The end of the world is near, so says TikTok. Or rather, “RaptureTok.”
A corner of TikTok is exploding with videos devoted to the Rapture, the belief that faithful Christians, living and dead, will be swept up into the sky to meet Jesus Christ before being whisked to Heaven. According to some teachings, those left behind will face seven years of floods, plagues, war and other horrors on Earth.
Some believers say the Rapture, which leads to true Christians disappearing from the Earth in the blink of an eye, will begin Tuesday.
On social media, some said they have given away their belongings and quit their jobs. Others are offering practical tips for fellow believers.
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“When you finally start moving up into the air, I recommend that you don’t hold on to anything,” one woman said on TikTok. “I definitely don’t recommend looking down … Just keep calm, take a deep breath, slowly release it and keep your face looking upwards.”
Interest in the Rapture has sparked a flurry of mocking and satirical social media posts, as well, with people celebrating the coming lower rents or asking believers to hand over their money or keys to their home.
Look, if nothing else, the Rapture might make rent affordable again for those of us left behind.
— The Card (@JaggedAuthor) September 21, 2025
The Bible does not mention when the Rapture will occur, but the latest round of interest apparently comes from Joshua Mhlakela, a South African pastor who says he saw Jesus in a vision, returning to the world on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown Monday and ends at dusk Wednesday.
In an interview with CettwinzTV, Mhlakela said, “The Rapture is upon us, whether you are ready or not.”
Mhlakela went on to slightly hedge, clarifying that the Rapture will occur Sept. 23 or 24. When asked how confident he was, Mhlakela said he was “a billion percent sure.”
This is not the first time thoughts of the Rapture have spawned a mania.
The popular “Left Behind” series of fictional books and movies created by Tim LaHay and Jerry Jenkins in the late 1990s helped bring the idea to the mainstream masses.
In 2011, Harold Camping, a California preacher and radio evangelist, predicted the end of the world would be in May of that year. His predictions, using Biblical calculations, were largely mocked but also drew thousands of believers.
After the world did not end, Camping revised his prophecy, saying he had been off by five months. Camping later told his followers he had no evidence the world would end any time soon, and he was not interested in considering future dates.
“We realize that many people are hoping they will know the date of Christ’s return,” Camping wrote in 2012. “We humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.