Why do people think the rapture is happening today?

This article examines the current viral prediction of a September 2025 rapture by South African preacher Joshua Mhlakela, placing it within a long history of failed forecasts like those of Harold Camping. It argues that while the Bible clearly teaches Christ’s return will be sudden, visible, and unknowable in timing, the modern doctrine of a secret rapture is a 19th-century invention of dispensationalism, spread through conferences, radio, and popular media rather than Scripture itself. Instead of anxious speculation or escapist hopes, Christians are called to readiness through faithfulness, holiness, and active discipleship—raising families in the Lord, practicing justice and mercy, persevering in suffering, and serving within the church. The true biblical hope is not escape from tribulation but the transformation of creation at Christ’s visible return, when the dead will be raised, evil judged, and God’s kingdom fully established in a new heaven and new earth.