Feast of Trumpets 2025 Rapture: True or False?

This post will be a long one, and I pray you can glean some wisdom from it. With God’s help, I will be covering not only the specific prophetic claims of Joshua from South Africa, but also “no man knows the day or hour” and previous rapture predictions in general.

I have decided to follow Jesus to the truth, whatever the truth may be. This is why I cannot fully judge a matter before its time (1 Cor. 4:5). And I cannot debunk false prophecy until it fails (Deut. 18:22). Neither can I despise it until it has been tested (1 Thess. 5:20–21). Indeed, we must test the spirits (1 Jn. 4:1), being as “wise as serpents and [as] innocent as doves” (Mt. 10:16). In our recent video, I encouraged believers to place their faith only in Jesus and not a date; if this Rosh Hashanah comes and goes, we do not lose heart—we know Jesus is still on the way, because the signs are so clear! He hasn’t been delayed. At the same time, this week we should side neither with the skeptics nor the presumptuous.

The only way we should join the skeptics is if (1) prophetic claims are at direct odds with Scripture or (2) the claimant is shown to have prophesied falsely. The only way we should pin hopes on any supposed date is if (1) Scripture gives the date explicitly or (2) God Himself explicitly reveals it to you (that means directly, like God saying to Noah, “For in seven days I will send rain on the earth . . .”—not cryptically or ambiguously).

Now as many are well aware, a Christian from South Africa, Joshua Mhlakela, is claiming that Jesus has appeared to him bodily and given him the date(s) of the rapture as September 23rd or 24th of this year. That is literally within the next 3–5 days. If Joshua is speaking the truth, he actually should pin his hopes on the date (but with faith in Jesus, of course); moreover, he should tell everyone. And perhaps we should be willing to listen and consider; but given that God has not spoken to us directly, it is not for us to bank on a mere claim. Rather, we should keep our faith in Jesus, remembering the tension in Scripture between knowing (Mt. 16:3; 24:48–50; 1 Thess. 5:4; Heb. 10:25; Rev. 3:3) and not knowing (Mt. 24:36; 44). We should also test—and here are the conclusions I’ve drawn from my own personal test. Results can be 1. Passes, 2. Probably Passes, 3. Unknown, 4. Mixed, 5. Concerns, 6. Probably Fails, or 7. Fails:

Major Doctrine: Probably Passes. In terms of his personal fealty to biblical doctrine, Joshua claims to believe in the Trinity and has repeatedly affirmed the Gospel. That’s positive because it means I cannot quickly write him off as a false teacher. It’s also challenging for the same reason: while so many self-appointed “prophets” hold such self-evident false doctrine, even heresy, and can be dismissed out of hand, Joshua seems to be reasonably solid.

Minor Doctrine: Concerns. From what I’ve gathered, he seems to be consistent overall, but he is claiming rather emphatically in personal comments that the Antichrist is Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. I list this as a concern, rather than an outright failure, because Scripture doesn’t say. I don’t personally know. Scripture has been variously interpreted as hinting at the Antichrist’s ethnicity being Roman, Syrian, or Turkish (Dan. 9:26) or even Assyrian (Mic. 5:5). However, someone from the House of Saud would be stretching our understanding of Scripture. Additionally, Paul indicated that the Antichrist would only be revealed after the Restrainer is removed (2 Thess. 2:3, 7), this thus raises the question: is Joshua claiming that his belief regarding the Antichrist is a personal matter or the revelation of God? He has also described cannibalism and hybrid entities roaming about during the Tribulation; I wouldn’t consider this a concern, but rather a true unknown: Scripture simply doesn’t say.

Another possible issue is his claim that Jesus was employing an idiom for the Feast of Trumpets when He said, “no man knows the day or the hour” (Mt. 24:36). A thorough search reveals no direct historical support for this claim, and I have doubted this claim for a number of years. You can read about this here. At the same time, it is technically true that the Feast of Trumpets is the only one of the seven festivals that is unknown until it occurs because it is the only festival that begins with the sighting of the new moon itself; the dates of all the other festivals outlined in Leviticus 23 are known because they occur later in the month. It has also been known as Yom HaKeseh (“the hidden day” or “concealed day”); while this terminology isn’t directly equivalent to “no man knows the day,” it nevertheless hints in that direction. So instead of outright rejecting this claim, I would want to know if Joshua is claiming this is directly revealed by God or is just his opinion. Or perhaps he might claim that although this day has not been previously known as the day “no man knows,” God is only now revealing it as such, but by limiting our knowledge to a two-day period, He is still technically being faithful to the words of Matthew 24:36.

