https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/us/rapture-tiktok-sept-23.html
The Rapture is upon us, according to TikTokers, some of whom have latched on to a prediction that on Tuesday, Sept. 23 β today β Jesus Christ will return to Earth and take true believers to Heaven.
Some evangelical Christians believe the Bible predicts such an event, known as the Rapture, which essentially marks the beginning of the end of human history. They interpret parts of the Christian New Testament as describing the Rapture, including a passage from First Thessalonians that says followers of Christ βwho are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.β
It is not uncommon for various individuals and groups to predict specific dates for the Rapture, sometimes through interpreting passages and events in the Bible, and sometimes claiming they received visions. None of the predictions have obviously come to pass. In recent days, a prediction spread through social media that the Rapture would occur Tuesday, and on TikTok, the hashtag #rapturenow has over 311,000 videos β some of which endorsed the prediction, while many others poked fun at it.
For those who believe in the prediction, the TikTokers had some advice: Donβt make any weekend plans, leave your phone unlocked and your passwords accessible for those left behind, and maybe leave your house and car unlocked. With the keys easily accessible if possible.
Why today?
The date of Sept. 23, 2025, appears to have originated from Joshua Mhlakela of South Africa. Though news reports have widely described him as a pastor, he said in a YouTube video from June: βIβm just a simple person, no title. Iβm not an apostle, Iβm not a pastor, Iβm not a bishop. Iβm just a believer.β
In the video, he says that Jesus came to him in a dream in 2018 and told him, βOn the 23rd and the 24th of September, 2025, I will come to take my church.β
The context, as Mr. Mhlakela understood it, was the 2026 FIFA World Cup. βHe was telling me that by June 2026, the world is gearing up toward the World Cup,β he said, but because chaos would descend after the Rapture, βthere will be no World Cup in 2026.β
His prediction somehow gathered momentum on the internet. Searches for βraptureβ and βthe rapture Tuesdayβ started to climb around Sept. 20, according to Google Trends.
While some TikTok creators appeared to believe that the Rapture was imminent and were encouraging their followers to convert to Christianity, more greeted the prediction with satirical advice.
One creator said that those who wanted to ensure they would ascend to Heaven should place items that might contain demonic energy, like designer clothing, outside their houses. Another discussed how to style outfits to match the angel wings they would soon receive.