Pastor Joshua Mhlakela, a South African preacher known for previous failed predictions, claims that the Rapture will occur between October 12 and 13, 2026. He bases this prediction on what he describes as divine visions and insists it is the final date provided by God. The Rapture, according to some Christian beliefs, involves believers being lifted into Heaven before a period of tribulation. Mhlakela has faced skepticism for his earlier incorrect predictions set for September 23, 2025, which caused significant social disruption among followers.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The Christian pastor who sparked panic with a failed prediction of the Rapture has made a new claim that the end-times belief is near.
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belief → spark → claim
Pastor Joshua Mhlakela, a South African preacher, recently said he has calculated the exact time of the biblical event in which believers are lifted into the clouds to meet Jesus Christ, claiming that it will happen between October 12 and 13.
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it → say → October
The Rapture is a belief held by some Christians called 'eschatology,' which is the study of end-times events, marking the Second Coming of Jesus and Judgment Day for non-believers.
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which → hold → believers
Mhlakela has claimed in multiple interviews and his own videos online that both God and Jesus have appeared to him in visions, revealing when the Rapture would take place and what the fallout on Earth would look like.
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fallout → claim → Earth
The controversial pastor declared: 'God told me because there's no other date coming out, 12 to 13 October, which is the true feast of trumpets, which is when I will be meeting my savior face to face in the rapture.'
Mhlakela has drawn widespread skepticism and criticism for his wild predictions, including incorrectly marking the date of the Rapture multiple times in 2025.
He sent social media into a frenzy when he alleged the biblical event would take place on September 23, 2025, convincing scores of believers who watched his predictions online to sell their homes and cars and even quit their jobs.
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who → declare → jobs
I mean, there's no other rapture date.
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I → mean → ?
This is the final date for me,' Mhlakela claimed in an interview on September 17.
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Mhlakela → claim → September
Pastor Joshua Mhlakela (Pictured) has falsely predicted the biblical event known as the Rapture.
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Mhlakela → predict → Rapture
He recently said it will now start on October 12, 2026
The Rapture is considered a kind of rescue, where believers are instantly taken away from Earth to avoid a coming period of intense suffering called the Tribulation (Stock Image)
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believers → say → suffering
The pastor claimed his previous false predictions were not errors, but the work of God, who was delaying the final judgement to give humanity more time to repent.
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who → claim → time
He said the delay was actually fulfilling Scripture, which says the Tribulation days will be shortened for the sake of the 'elect' - meaning the people God has chosen before Jesus returns.
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Jesus → say → people
This event is thought to be a kind of rescue, where believers are instantly taken up from Earth into Heaven to avoid a coming period of intense suffering called the Tribulation.
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believers → think → suffering
Biblical texts describe the Tribulation as a seven-year period of chaos and disasters, where evil rules on Earth before Jesus returns again to set up a peaceful kingdom.
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Jesus → describe → kingdom
Mhlakela has said that his first visions of Jesus came to him in 2018, when he warned that the Rapture would come on September 23, 2025, during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, also known as Rosh Hashanah.
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Rapture → say → Hashanah
Some Christians have tied the annual holiday to the prophecy that Jesus will return to Earth 'with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.'
However, Mhlakela now says the date of the Feast of Trumpets has been off by one month, pushing the actual time of the Rapture roughly 30 days past the annual celebration of Rosh Hashanah.
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date → tie → Hashanah
'Many are saying Feast of Trumpets is September when you Google [it's] September 11.
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it → say → September
The true Feast of Trumpets is actually in October,' Mhlakela claimed during his interview with CettwinzTV.
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Mhlakela → claim → CettwinzTV
Many Christians have pushed back on claims the Rapture's date has been revealed, saying that date-setting goes against the teachings of Jesus (Stock Image)
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setting → push → Jesus
The pastor explained that his new calculation for the Rapture was based on additional visions from Jesus which pointed him toward later days.
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which → explain → days
According to Mhlakela, a vision involving two full moons convinced him the calendar itself was off by about a month because the current celebration of Passover was taking place under the astrological sign of Pisces.
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celebration → accord → Pisces
He tied that gap to the Exodus story of Israel’s departure from Egypt, saying the 'true' Passover must fall when the sun is in Aries, just as it is said to have taken place during the biblical Exodus.
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it → tie → Exodus
The pastor then applied that same one-month shift to his new Feast of Trumpets date in mid-October.
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pastor → apply → October
However, the Bible did not document the sun being in Aries during the Exodus.
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sun → document → Exodus
It only said Passover falls in the first month of spring, with the Aries link coming from later writers such as Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian - not from the Exodus account itself.
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link → say → account
Moreover, Mhlakela's end times predictions continue to receive pushback from many Christians who believe setting a definitive date for the Second Coming of Jesus goes against the teachings of the Bible.
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setting → continue → Bible
Vladimir Savchuk, a pastor, author, and YouTube preacher, said last September: 'If someone sets the date, they are directly contradicting Jesus's word.'
He further debunked the Rapture claims by noting that Scripture says the son of perdition must be revealed first, referring to a figure often interpreted as the Antichrist.
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son → say → Antichrist
'2 Thessalonians 2:3, it says clearly that Jesus is not returning until the Antichrist is revealed, and that has not happened yet,' Savchuk explained.
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Savchuk → say → ?
The Aporia
