Pastor Joshua Mlakela of South Africa has announced that the rapture of humanity will occur on October 12 and 13, 2026.
Mlakela, who has previously gained attention for unfulfilled apocalyptic forecasts, stated that the newly specified dates are final and that he expects no further postponements, according to a report by The Express.
The pastor claimed he received the October timeline after experiencing visions in which God and Jesus Christ appeared to him. He explained that the upcoming event represents the ascension of Christian believers into heaven prior to a period known as the Great Tribulation.
In Christian eschatology, the rapture is described as an event in which faithful believers are caught up from Earth into heaven. Theological interpretations frequently associate this event with the start of the Great Tribulation, a predicted period of severe global hardship and distress preceding Judgment Day.
Previous Prophecy and Follower Impact
Mlakela had previously predicted that the rapture would take place on September 23, 2025. Following that earlier forecast, several of his followers acted on the prophecy by selling their houses and cars, while some individuals resigned from their employment.
When the predicted September 2025 date passed without the event occurring, Mlakela claimed that God had postponed Judgment Day to allow humanity additional time for repentance.
The pastor now attributes his earlier miscalculation to a shift in calendar calculations. He linked his revised October prediction to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, asserting that the true date of the observance falls in October rather than September.
Rosh Hashanah marks the Jewish New Year and the beginning of the High Holy Days in Jewish tradition. Because the traditional Hebrew calendar relies on a lunisolar system, its holidays shift annually when mapped onto the standard Gregorian calendar.
Wider End-Times Predictions
The prediction by Mlakela comes alongside other public assertions regarding end-times events, including comments from billionaire investor Peter Thiel. Thiel previously predicted an imminent end of the world, claiming that the Antichrist is already present among humanity and that efforts to restrict technological development only accelerate the arrival of Armageddon.
Thiel is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist known for co-founding PayPal and Palantir Technologies. While Mlakela maintains that his latest timeline for humanity's rapture is definitive, the pastor stated he does not anticipate any further adjustments to the October dates.