Previous False Prophecy: Unknown. He seems to be an unknown quantity with no previous “prophecies” that can be tested. He will pass or fail this test in the next four or so days.

Corroborating Testimony: Mixed. A woman named Hlengiwe Mchunu has been interviewed several times, claiming that Jesus showed her a calendar with the dates of the rapture. Her dates are the same as Joshua’s. Others have had similar claims, such as Danie Botha, a Gospel singer from South Africa. More pivotally, there have been an unexpected many thousands of people suddenly claiming that they’ve received “confirmations” via dreams, visions, or improbable coincidences involving numbers, conversations, etc. Having seen these more ambiguous and cryptic type of “confirmations” come and go over the years, I have two observations: first, patterns and cryptic clues do not prove a thing and can be misinterpreted; second, we are now seeing vastly more of these—like an order of magnitude more—regarding this week’s dates than from any previous occurrence. Is this because this time is different? Or is this the result of mass psychosis or confirmation bias?

Method of Claim: Passes. One thing most previous predictions regarding the rapture, the Second Coming, or the end of the world have in common is that they were derived from human reasoning and were based on calculations, specific interpretations of Scripture, purported signs, etc. Other claims came from known heretics (think Joseph Smith, Ellen White, or Sun Myung Moon). Some of these claims were made on the basis of having supposedly received knowledge from an entity other than God, such as an angel (Moroni, Gabriel, etc.). I believe a claim of such magnitude should come directly from God, accord with Scripture, and result in the strengthening of faith in Christ and solid doctrine. At least on this one point, I think Joshua’s claim may have a superior method of delivery (2 Pt. 1:20–21).

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An Analysis of Previous and Current Claims

In developing the chart below, I was interested in only two things: (1) What was the claimed source of the prediction? (2) What was the faith background of the one who predicted? As mentioned earlier, what you’ll find is that virtually all of these predictions were based on calculations, interpretation of Scripture or signs, supposed angelic visitations, etc. In other words: either derived from man’s reasoning or from someone (or something) other than God. Out of 55 well-known predictions, only three were based on the claim that Jesus Himself appeared and told the person. Two of those three are the current claims by Joshua and Hlengiwe. The third, a retroactive prediction that Jesus spiritually returned around 1917–1930, was made by the heretical cult called the Unification Church (they deny the Trinity, believe salvation comes through marriage, etc.).

We are in uncharted territory with a prediction that is (1) purportedly coming from Jesus directly, (2) held by someone who claims orthodox beliefs, and (3) has additional witnesses. Does this validate it to me personally? It can’t, because (1) this isn’t directly from Scripture, and (2) I would need God to confirm it directly. I place little faith in men. I also can’t reject it either—at least not until these dates come and go.

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Seeking a Balanced View of “No Man Knows” in Light of Christ’s Imminent Appearing

I think “no man knows” (Mt. 24:36) and “will come at an hour you do not expect” (Mt. 24:44) should give us pause and cause caution at the very least. This is why I think we ought to wait and watch, keeping our faith in Jesus alone.

The counterpoint to “no one knows” might be that other passages cause genuine tension, seem to apply more directly to the time of the end, and are arguably explained away far too quickly (the Parable of the Faithful Servant at the end of Mt. 24 [vv. 45–51]; 1 Thess. 5:4; Heb. 10:25; Rev. 3:3; etc.). Are these verses in the Olivet Discourse (Mt. 24:36 and 44) descriptive or prescriptive?

In other words, given that Jesus did not prophesy and say, “no man will ever know,” or “he is coming at an hour no one will ever expect,” was he proclaiming the situation as it existed in his day, with his disciples, or was he prophesying for all time? Similar questions could be raised regarding Acts 1:7: a situation for the disciples at the time the words were spoken—and maybe into the foreseeable future—or for all time? If for all time, why would passages that seem to speak of the actual and true end, point in the other direction? (e.g., Mt. 24:48–50; Heb. 10:25; Rev. 3:3; 1 Thess. 5:4.) Are these verses only hyperbole?

It’s interesting to consider an alternative history where “no man knows” was understood at the outset as descriptive only, and the Church historically recognizes 1 Thess. 5:4 and Rev. 3:3 as the proper approach to watching. (I’m not endorsing this, by the way—just pondering.)

