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Why Christians Should Keep Watching For The Rapture

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Just this past week, what has been the highest-watch period for the Rapture that I've ever seen among end-times watchers, regarding the Feast of Trumpets on September 23-24, 2025, has come and seemingly gone.

A few people are still holding out hope that the Gregorian calendar is off by about two weeks compared to the Julian calendar, however, I'm not convinced by that argument, for a few reasons I mention in the Appendix at the end of this post.

However, just because the Rapture did not occur during this high-watch period does not mean that Christians should stop watching and hoping for the Rapture. High-watch periods are simply a time that looks like it could be a high possibility for the Rapture, and are never a hundred-percent guarantee.

In this post, I will explain why I believe that those who got their hopes up during this high-watch period were doing exactly what they should have done, and that there is no reason why Christians should stop watching for the Rapture simply because this high-watch period has apparently passed.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32)

Even during this recent high-watch period during the Feast of Trumpets 2025, no one that I'm aware of who held out hope that the Rapture would occur was technically violating this prophecy.

This is because, as I explained in my previous post, the Feast of Trumpets does not begin at a set time or date, but depends on the ability of two witnesses to spot the sliver of the new moon from Jerusalem. This means that the Feast of Trumpets is known as the feast where when no one knows the day or hour it will begin.

Not even Joshua Mhlakela, the former pastor who has become famous for his testimony that Jesus appeared to him to tell him the Rapture would happen on either September 23 or 24, 2025, ever officially narrowed down the time period to only one of those particular days, or to a specific hour, even though he had his own personal guesses.

There was a lot of speculation and hope among many end-times watchers about certain hours within this two-day period. Some thought the Rapture would happen at dusk in Jerusalem, which is supposedly the time called the "twinkling of the eye". Others thought it might happen at the time when the "last trumpet" was blown in Israel as part of the Feast of Trumpets. Both of these things are alluded to in 1 Corinthians 15:52 as being associated with the Rapture.

But there was still enough uncertainty about when these events would occur that no one could say they absolutely knew the day or hour that the feast would begin, or whether the Rapture would happen at that moment.

As I noted in my previous post, the Old Testament Feast of Trumpets does have a lot of symbolism going for it that suggests it is meant to represent the Rapture.

Over the years, many end-times watchers have expected the Rapture to happen sometime during one of the two days of the Feast of Trumpets, because of how Jesus fulfilled the three Old Testament spring feasts to the exact day with his crucifixion, burial, and ascension. The feast of Pentecost was also fulfilled by God sending the Holy Spirit to the early church in Acts 2 on this exact day (Acts 2:1-41).

Therefore, anyone who tries to discourage Christians from hoping that the Rapture might occur during the Feast of Trumpets, on any year, by insisting that "no one knows the day or hour", has not done their homework.

And actually, anyone who quotes Matthew 24:36 or Mark 13:32 to claim that the Rapture will definitely not happen during any particular high-watch period are speaking against themselves.

Because if it is true that no one knows the exact day or hour of the Rapture, then it is also inherently true that no one can honestly say for sure that the Rapture will not happen on any particular day or hour!

That is, at least, not until after the Rapture has actually happened, the Antichrist has been revealed, and the Tribulation has started (2 Thessalonians 2:3-5, Revelation 6:1-2).

Therefore, Christians should still keep watching for Jesus' return at the Rapture, even after a high-watch period has seemingly passed.

It could be that, because the Feast of Trumpets is unique among all seven Old Testament feasts due to how it is the only feast where no one can know its exact start time, this feast could still symbolically represent how the Rapture will happen at a truly unknown day and time.

After all, there had to be some sort of identifiable signal given by God for the Israelites to know when they should begin the Feast of Trumpets at around the same time of year every year. It couldn't be completely random, or no one would ever have known when to celebrate it. So the symbolism and typology of the Feast of Trumpets and its uncertain start date and time does still point to the truth that the Rapture could occur on an unknown day and time anytime during the year.

Thus, Christians who are still watching and hoping for Jesus' return at the Rapture do not have to wait until the Feast of Trumpets next year, or for a new 'high watch' period to come along in order to remain watchful and hopeful for Jesus to come take us to heaven at the Rapture.

Furthermore, the Bible specifically encourages Christians to continually keep watching and remaining hopeful for the Rapture, and not just during particular times of the year.

There are also strong biblical warnings for Christians who are not watching for Jesus' return, and even more warnings for those who mock and scoff at the idea of the Rapture.

Both of these topics will be examined in the rest of this post.

Christians Are Called to Watch for Jesus' Return at the Rapture

The fact that a high-watch period has passed does not cancel out any of the verses in the Bible which teach that Christians should be watching for Jesus' return at all times. Indeed, the Bible says many times that Jesus is coming at a time we do not expect:

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:42-44)

Likewise,

Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Luke 12:35-40)

Jesus warned the Church of Smyrna that "Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you" (Revelation 3:3, NKJV).

Jesus also warned Christians to not get so wrapped up in their lives in this world that we are not watching for his return:

But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:34-36, NKJV)

If you are concerned about how the above verse says "pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things", as if it might imply that only some true Christians will go in the Rapture, I have written more about how I interpret this verse in my post about why all true Christians will be Raptured.

