TikTok users were sent into a frenzy last week after multiple preachers started promoting a prophecy that the end of the world is coming. Now that the predicted date has passed, some of those pastors are apologizing.
South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela was one of the leading voices behind the theory, which he said came to him in a vision. He claimed that Jesus would return during Rosh Hashanah, the new year in Judaism, between Sept. 22 and Sept. 24, kickstarting the end of the world. The prophecy sparked a viral TikTok trend dubbed “RaptureTok.” But with Rosh Hashanah now over, multiple pastors have begun to distance themselves from the prediction.
"I’m here with all humility to apologize to everyone who has heard me promote brother Joshua’s 23rd and 24th date of September rapture," said pastor King Salemigwe, who posts on both TikTok and Instagram. "The date was not given to me. I only believed a man who claimed Jesus told him. ... I want to admit that was erroneous."
Another evangelist, Tilahun Desalegn, also issued an apology for promoting what Mhlakela said about his prophecy of the rapture. "The rapture didn’t happen. I am sorry to anyone I let down," Desalegn said in a post on TikTok. "I will never publicly talk about the rapture again."
When the rapture failed to materialize, Mhlakela hosted a livestream on Sept. 23 as he awaited for his prophecy to come true. As reported by Metro, he repeatedly advised his viewers to be patient and told them, "the Lord is on his way." He ultimately ended the livestream, which has since been removed, during the early hours of Sept. 24. "Please keep waiting with us, he is coming," he said. "September 23rd, 24th. One of these two days, he is coming."
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