At the same time, I think we’re witnessing some theological errors at the extremes:

On the “no one knows” extreme:

1. Jesus can come at any moment. Imminence cannot possibly mean (in my humble opinion) that Jesus is actually coming at any moment; the date is set, whether we will know it or not. I would argue that His coming is imminent because it (1) will be very soon, relatively speaking, and (2) will happen before the Tribulation, Antichrist, and God’s wrath; but not in the sense of any random moment.

2. Not even Jesus knows (Mt. 24:36). I still frequently hear people retort, “If even Jesus doesn’t know, how can we?” We can all recognize the issue here. Jesus does know—He is God. A distinction must be made between Jesus not knowing, while on earth, having “emptied Himself” (Phil. 2) and Jesus glorified in Heaven, having resumed all divine prerogatives. The implication here is that, regarding Matthew 24:36, the situation actually has changed since the words were spoken (at least for Christ Himself); that means that Jesus did intend Matthew 24:36 to be understood descriptively, at least in part. It was not a prophecy for all time, but an ongoing situation for an unspecified and unclear period of time leading up to His return.

On the date-setting extreme:

1. The passage is only speaking about the passing away of heaven and earth (v. 35 context). I played with this idea before, but I doubt this argument for various reasons. The first of which is that Jesus applies the idea of the date mystery to His coming, not just when heaven and earth pass away (e.g., v. 44).

2. We can know for sure / should not be cautious / believing predictions is a test of faith. This is unwise, which is self-explanatory for many reasons. And do not forget that the only qualification for the rapture is being in Christ.

Now if Jesus Himself—not an angel, not through man’s reasoning—actually  delivers the message to someone, they certainly should convey the message and that would be a test of faith. But without God Himself delivering the message, I firmly believe these “confirmations” that people are experiencing (and there are thousands)—myself included, which I’ve shared privately—should not be interpreted as equivalent to God explicitly revealing.

I believe it is essential to posture myself as open to what God is doing, not naysaying, etc.—yet also placing my faith in Jesus and not a date. This is very important. If the rapture happens or does not happen on September 23rd or 24th, I will not be in the least bit surprised. I would encourage everyone to be cautious, but be open. Whichever side of the debate you find yourself on, get rid of pride and trust in Christ. God is at work. Maranatha!

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My Personal Conclusions

1. The awake Church does struggle with confirmation bias, myself included. We want Jesus! That means we have to be careful, wise, and discerning. That does not mean skeptical. Rather, we should trust but verify (1 Cor. 13:7; 1 Jn. 4:1). We should not despise prophecy. I am not a cessationist; I believe God continues to work miracles and speak through people, but these miracles and prophetic words must comport with Scripture.

2. The asleep Church does struggle with normalcy bias. The asleep Church also has a sort of echo chamber of its own with the “no man knows” mantra, likely not having a well-reasoned or balanced view on this topic.

3. Unless God has directly and unambiguously revealed it to you, date-setting has so far had a 100% failure rate. It’s unwise. Is this time different? If God really spoke to Joshua; if He really revealed the calendar to Hlengiwe, Botha, and others; if He really is confirming it through dreams, visions, and improbable coincidences, then this time is totally and completely different. Do I know one way or the other? No, but I’m awake, and I will not despise, ridicule, accuse, and reject before the proper time.

4. Our posture should always be to remain open to what God is doing. Both sides have often painted themselves into a corner. If God is revealing this to the Church, do you really want to be opposed? Likewise, if this is a deception of some sort, do you really want to put your faith in this over Christ? In accord with actually being open to what God is doing, it seems self-evident that we should pray in genuine faith for God to reveal the truth of the matter; I wonder how many skeptics dismissed this out of hand; similarly, I wonder how many presumed it was correct without really testing or wrestling with the claims.

5. Many have noted that “the math maths” in 2025, even well before Joshua went public with his claims. I have speculated for years that 2023–2026 was the likeliest range of time for the rapture (see here and here), but this comes from my personal research and understanding. I could be wrong. At the moment, I think I well could be right! That’s why this Feast of Trumpets, prophetic claims aside, makes perfect sense to me. At the same time, I won’t lose hope because the rest of this year—and even next year—fits tremendously well (in my present understanding). I do not for one second believe God has led us this far and revealed so much over the past several years (hint-hint-hint-hint) to leave us confused, disappointed, and perpetually waiting. He is about to split the sky!

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