But in short, Paul explains that if Christians are paying attention, we will be able to see the day of the Rapture approaching:

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-5)

So the appropriate behavior for Christians is to give up living in ways that sinners do, and to carefully watch and be ready for the Rapture to happen at anytime (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, Romans 13:11-14). Not all Christians will do this though, and so some will be living in ways that make them look like they should not have been "counted worthy" to escape the Tribulation.

So all Christians are instructed to always be watching for the Rapture, whether it's a 'high-watch' time or not, and to live accordingly as if Jesus could truly come to take us home at any moment. However, these verses also imply that some Christians will not do this, and so they will be shocked when the Rapture happens at a time they did not expect.

Just after a high-watch period has ended would certainly qualify as being a time when most Christians, even those who are watching for the Rapture, would not expect for the Rapture to happen. So this is not the time to give up watching, or to give up living in ways that please Jesus.

It is also certainly no excuse to give up on faith in Jesus altogether. Every day that the Rapture does not happen means we are simply one day closer to it.

I am still persuaded that the pretribulation Rapture is still the best interpretation of end-times Bible prophecy, as I explain in this post about my top five reasons why the Rapture must happen before the Tribulation begins.

I am also still persuaded that it is best to interpret the Book of Revelation literally, and that when we do so, it teaches that the Rapture will happen before all the terrible events in Revelation chapters 6 to 18.

In my opinion, those who argue against the pretribulation Rapture have not properly put together all of the different Bible verses which clearly say that the next time Jesus returns will be at a time when for most people around the world, life is going on like normal, even though Christians who are watching will simultaneously be able to see all the signs of the end times occurring in the world around us.

This situation described above clearly does not match descriptions of Jesus' official second coming when he appears in the sky on a white horse, followed by the armies of heaven, after the world has been devastated by all the divine judgments described in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 19:11-18). Thus, we know that Jesus' coming at the Rapture is not the same event as Jesus' second coming, just in case anyone needs any clarification on that.

And just because this recent high-watch time has passed, it does not cancel out any of these signs of the end times that are still increasing in frequency and intensity on a daily basis. This is exactly what Jesus prophesied when he said that these signs would be like a pregnant woman's contractions before she gives birth (Matthew 24:8, Mark 13:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:3).

I've heard this analogy used by other end-times watchers: let us imagine that a woman is pregnant, and the doctor gives her an expected due-date. If that due-date passes without the woman giving birth, she doesn't say, "Alright, that's it, clearly I'm never going to have this baby!". Instead, passing by her due date would mean that she's even more likely to give birth at anytime.

So let's not give up on hoping for the Rapture, just because this high-watch period has passed by.

Christians Are Called to Hope For Jesus' Return at the Rapture

No Christian should ever be embarrassed or ashamed about wanting to be with Jesus in heaven, in the places he is preparing for us (John 14:1-3), which will be far better than this world (Philippians 1:23). Many famous past heroes of faith also had this same desire (Hebrews 11:16).

Jesus' appearing at the Rapture is also called Christians' blessed hope (Titus 2:13).

So if Christians truly love Jesus more than anything else in our lives, then we should want to be with him in heaven. Accordingly, we should be interested in watching for the signs that the Rapture may happen soon.

It has been shown that the Rapture can be compared to a wedding between Christ and his Church, which human marriage between a man and a woman is meant to symbolically represent (Ephesians 5:31-32).1 We all know that the proper attitude of a bride who truly loves her fiancé is to be excited and looking forward to her wedding day.

So I believe that someone who truly loves Jesus and who wants to be with him should continually long for and watch for the Rapture. Therefore, such a person should at least hope that Jesus really might take us home to heaven to be with him on upcoming high-watch days, or indeed, any day, even today.

Furthermore, Christians who live their lives with this attitude of constantly longing for Jesus' return will one day be rewarded by receiving a special heavenly reward called the "crown of righteousness" (2 Timothy 4:8).

Christians are also told to encourage one another by reminding each other about the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:18), and to encourage each other to continue on in love, sharing the gospel, and doing good works as we watch and see the signs of this day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25). In this way, we engage in our Master's business until he comes, and we will be rewarded for our work (Luke 19:11-27, Matthew 25:14-30).

Therefore, it is only appropriate for Christians to get excited about the Rapture, and to tell others about their hope of it happening on these days. That way, others can also look forward to it and gain that heavenly reward of the crown of righteousness.

So no Christian should ever be embarrassed that they were too watchful or too hopeful about the Rapture happening during a particular high-watch time.

Don't Be a Mocker and Scoffer

Conversely, I believe that for a true Christian to scoff at particular high-watch times and to claim that Jesus definitely isn't coming back then, to mock others for believing that he is coming back, and to ignore or downplay all of the signs that continue to point to the coming end-times, shows that something is not right in their hearts (2 Peter 3:3-4).

In contrast to Christians who eagerly want to be with Jesus, the mockers' and scoffers' behavior seemingly demonstrates that they themselves do not apparently either long for or love Jesus' appearing at the Rapture.

