South African Pastor Who Wrongly Predicted 2025 Rapture Gives New Date

SOUTH AFRICA: South African Pastor Who Wrongly Predicted 2025 Rapture Gives New Date

The South African pastor who made headlines after his failed prediction that the rapture would occur in 2025 has announced a new date.

Pastor Joshua Mhlakela had earlier predicted that the rapture would take place on September 23, 2025, during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets.

His prediction failed. Now, he claims the rapture will occur between October 12 and 13, 2026.

Mhlakela said the new date is based on his recalculation of the biblical Feast of Trumpets, which he now believes falls in October and not September.

Last year, some of his followers reportedly sold their properties, quit their jobs, and prepared to be taken to heaven. On the said date, they gathered, praying and looking up to the sky, but nothing happened.

When the date passed, Mhlakela said the delay was not a mistake but part of God’s plan to give people more time to repent.

He explained that his earlier calculation was wrong because the Feast of Trumpets had been placed about a month earlier than its “true” date, adding that additional visions, including one involving two full moons, convinced him that the biblical calendar was off by a month.

His latest prediction has been criticised by other Christians. Pastor and author Vladimir Savchuk said setting a specific date for Jesus’ return contradicts biblical teachings, noting that Scripture says the Antichrist must be revealed before Jesus returns.

The claim has renewed debate over attempts to predict the rapture and whether such predictions align with Christian teachings.