Why is The Rapture Trending on TikTok? What is the Rapture?
Pictures from the Gospel of Matthew: Word for Word Bible Comic (Matt 24:23-31)
Yesterday and today #raptureready and #Rapture are trending on TikTok but why? For me, this is a fascinating coincidence as I am drawing the pages for 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 right now, ahead of our next Bible Comic Kickstarter
Why is The Rapture Trending on TikTok now?
Joshua Mhlakela, a pastor from South Africa, said in a TV interview that he had seen Jesus in a vision. In this vision, Jesus returned to Earth on Rosh Hashanah, which falls on the evening of Monday, 22nd September – Wednesday, 24th September in 2025. Mhlakela said that the Rapture would take place on either the 23th or 24th of September.
TikTok users have made this statement viral, with many asking "What is the rapture?" and others taking the opportunity to create derisory posts in response.
Pictures from the Gospel of Matthew: Word for Word Bible Comic (Matt 24:40-44)
What is the Rapture?
An extract from “GotQuestions.org”
“The rapture of the church is the event in which God “snatches away” all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on the earth. The rapture is described primarily in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50–54. God will resurrect all believers who have died, give them glorified bodies, and take them from the earth, along with all living believers, who will also be given glorified bodies at that time. “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up [Raptured] together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). The rapture will involve an instantaneous transformation of our bodies to fit us for eternity. “We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).”
Could the Rapture be today?
The short answer is “Yes”. Yes, because the Rapture could happen on any day. There are no prerequisite conditions for it to happen, and Christ teaches us to be ready for it to happen on any day. This is called the Doctrine of Imminence.
But there is no real reason to assume that the 23rd or 24th of September 2025 is any more likely than any other day.
Pictures from the Gospel of Matthew: Word for Word Bible Comic (Matt 24:40-44)
Is the Rapture the same as the Second Coming?
Many understand The Second Coming and the Rapture to be synonymous, with one happening at the same time as the other.
A more careful study of the Scriptures reveals that they are not the same and may indeed happen at different times. The Rapture can happen at any moment and involves the removal of the faithful from the Earth as Jesus appears in the air and calls his own. In the Second Coming, Christ comes down to Earth with his faithful and establishes his rule. Some see these two happening at the same time, believing that Christ will appear, rapture the church, and then descend to earth. While others believe the rapture will happen before the great tribulation, and Christ's return will be at the end.
For an in-depth study of these things, watch this video by Chuck Missler.
Does the word Rapture appear in the Bible?
Yes. There are many blogs and articles reporting on this Trend and many are claiming that the Rapture is not in the Bible. The word “Rapture”, that we use comes from when Latin was the language in which the Bible was studied. In Latin, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 reads “Deinde nos, qui vivimus, qui relinquimur, simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Christo in aera, et sic semper cum Domino erimus.”
Repiemur is the route word for Raptured. It means to be caught up, or snatched away, which is why modern translations use those words.
Is Rapture in the Bible? Yes the Latin Bible is the reason we use the word Rapture for this future event.
Coincidence?
The fact that I am drawing these pages and that we are gearing up to run our Kickstarter for The Epistles to the Thessalonians in just a few weeks they seem like a coincidence. But, as the Jews say, "coincidence is not a kosher word."
If you want to know more about the Rapture and see the verses in the context of the full epistle, be sure to read your Bible and come back to our Kickstarter…