The mockers and scoffers also clearly do not demonstrate love for their fellow Christians who simply did what the Bible recommends regarding watching and longing to be with Jesus, and who are now sad and disappointed about this very promising high-watch time has passed by. Yet having love for fellow Christians is one sign that identifies who is a true Christian (1 John 3:10, 4:20).

One thing I had always wondered about when studying the end times was Jesus' parable of the faithful and wicked servants in Matthew 24:45-51 and Luke 12:42-48:

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, "My master is delayed," and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:45-51)

While in the past, there have always been some scoffers and mockers who tried to discourage Christians who looked forward to the Rapture, the attention given to this recent September 23-24, 2025 high-watch period caused the mocking and scoffing attitude to explode across the Internet, even before these high-watch days had fully passed.

As I watched various YouTube videos and livestreams during these past few days, I saw how there were thousands of mockers and scoffers leaving comments saying that the Rapture was a false doctrine, and that Christians who hoped that Jesus would return at the Rapture during this time either did not understand the Bible, or had been deceived by Satan.

Many mockers and scoffers went even further to call those who had looked forward to this high-watch period 'false prophets', even though talking about a high-watch period for the Rapture is clearly different than making an absolute promise that it will definitely happen on a particular date.

Sometimes, the mockers and scoffers told these hopeful Christians that they needed to apologize and take down their channels, and even went so far as to condemn fellow Christians to hell or label them as being demon-possessed for simply being wrong about what looked to be a very promising high-watch time for the Rapture.

Overall, I'd say that a strong majority of the mockers' and scoffers' comments that I saw were hostile and seemingly full of anger and hatred. They did not demonstrate any of the fruit of the spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

In contrast, this fruit was being demonstrated by those believers who were still hanging onto their hope that Jesus might still come at the very last second of the Feast of Trumpets, since we know that Jesus wants as many people as possible to be saved (2 Peter 3:9), and so they were comforting and encouraging each other to not give up hope yet.

Furthermore, the mockers and scoffers, for all their claims of knowing Scripture better than others, did not follow the biblical instructions that Christians should not be quarrelsome but should be kind and gentle when trying to correct fellow Christians, if the mockers and scoffers truly felt that these Christians had been misled (2 Timothy 2:24-26, Galatians 6:1).

Instead, to tear down fellow Christians who were already heartbroken that Jesus did not come back at the Rapture as they had hoped seems to me to be much more like something Satan would do, since Satan is called the "accuser" of Christians (Revelation 12:10).

Such behavior also fits perfectly with how Matthew 24:45-51 describes the wicked servant's behavior, who says "My master is delayed," and proceeds to beat the servants who had been faithfully watching for their master's return.

That some people would try to make Christians give up hope in Jesus' return at the Rapture is also exactly what Jesus warned would happen, when he said that some people would attempt to take away or seize Christians' crowns (Revelation 3:11).

This verse comes immediately after Jesus' promise that he would keep true Christians completely out of the time of the Tribulation (Revelation 3:10), via the Rapture. Thus, it makes sense for Jesus' warning here to refer to that crown of righteousness, since as mentioned earlier, this is the crown that is promised to all Christians who love and long for Jesus' return at the Rapture (2 Timothy 4:8).

After all, eternal salvation can never be lost (Ephesians 1:13-14), so the risk of losing a crown, and the command to not let anyone take away this crown, must refer to some sort of reward that Christians can either gain or lose based on our actions and attitudes, and not to our eternal salvation which is received freely as a gift, based only on faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9).

So I believe that it is fair for Jesus to label these mockers and scoffers as being wicked servants, due to their behavior of attempting to steal away a major heavenly reward from fellow Christians who are simply loving Jesus and longing for him to return.

Because of how much attention this recent high-watch period for the Rapture received,2 this sort of mocking and scoffing has now occurred at a much higher intensity than I've never seen before, and which many other end-times watchers have also never seen before. Therefore, I would basically consider these prophecies of the wicked servants in Matthew chapter 24, and of the mockers and scoffers in 2 Peter chapter 3, to now be fulfilled, or at least, to have been fulfilled to a much greater extent than they were before.

So in a way, the fulfillment of these prophecies may actually show just how close we truly are to Jesus' coming at the Rapture, in comparison to before this recent high-watch time.

Yet ironically, how could the mockers and scoffers even be able to credibly say that "My master is delayed," (Matthew 24:48) if they are right that no one can have any idea of an approximate timeframe when Jesus was expected to return?

Currently, it does appear that Jesus has been 'delayed', at least compared to the many prophecies and confirmations that Christians received over the past few months about September 23-24, 2025 being the time when Jesus would return at the Rapture. I will share some of my personal thoughts on this possible 'delay' in the Appendix at the bottom of this post.

But for now, in summary, when the mockers and scoffers are compared to the Christians who are eagerly watching for the Rapture, it seems clear that the mockers and scoffers are failing on a number of very important points:

  • They are not demonstrating love for Jesus and/or his return at the Rapture.
  • They are not demonstrating love for fellow Christians.
  • They are not demonstrating the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
  • They are not following the biblical instructions to encourage fellow Christians as we see the signs of the end times approaching.
  • They are not following the biblical instructions to correct fellow Christians who we believe are mistaken with gentleness and kindness.
  • They are actually acting like the wicked servants in Matthew 24 and Luke 12.

