Nairobi, September 24- A recent TikTok trend had many people talking about the end of the world, with the hashtag #Rapture going viral. The belief was tied to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, where Christians say his followers both living and dead would rise into the sky to meet him.
What is the Rapture?
The Rapture is described as the moment when believers are taken up to Heaven, leaving non-believers behind on Earth. While some Christians embrace this teaching, especially among evangelical communities in the United States, not all denominations share the belief.
Interestingly, the word Rapture does not appear in the Bible. The idea is linked to Apostle Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he wrote that when Jesus returns, “those who are alive… will be caught up,” imagery often associated with the Rapture. Some also connect it to the Apocalypse, described as God’s final destruction of the world.
Why September 23?
The latest Rapture prediction gained traction after South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela claimed in a TV interview that he saw Jesus in a vision. In that vision, Jesus was said to return on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with the Rapture expected to take place on September 23 or 24.
However, the much-anticipated date has now passed without any such event taking place. Online, many people reacted with humor and skepticism, noting that similar doomsday predictions have surfaced in the past. One of the most famous was in 2012, when the abrupt end of the Mayan calendar led some to believe the world would cease to exist.
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