September 23, 2025, was supposed to be, according to some “digital prophets,” the date of the rapture: Christ’s return to take away the true believers. According to the media outlet La Razón, the fever spread under the tag #rapturetok, especially among evangelicals in the United States, where thousands of TikTok users assured they were ready to leave this world.
The origin of the prophecy lies with a South African evangelical pastor, Joshua Mhlakela, who claimed to have dreamed of the date. His video went viral and soon became a global trend, especially in the North American evangelical universe. As often happens on the internet, what started as an isolated occurrence ended up turning into a wave of collective religious anxiety.
Preparations for a trip that never happened
Among the most striking videos were houses tidied up and left open “so that Jesus could enter,” signs explaining the ascension of families, and even people who sold all their belongings convinced they wouldn’t need them anymore. One user summarized the spirit of the movement: “I’d rather they call me crazy, a Jesus fanatic, than leave me behind”.
There were also those who took advantage of the phenomenon for humor, asking for designer clothes from those who would “disappear” or posting end-of-the-world memes. However, for many it was something very serious: in South Africa, crowds even gathered to wait together for the moment of the supposed rapture.
The harsh reality: no one ascended
September 24 dawned like any other day. No one was raptured to the heavens, and those waiting for the heavenly trumpet had to return, between disappointment and resignation, to their usual routine.
Some tried to justify the failure with phrases like: “It’s still September 23 somewhere in the world”. Others assured that “it would be the 23rd or the 24th,” without specifying the year. But reality prevailed: the rapture did not occur.
And here resonates strongly what Christ taught: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mt 24,36). A reminder that seems forgotten by those who let themselves be carried away by improvised prophecies on social media.
We leave below one of the compilations of this phenomenon that was experienced a few days ago on social media:
@lagatadeschrodinger Según Tiktok, ayer debería haber acabado el mundo. ¿Habéis notado algo? #rapturetok #rapture #religión #eeuu