Yet another failing of the end-times mockers and scoffers is that they are not doing what God calls end-times watchers to do, which is to warn others when we see the signs of the end times are approaching. This will be discussed in the next section.

End-Times Watchers Are Responsible For Warning Others

In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, God told the prophet Ezekiel to act like a watchman who would stand up on a fortified wall or tower of a city, and whose job was to watch for enemies who may come to threaten the city.

If this watchman saw enemies coming and did not warn the people in the city, then God would hold the watchman accountable for the deaths of the people that the watchman did not warn. But if the watchman did send out a warning, then God said that whoever did not listen to the warning would be responsible for their own deaths (Ezekiel 33:1-6).

Many end-times watchers take this verse very seriously. I do also, which is why I tried to do my part to put out information showing that this really was a very high-watch period, and to warn both Christians and those who may not yet believe in Jesus to get ready for the Rapture.

So when some critics tell Christians things like "Don't talk about the end times, just preach the gospel," I think these critics just don't get it. Watching for the end times is not incompatible with preaching the gospel. It is, in fact, possible to do both at the same time.

And in reality, believing that Jesus is coming back soon at the Rapture actually encourages evangelism, because Christians who truly love others will want to make sure that as many people as possible are saved before the Rapture happens, just as God does (2 Peter 3:9).

If Christians truly believe that the Tribulation will be the worst period of time in the entire history of the world (Matthew 24:21), it would be irresponsible of us to not warn others to get ready for the Rapture, and to not share the gospel with those who might not be saved, especially if we love them. In fact, it would be downright unloving to keep this information to ourselves.

If the Rapture does not happen when we expect, then as sad and disappointed as many end-times watchers often become, we should also be glad that it means there is more time for people who are not yet saved to possibly believe the gospel before the Tribulation begins.

We should not be ashamed that we put out warnings out of love for others when we saw everything coming together to make a very good case that the Rapture could happen at a particular high-watch day. This is exactly what end-times watchers should do, and it demonstrates the strong faith and courage of these watchers to openly talk to others about their faith in Jesus and in the coming Rapture.

For this reason, I believe that God is pleased with everyone who took this recent high-watch time seriously, and did what they could to warn others and share the gospel.

Does God Ever Commend the Doubters?

It is true that regarding this past September 23-24, 2025, some Christians did give very strong statements regarding their confidence in this high-watch period, such as Joshua Mhlakela's "one billion percent" guarantee that Jesus would return on one of these days.

But from what I saw, although most end-times watchers were excited about the possibility, they were also slightly hesitant to go that far in making any guarantees. This was especially true for the experienced watchers who had seen other high-watch times come and go.

Still, the end-times watchers and those Christians who received what they believed were prophecies and confirmations from God were doing what they should have done by sharing this information. It took faith, and courage, but God tends to commend these sorts of people, and criticizes the doubters.

For example, Peter asked for confirmation about whether the figure he saw coming toward the boat that he and the other disciples were in was truly Jesus. Once Peter received this confirmation, he stepped out in faith onto the water and took a risk that all the other disciples were not willing to take (Matthew 14:28-29).

Thomas, also, was unwilling to believe the testimonies of the other disciples that Jesus had truly come back from the dead. Once he, too, encountered the resurrected Jesus, he finally believed, but Jesus said "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

In the Old Testament, Gideon asked for confirmation twice about whether he should lead the Israelites into battle, and received it. Even though he may have been afraid, he still went ahead with the plan (Judges 6:36-40).

Abraham's wife Sarah is famous for doubting and laughing at the Lord's prophecy that she would have a child in her old age, as unlikely as it seemed. Yet God didn't seem to think it was very funny (Genesis 18:9-15).

So overall, I think God is likely far more pleased with those who spoke out and warned about this September 23-24 as potentially being the time for the Rapture, rather than with the scoffers and mockers.

But What About The Warnings About False Prophets and Teachers?

However, what about the scoffers' and mockers' accusations that the people who "set a date" for the Rapture were false prophets or false teachers who were inspired by Satan for the purpose of discouraging Christians and tarnishing Christianity's reputation in front of non-believers?

It is true that very rarely, God does use deception as a severe form of judgment on unbelievers (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, 1 Kings 22:19-23).

However, I do not see any instance in the Bible where God intentionally misleads his faithful people who are truly seeking him, or any examples of when God allows his faithful people to be misled en masse. I also cannot think of any instance in the Bible where true and faithful believers in God are commended for mocking and scoffing at anyone.

There are warnings against false prophets and teachers, however, these false prophets and teachers were false because they were teaching a false gospel message.

For example, Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Corinth that,

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

Again, in the same book, he says,

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Likewise, in Galatians, Paul warns,

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)

In the entire book of Galatians, Paul is defending his ministry and his gospel message against false teachers who were telling the people that they had to also be circumcised and follow the Old Testament laws in order to be eternally saved:

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:3-4)

So that was the problem. It was not that someone was giving false hope regarding when Jesus might return at the Rapture, but was otherwise still preaching the true gospel message and warning others about Jesus' coming out of love and concern for others.

