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Y2K, 2012, The End Clock, and now I’m ecstatic.
Theories about the end of the world have been pervasive for decades. But this week, internet experts appeared to believe in the Rapture, an event that evangelical Christians essentially believe to mark the end of human history.
According to the intersection, a Missouri-based church, the joy comes when Jesus returns to gather Christians on Earth and bring them to heaven.
Earlier this year, South African men theorized that the rapture would take place on September 23rd or 24th. Speculation spread online, with some Christians beginning to plan the event, while others satirizing that they would rise into the sky.
“It’s time to organize your home. Be prepared for your family to return to heaven,” Christian content creator @kingdomwealth_christina wrote in a video on September 18th for Tiktok.
What is a Rapture?
Although the rapture is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, some Christians interpret New Testament poems as describing events that encompass Jesus’ return to earth, where he suddenly takes his followers to heaven. However, according to the Ethnos360 Bible Institute, a Christian university, theories about the end of the world, such as the rapture, are not agreed by all Christians.
Why did people think the rapture was happening?
The belief that the rapture will take place on September 23rd or 24th appears to have emerged from a podcast interview released in June.
In it, Joshua Murachela, a Christian from South Africa, said that Jesus told him in a dream.
“He tells me, on September 23rd and 24th, 2025, I will take away my church,” Murakera said.
The video has received over 600,000 views so far.
Some on social media are planned for joy, while others have joked about it
Whether the joy was certain that on September 23rd, what aspects of the Internet were dependent on.
Some Christian content creators had planned for the end of the world.
“My last video. Meet my brothers and sisters in the clouds” user @romans.ten.9through11 captioned the video of Tiktok where they said “it feels like my story is over.”
Another user named Melissa Johnston shared a video sharing how to plan out “left” items, including drugs, bills, and passwords.
One of them shared a clip of tears. There, he broke what he believed was his last day with his children.
On the less serious side of things, some people have made playful videos about their loved ones they thought weren’t included in the joy.
“I’ll prepare my husband for the rapture on Tuesday because there’s nowhere he’ll go,” one person said he’d passed basic home tasks in Tiktok.
Others – those who seemingly not religious or simply inexplicable by Internet theory, have been removed by that possibility.
“So, I know you’re coming tomorrow, so if you’re worried about it like me, I’m going to make you a little secret,” user @spicytuna16 said in Tiktok. “All you need to do is save your life to Venmo, CashApp or Zelle.”
Another user shared the “rules of joy” including planning a livestream when ascending into heaven.
Melina Kahn is a national trending reporter for USA Today. She can be contacted at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
