set another date, that is: October 22, 1844, when he assured his followers that they鈥檇 be translated into heaven. And of course, it didn鈥檛 happen.鈥
That moment is known in Christian history as the Great Disappointment.
More recently, a Korean evangelical group known as the Mission for the Coming Days predicted, wrongly, that Jesus would return on Oct. 28, 1992.
How did the Great Disappointment lead to the creation of a major religion?
traces its roots to Miller鈥檚 preaching,
When Jesus did not return as expected, the 鈥淕reat Disappointment鈥 occurred, and the Millerites split into smaller groups. One, influenced by the visions of Ellen White, led to Seventh-day Adventist practice today. Some became Jehovah鈥檚 Witnesses.
鈥淥thers started the secret rapture movement that became more broadly evangelical,鈥 Frykholm said.
What they had in common, she said, is that they refused to name a date for the Second Coming, saying that Jesus had said that we could never know a time.
When prophecies don鈥檛 come true, Taylor said, modern-day prophets often frame it in terms of spiritual warfare where they were right to reveal the prophecy but humanity is to blame for not cooperating with God鈥檚 will.
Historically, failed predictors “have a lot of egg on their face,鈥 Taylor said.
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AP journalists Jessie Wardarski, Peter Smith and Tiffany Stanley contributed.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