The only time that God warns his people to not believe someone who is pointing to his return is in the warnings for the people who will be alive during the Tribulation to not believe anyone who says that Jesus has already physically returned to Earth and is hiding out in the desert or in some other secret place (Matthew 24:23-28, Mark 13:21-23).

Yet in this instance, Jesus only says not to believe these lies because his own second coming will be as blatant as lightning flashing across the entire sky, so no one could possibly miss it (Matthew 24:27-28, Luke 17:23-24). Indeed, in the Book of Revelation, Jesus says that every person will see him for themselves when he returns from heaven on a white horse followed by his armies of angels and raptured saints (Revelation 1:7, 19:11-16).

Therefore, people who are alive during the Tribulation shouldn't believe the Antichrist when he declares himself to be God in the rebuilt Jewish Temple (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

During the Tribulation, these false prophets who will endorse the Antichrist as being God will culminate with the False Prophet. This man will seem to do stunning miracles in the Antichrist's presence that will deceive the entire world, except for the saints, and he will also tell the world to make an idol of the Antichrist and take the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:12-18, Matthew 24:24).

So the false prophets who either teach a false gospel message of salvation by works, or who will point people to worship the Antichrist, are completely different from any true Christians who were simply doing their jobs to warn about what looked to be a high-watch period for the Rapture, and who were also preaching the true gospel to anyone who had not yet believed it.

Therefore, the mockers and scoffers who are labelling Christian end-times watchers as being 'false prophets' are incorrect about their accusations.

Furthermore, Christian end-times watchers who taught about this past high-watch period should not be considered as false teachers, provided that they were preaching the true gospel message.

None of us have perfectly correct theology this side of heaven (1 Corinthians 13:12), especially on topics such as the end times. Our eternal salvation does not depend on having all the correct information or perfect beliefs about every theological topic.

Thus, while Christian teachers and pastors will be held to a higher standard than average Christians (James 3:1), Christians should not instantly label any Christian as a false teacher just because we disagree with them about some aspect of theology that is not the central gospel message. This is especially true when it comes to the topic of the end-times and eschatology, which is one of the most controversial theological subjects in the Bible.

Let's have grace for one another, and remember that love for one another covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Even if end-times watchers have been hurt by false accusations of mockers and scoffers, the proper thing to do is to forgive them and pray for them, because it seems that, like the people who crucified Jesus, they do not fully understand what they are doing or the things they are saying (Luke 23:34).

As one end-times watcher I came across argued, there are further reasons why Christians should not be angry toward the mockers and scoffers. That is because some of these current mockers and scoffers may actually only come to believe in Jesus once they finally see the Rapture happen, despite having personally doubted it and harshly criticized end-times watchers before then.

In this case, some of today's mockers and scoffers will become the saints who spread the gospel during the Tribulation. During this time, they will likely face just as much mocking and scoffing from the unbelievers during that time as they dished out to end-times watchers, if not more. Furthermore, during the Tribulation, these former scoffers may even end up having to die for their faith (Revelation 13:15, 20:4). Thus, we should pray for them, not get angry at them.

Furthermore, some of these current mockers and scoffers have claimed to have saved many of the videos that were made by Christians who preached about the coming Rapture, as evidence of how 'wrong' these Christians supposedly were. Yet in so doing, these mockers and scoffers are actually inadvertently preserving these videos that will testify to the truth of the Rapture when all other Christian content will likely be quickly deleted from the Internet after the Rapture does finally happen.

So even the mocking and scoffing may end up serving God's purposes, after all.

Conclusion

As shown in this post, there is a stark difference between two different categories of people, as demonstrated by their attitudes towards Jesus' return at the Rapture.

In the first category, there are Christians who are doing exactly what the Bible tells us to regarding longing for and watching for Jesus to come take us home to heaven at the Rapture. These Christians will rightfully remind and encourage others about this possibility, have the courage to point out upcoming high-watch times, and warn others to believe in Jesus before the Rapture occurs. No Christian should ever be embarrassed about doing these things.

In the second category are the people, among them even many Christians, who are mocking and scoffing at this first category of Christians, especially when a high-watch day passes. Yet these Christian mockers and scoffers are failing to demonstrate their love for God or for their fellow Christians, which is a far more serious fault than any of the end-times watchers who took a risk out of love to alert others to the possibility of the Rapture happening at a particular time.

All of this demonstrates that the mockers and scoffers have not studied Scripture as fully as they should. Furthermore, if they are truly saved, it also demonstrates a lack of both spiritual maturity and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

And actually, there is of course, the third category of Christians who are simply too busy or uninterested to watch for Jesus' coming at the Rapture. They will be totally taken by surprise when it does happen, and will miss out on earning the special heavenly reward of the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).

Therefore, I will always side with the first category of Christians, even if putting out warnings about high-watch times and preaching the gospel offends the mockers and scoffers. I will always keep watching for the signs of the end times, and until the Rapture finally happens, I will always hope that it will, possibly even today, or at any future high-watch times.

And I hope that other Christians will do the same, no matter how many high-watch times happen to go by before the Rapture actually does happen.

