In the latest of many, many predictions of the end of the world, the Earth is set to end on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, according to a conspiracy theory going wild on TikTok and X.
Every now and then, someone (sometimes, but not always, Isaac Newton) suggests that the world is about to end in some horrifying new way. Without exception (see: you aren’t dead) they have all turned out to be nonsense, sometimes to the embarrassment of the “prophet” who suggested it. If you’re older than 13, you have already lived through being dinosaured by imaginary planet Niburu several times, and the great Mesoamerican apocalypse of 2012.
This year, despite no apocalypse predictions ever panning out, we are back to a good (semi) old-fashioned rapture scenario. For the uninitiated, there is a belief among a small number of largely evangelical Christians that at some point in the future all living and dead believers will rise into the air to meet God, while the nonbelievers are left behind. Known as “the rapture”, according to some believers this is the beginning of “tribulations” on Earth, a time of suffering and chaos for those who didn’t believe and subsequently were not ascended to heaven.
These views are surprisingly common in Evangelical circles, with one survey finding that around 61 percent of Evangelical leaders globally believing in the rapture. That number is set to increase on Tuesday when, according to Pastor Joshua Mhlakela and vast swathes of the conspiracy-minded Internet believe the rapture is going to take place.
As you’d expect from someone making such claims, very little was provided in the way of evidence. Instead, the “information” which has reportedly led to people selling off their Earthly possessions such as cars, came to the pastor in a dream.
“The rapture is here upon us, whether you are ready or not ready,” Mhlakela told CENTTWINZ TV on YouTube. “I saw Jesus sitting on his throne, and I could hear him very loud and clear saying, ‘I am coming soon’,” he added. “He said to me on the 23rd and 24th of September 2025, ‘I will come back to the Earth.’”
Elsewhere in the interview, the pastor claims that God gave him a vision of “powerful beings” chasing those who had been left behind through the streets and eating people, which isn’t the most solid evidence we’ve ever seen if we’re being honest.
So, is it going to happen? No. One hundred percent of world-ending predictions have been incorrect, and tomorrow’s will be no exception (feel free to drop us an email on Wednesday if we’re wrong!). The idea is religious and has no basis in fact or physical phenomena, with absolutely nothing (bar an unprompted nuclear war or unseen asteroid) set to end the world tomorrow.
The rapture is actually a fairly recent belief amongst some Christians, dating back only to 1830s, and is not widely accepted amongst most Christian groups. But even according to the passages interpreted to be about a rapture event, “no one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”, making it unclear why Mhlakela is getting advanced notice.
Though it is somewhat difficult to disprove such claims ahead of time, given their nonsensical nature, waking up on Wednesday should do the trick. Until the next rapture comes around, at least.
Source Link: How Is The World Is Going To End Tomorrow, According To Conspiracy Theorists?
