Another Failed Rapture

 This past week was a very interesting one.

A new prediction from a South African pastor claiming the rapture will happen on Tuesday, Sept. 23, went viral on social media, prompting fear, worry and conversations on TikTok.

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In a video shared on YouTube, Joshua Mhlakela claimed the second coming of Jesus would happen on either Sept. 23 or Sept. 24 based on revelations he received from Jesus.

"The rapture is upon us," Pastor Joshua Mhlakela said Sept. 9 on the YouTube channel Centtwinz TV. "Whether you are ready or you are not ready, the Rapture in 14 days from now.

Although some people have been quick to buy into the claims, other religious leaders are urging caution or insisting that the rapture is not going to happen, based on their biblical interpretations.

What is the Rapture?

The Christian evangelical concept of the Rapture is based on the teachings of John Darby and Cyrus Scofield, called dispensationalism. It teaches that at the end times, believers, both alive and resurrected from the dead, will bodily ascend into heaven to gather with Jesus during His Second Coming. There are different beliefs about the timing, whether or not the Rapture precedes a time of tribulations for the unsaved humans left on the Earth, and whether it leads to the prophesied thousand-year reign of Jesus after his return.

As many people pointed out, one of the definite things the Bible says about the end times is that no one knows when it will happen except God (Matthew 24:36). However, Mhlakela was firm in his prediction.

“I saw Jesus sitting on his throne, and I could hear him very loud and clear saying, ‘I am coming soon'," he said. “He said to me on the 23rd and 24th of September 2025, ‘I will come back to the Earth.’”

Here is something to think about. He may not have been wrong in his dream. I will give him the benefit of the doubt.  He may have interpreted the dream wrong. Let me explain.

As many people pointed out, one of the definite things the Bible says about the end times is that no one knows when it will happen except God (Matthew 24:36). However, Mhlakela was firm in his prediction.

“I saw Jesus sitting on his throne, and I could hear him very loud and clear saying, ‘I am coming soon'," he said. “He said to me on the 23rd and 24th of September 2025, ‘I will come back to the Earth.’”

Today many Christians are unaware of the ancient use of “no man knows the day or the hour,” that originated as a title for the Feast of Trumpets. The cultural and linguistic context of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:36 (and parallels in Mark 13:32) gives this statement a layer of meaning rooted in the Jewish calendar and its prophetic significance.

“No Man Knows the Day or the Hour” as a Feast of Trumpets Idiom

In First Century Judaism, the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) was unique among the seven Feasts of the LORD (Leviticus 23). Unlike the other feasts, which were tied to clear calendar dates (Passover on Nisan 14, Day of Atonement on Tishrei 10, etc.), the Feast of Trumpets began at the sighting of the new moon in Tishrei (the seventh month).

Since the appearance of the new moon could not be calculated precisely (due to possible cloud cover or other atmospheric factors), the exact “day or hour” could not be known in advance. The Sanhedrin required two reliable witnesses to observe and testify of the new moon’s sighting before the feast could officially begin. Thus, the Feast was sometimes colloquially referred to by Rabbis and scholars as “the feast where no man knows the day or the hour.”

Documentation from Rabbinic Sources:

Talmud Bavli, Rosh Hashanah 25a describes the process of two witnesses reporting to the Sanhedrin to confirm the new moon sighting. The Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 2:7 records that if the moon was not seen, the festival was delayed a day.

Because of this uncertainty, Yom Teruah was celebrated over two days (Yom Arichta — “one long day”), though it was considered a single day extended into two, to accommodate for the unknown start. This led to the popular idiomatic expression that no one could know the exact day or hour of its commencement.

Jesus’ Use of the Phrase in Matthew 24:36

When Jesus said: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

He was not merely stating that the timing of His coming is unknowable, but invoking a well-known Jewish idiom referring to the Feast of Trumpets. His Jewish audience would have understood this layered meaning, much as they understood other Messianic idioms like “the Bridegroom coming for His Bride.”

Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Feast of Trumpets, is the first of the fall feasts of Israel. Mentioned in Leviticus 23, the Biblical name is Yom Teruah—a Hebrew word that literally means day of blasting or shouting.

Rosh Hashanah, as it most often is called today, came later out of the period of Babylonian exile and eventually became known as the celebration of the new Hebrew year. It’s often referred to as the spiritual new year as it begins in the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar, called Tishrei.

While the biblical details on how to celebrate it are sparse, it's directly connected to what became known as the 10 days of Awe leading up to the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.

This feast was a time of repentance and introspection where the individuals search their hearts an ask God to forgive them. This is in preparation for the Feast of Atonement which follows in ten days.

As we hear the sound of the shofar, we recognize the Kingship of God.  It will be a day where they recognize afresh that Messiah Yeshua is King of their lives, and will acknowledge His rightful place on the throne.

It’s also a call to wake up from spiritual slumber. To remember the Creator. To repent and return to the One who loves them. To rekindle the flame within their hearts.

Finally, it's a time to remember all of the moments that God has come through for His people.

Here is some theology according to Truitt.

I believe the Lord is coming soon. I also believe the Feast of Trumpets is when all of Israel will hear the call and acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah. When? I don't know.

Paul told the Christians, 1 Thes. 5: 1-8 1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

(The Feast beings at the sight of the New Moon)

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

The Feast of Trumpets was sound to awaken from slumber. The feast started at the sight of the new moon. This was at a time and day based on the observation of the moon. No one knew when this would happen.

Zechariah 12:10

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

The classic text (Romans 11:16–24) depicts Israel as distinct from the Church: the “natural branches” are the Jews, and the “wild branches” are the Gentiles. The “olive tree” is the collective people of God. The “natural branches” (Jews) are “cut off” the tree for unbelief, and the “wild branches” (believing Gentiles) are grafted in. This has the effect of making the Jews “jealous” and then drawing them to faith in Christ, so they might be “grafted in” again and receive their promised inheritance. The “natural branches” are still distinct from the “wild branches,” so that God’s covenant with His people is literally fulfilled. Romans 11:26–29, citing Isaiah 59:20–21; 27:9; Jeremiah 31:33–34, says:

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”

Here, Paul emphasizes the “irrevocable” nature of Israel’s calling as a nation (see also Romans 11:12). Isaiah predicted that a “remnant” of Israel would one day “be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD” (Isaiah 62:12). Regardless of Israel’s current state of unbelief, a future remnant will in fact repent and fulfill their calling to establish righteousness by faith (Romans 10:1–8; 11:5). This conversion will coincide with the fulfillment of Moses’ prediction of Israel’s permanent restoration to the land (Deuteronomy 30:1–10).

When Paul says Israel will be “saved” in Romans 11:26, he refers to their deliverance from sin (verse 27) as they accept the Savior, their Messiah, in the end times. Moses said, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). 

So how will “all Israel be saved”? The details of this deliverance are filled out in passages such as Zechariah 8—14 and Revelation 7—19, which speak of end-times Israel at Christ’s return. The key verse describing the coming to faith of the future remnant of Israel is Zechariah 12:10, “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” The faithful remnant of Israel is epitomized in Revelation 7:1–8. These faithful ones the Lord will save and bring back to Jerusalem “in truth and righteousness” (Zechariah 8:7–8).

In the Day of the Lord, (The Feast of Atonement) God will “reclaim the surviving remnant of his people” (Isaiah 11:11). Jesus Christ will return and destroy the armies gathered against Him in rebellion (Revelation 19). Sinners will be judged, and the faithful remnant of Israel will be set apart forever as God’s holy people (Zechariah 13:8—14:21).

Not get into the discussion of the Church and Israel, I will say this both are from the same tree, and both have been called by God and have the same position in Christ.