In the appendix that follows, I will talk a little about some things I am still not sure about regarding why this particular high-watch period has passed, and why so many Christians were seemingly mistaken about what they believed they had heard from God.

Appendix: My Thoughts Regarding The Passing of Sept 23-24, 2025

I admit, I am rather perplexed by how it seemed that September 23-24, 2025, looked to be a near-perfect setup for the Rapture to occur, and yet it did not happen.

I am still, as of the time of writing this post, unsure what to make of all the Christians who posted videos on YouTube or other platforms, or who left comments on these videos to share their 'confirmations' that they believed God had shown them about Jesus coming back at the Rapture on either September 23 or 24, 2025, or the Feast of Trumpets this year, or at the very least, during the month of September.

After watching several dozen of these videos, from what I could see, these people were honestly praying to God and seeking him about whether Joshua Mhlakela's prophecy was true. They did not seem to have pre-conceived opinions one way or another, although they were certainly hopeful and excited about the possibility of Jesus' return, as all Christians should be.

It is especially perplexing, due to how both Joshua Mhlakela and many of the average Christians who received these 'confirmations' had much to potentially lose by having the courage to be obedient to share what they felt God had told them.

Many of these Christians had never before made videos and did not have huge platforms or YouTube channels that would benefit from the attention. A number of these Christians mentioned they were fearful of being called "date setters" or "false prophets", yet they were more concerned about obeying God, despite the risk of looking foolish.

It is true that many of these 'confirmations' were related to strange or seemingly trivial things. Some saw many license plate numbers that involved numbers like 923 or 924, heard particular songs such as "The Final Countdown" on the radio just after asking in prayer if Jesus will return at the Feast of Trumpets this year, or repeatedly saw numbers or other personal signs that these Christians had requested for God to show them.

Some of these confirmations did appear on the surface that they could have simply been coincidences. Any dreams about the Rapture could also be explained by the topic simply being on someone's mind when they went to sleep.

However, many of these Christians shared about how they were initially skeptical of the first 'confirmations' they received, because they were fully aware that it could simply be a coincidence. So they went on to ask again, and again, and prayed that God would not let them be deceived. Each time, they said they kept receiving more and more positive confirmations, sometimes immediately after praying for one.

To me, it seems unlikely that all of these 'confirmations' were really just coincidences. Some skeptics even shared how they received confirmations that they were not looking for or expecting, which convinced them to change their minds and to look seriously at this high-watch time.

Other Christians shared 'confirmations' that contained information that no one but God could have been able to reveal to them, to their spouses, or to their children. Some signs involved things that would truly have required either a miracle or some sort of supernatural intervention to explain how they came about.

Additionally, in most 'confirmation' videos I watched, the person sharing their confirmation seemed to demonstrate the true fruit of the Holy Spirit, such as love, hope, peace, joy, and humility (Galatians 5:22-23). They also frequently felt an urgency to share the true gospel message of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone with anyone who was watching. They were not asking for money, selling books, or asking for people to subscribe to their channels. As a result, my discernment didn't pick up many red flags about what they said.

And as I mentioned earlier in this blog post, I do not believe that God would intentionally mislead all of these apparently-genuine and faithful Christians who seemed to be truly seeking him and asking for him to reveal the truth to them. Again, God does not lie to his people (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18, Isaiah 66:9).

We are also told that Jesus' people will be able to hear his voice, and we will also be able to accurately distinguish Jesus' voice from other voices (John 10:2-5, 10:27). Presumably, the purpose of Christians being able to hear and identify Jesus' voice is so that we will be able to understand relatively accurately what Jesus is saying to us.

So I don't believe we can say that all of these Christians did not correctly identify the source of any words they heard from God in their hearts which confirmed to them that the Rapture would occur during this high-watch time.

However, there is always the chance that we may mishear or misunderstand what God says to us, since currently, none of us see everything clearly (1 Corinthians 13:12). So perhaps it was unwise for certain people like Joshua Mhlakela to have given "billion percent" guarantees that the Rapture would definitely occur over this past Feast of Trumpets, because this guarantee was not specifically part of the message given to Joshua from Jesus, and was Joshua's own assessment of how strong his belief was in his message.

But again, to think that all of these apparently faithful and mature Christians and end-times watchers all happened to mishear the exact same thing which falsely pointed to the Rapture occurring during the same timeframe of September 23-24, 2025, or at least to the Feast of Trumpets, or even just the month of September of this year, would seem to be very unlikely.

So like myself, many end-times watchers are currently perplexed and are unwilling to completely write this off as all being coincidences, confirmation bias, or demonic deception.

As I noted in my previous post, myself and many other end-times watchers have said that we have never before had hundreds or even thousands of average Christians all backing up a particular high-watch period for the Rapture with these sorts of 'confirmations'. So it is very confusing why God would allow this to occur, if God knew that the Rapture would not occur during this time.

A Possible 'Window' For The 'Delayed' Rapture

Furthermore, we not only have to make sense of why these 'confirmations' were all wrong, but we also need to take another look at the math regarding the 2550 days for the Tribulation that were mentioned in my previous post, which happens to exactly match the number of days from the Feast of Trumpets on September 23, 2025 to the Day of Atonement on September 15, 2032.

It is still true that this situation does not happen exactly again in any future spans of seven years where Jesus' second coming on the Day of Atonement would occur either on or before the two-thousandth-year anniversary of his death and resurrection, in either 2032 or 2033.

I have heard a suggestion which I believe seems plausible, and would still be compatible with the idea that Joshua Mhlakela's prophecy and all the confirmations of it by other Christians were truly given by God.

It turns out that if we go just with John's numbers given in Revelation 11:3 and Revelation 13:5, it adds up to 2520 days for the Tribulation period. So it could be that we are now in a thirty day window before the Tribulation officially begins.

It is true that no one has yet confirmed a seven-year covenant with 'many' that could fulfill Daniel 9:27, which will be the event that both identifies the Antichrist and officially begins the Tribulation (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). So a period of at most thirty more days for the Rapture to occur, and for the Antichrist to then appear on the world stage and to confirm this seven-year covenant still fits with this proposed timeline.

Additionally, some end-times watchers have pointed out that when the angel Gabriel was coming to deliver a message to the prophet Daniel, Gabriel was delayed by twenty-one days because some sort of demon called the "prince of Persia" was able to oppose Gabriel, until Gabriel was helped by the angel Michael (Daniel 10:12-14).

In general, evangelical and pentecostal Christians tend to believe that spiritual warfare is real, and that the outcomes of this warfare can have real consequences in this world.

Of course, we may wonder why God would allow this to be the case, since it should be that God is so much more powerful than Satan and demons, and so God could easily overpower them. But if so, then, as just one example, there would be no point in having God's holy angels fight with Satan's demons as part of the process of throwing these demons out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9), if God could simply do it with a metaphorical snap of his fingers.

But still, at the end of the Tribulation, God will send an anonymous angel to bind Satan and throw Satan into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3). So why wouldn't God just do this right now, rather than make God's angels have to fight against Satan and his demons?

Perhaps it is because just like humans, angels also have free will. As I explored in one of my previous posts, I believe that God does restrain evil in the world so that the world is not prematurely destroyed before Jesus' second coming. Yet God must also temporarily allow enough room for people's free will to be able to make a real difference in this world, for good or for evil. The same principles probably apply for angels and demons also.

However, no one has unlimited free will, and so one day, God will say he's had enough of Satan and his demons, God will finally dispose of them in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10), just as will happen for everyone who rejects God at the Final Judgment (Revelation 20:13-15).

So maybe Jesus did tell us accurately that he was starting the process of returning for his church at the Rapture on the Feast of Trumpets this past September 23-24, but there was a delay due to possible spiritual warfare that may be going on behind the scenes.

Again, the parable of the faithful and wicked servants (Matthew 24:45-51 and Luke 12:42-48) does mention that the servants' master seems to be delayed. This implies that the master should have returned at a particular time, but did not, for whatever reason. It is this delay which inspires the mockers and scoffers to mistreat the faithful servants who keep watching.

So perhaps there being some sort of delay regarding Jesus' coming at the Rapture should not be completely unexpected, especially if this delay can be used by God as a test to see where people's hearts are at, to see whether they will continue to faithfully watch for him, or if they will mock and scoff.

Another verse which many end-times watchers are now turning to as an explanation is found in the book of Habakkuk:

For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (Habakkuk 2:3, NKJV)

This verse, if applied to the Rapture, would suggest that although it seems to us that there is a delay in the fulfillment of this prophecy, the Rapture will still happen, possibly even very soon.

See also the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:7-8, where Jesus says that if he is delayed, he will not delay for very long:

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:7-8)

This verse does seem to apply to the current situation. Many end-times watchers are now all crying out to God for answers about why Jesus didn't come when he seems to have indicated to us that he would, and we want to be vindicated in front of the mockers and scoffers. Yet at the same time, many other Christians are also now falling away from having any faith that Jesus will still come back soon at the Rapture.

So I think we should trust that if there truly is some sort of delay going on here regarding the predicted time of the Rapture, the delay will not be for long.

Before God sent the worldwide flood, he told Noah and his family to get into the ark a full seven days before any rain came (Genesis 7:6-10, 7:16). At that point, the mocking and scoffing from Noah's unbelieving neighbors must have made Noah and his family feel rather ridiculous. But the flood did still come, and everyone who was not on the ark drowned.

Again, the prophesied 2520/2550 day counts for the length of the Tribulation seem to hint that we may have about a month or so at most for Jesus to delay the Rapture, up to October 23-24. Otherwise, all the calculations and timelines for Jesus' second coming that were mentioned in my previous post get thrown off.

The astronomical "Revelation 12 sign" that I also mentioned in my previous post, which culminated on September 23, 2017 would also seem to lose all its meaning of pointing to the possible year of the Rapture if the Rapture were to occur next year, or any year after that.

Were We Using The Wrong Calendar?

Joshua Mhlakela did another interview on September 26 on the CentTwinz TV Youtube podcast, where he reaffirms his "billion percent" guaranted that the Rapture is still going to happen soon, even within literal "days", and he believes the dates he was given by Jesus were not wrong.3 As a result, Joshua mentions the idea proposed by other end-times watchers that perhaps the calendar is off, and we were supposed to use the Julian calendar.

The Julian calendar is the one that was in use across the Roman Empire when Jesus was alive, rather than the Gregorian calendar we now use. The Gregorian calendar was created in 1582 by Pope Gregory to correct how the Julian calendar appeared to be getting slowly out of sync with the date of Easter, which was calculated based on the equinoxes and the phases of the moon. On the Julian calendar, September 23-24, 2025 is actually around October 6-8, 2025 on our Gregorian calendar.

So if we do go by the Julian calendar, the real Feast of Trumpets hasn't happened yet, and both Joshua's prophecy and all the 'confirmations' of it could still be accurate. It would also literally be true that as Habakkuk 2:3 says, although the fulfillment of these prophecies and visions seems to tarry/delay, it actually is not tarrying/delaying at all. This does appear to be the only way to save these prophecies and confirmations as being true.

However, I am not fully persuaded that the Feast of Trumpets should really start on a full moon, rather than the sliver of the moon, as would be required for this theory to be true. To me, it's very difficult to tell whether the moon is truly 100% full versus only 90% or 95% full just by using the naked eye, so I don't see how the full moon could be used as a reliable signal to start the Feast of Trumpets. Whereas the sliver of the new moon is either visible, or it isn't, which makes it useable as a definite sign of when to start the feast.

Yet it is interesting that if September 23-24, 2025 on the Julian calendar is around October 6-8, 2025 on the usual Gregorian calendar, that would make the Feast of Trumpets on the Julian calendar line up with two other things: the two-year anniversary of Hamas' October 7 invasion of Israel in 2023, and the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot on the calendar most Jews are using. I heard someone also say that October 6-8 would also be the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles if the Jewish Essene calendar is used.

The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot is a harvest festival that lasts for seven days, which the Jews celebrate by dwelling in small temporary structures called 'booths'. These booths remind them of when they dwelled in tents in the wilderness after the Exodus.4 After the Rapture, Christians will dwell in heaven with Jesus for seven years, in the dwelling places he said he is building for us (John 14:1-3). Is there perhaps some symbolic connection between the two?

However, to me, all of the current international interest in the two-state solution that I mentioned in my previous post is the primary indicator of how close we may be to the Rapture. So instead of trying to narrow down a specific time for the Rapture, I plan to simply pay attention to the signs of the end times, and in particular, to any ongoing negotiations that may end the current Israel-Hamas war with a declaration of "peace and safety" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-5). It would be especially significant if such an agreement may involve a seven-year covenant with 'many' (Daniel 9:27) that ends up dividing Israel to create a Palestinian state (Joel 3:2).

One benefit, however, of all of this recent hype about the Rapture on September 23-24, 2025, is that now so many more people have heard about the Rapture than before. This means that whenever the Rapture does happen, they will be less likely to be deceived by whatever false explanation governments will give to explain the Rapture away, such as it being a massive alien abduction.

Thus, if Satan or spiritual warfare is what is behind the apparent delay of the Rapture, this result would be an example of how God can use even the evil that Satan does to bring some sort of good out of it (Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28).

Just as Satan's plan to kill Jesus backfired and enabled the possibility of eternal salvation for anyone who believe in Jesus (John 3:16), so Satan's attempt to stop or delay the Rapture may backfire into even more people hearing the gospel and knowing about the Rapture than before. In this way, if these people do not believe in Jesus now, they might at least be convinced to do so after the Rapture happens.

If that's true, then as much as I'd rather be with Jesus now, I can wait a little longer.

September 30, 2025, Update

As I said just at the end of the last section, one of the primary signs I'm now watching for is any talk of a sort of an agreement to bring peace between Israel and Hamas and/or the wider middle-east.

So it is very interesting that on September 29, President Trump and Israeli President Netanyahu had a White House press conference where they announced that Israel accepts a 21-point peace plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.5 They have given a 72-hour deadline for Hamas to agree, or else Israel has permission to do whatever they must to end the war.6 Qatar believes they can pressure Hamas to agree.7

If this plan were implemented, it would create a 'Board of Peace' headed by President Trump and with the involvement of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and other heads of state. "This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program". Another panel of experts would create an economic plan to rebuild Gaza and attract investment. A "guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbours or its people." And finally, an 'International Stabilization Force' would be created by Arab and other international partners such as Egypt and Jordan to handle the security situation in Gaza.8

Some of the countries who have agreed they would cooperate with the USA in implementing this plan include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt.9

I wonder if this peace plan, if accepted, could be the framework for the seven-year Daniel 9:27 covenant with 'many' that will be confirmed/strengthened by the Antichrist, after the Rapture occurs.

If Hamas does agree within the next few days, this could be the declaration of "peace and safety" in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 that is followed by "sudden destruction" of the Rapture, and perhaps the Psalm 83 war.

All we can do is wait and see. Either way, it sounds like the war with Hamas may be coming to a close soon.

Footnotes:

Tags: eschatology
Older: The Case for the Rapture on September 23 or 24, 2025
Newer: Read This When Millions of People Suddenly Disappear

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