The South African pastor, who made headlines after a failed forecast for the date of the [Rapture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture) in 2025, has now announced a new timeframe.
[Joshua Mhlakela](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Mhlakela) previously asserted that the rapture would happen on September 23, 2025, coinciding with the Jewish Feast of Trumpets.
His earlier prediction did not materialise. He now claims the event will take place between October 12 and 13, 2026.
Mhlakela explained that he recalculated the timing, basing the new date on his reading of the biblical [Feast of Trumpets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Trumpets), which he now believes falls in October rather than September.
Last year, many of his followers sold their properties, left their jobs and prepared for heaven after Mhlakela warned that the rapture would occur on September 23, 2025.
On that day they gathered, prayed and looked to the sky, but nothing happened.
When the date passed without the rapture, Mhlakela said the delay was intentional, part of God’s plan to give people more time to repent.
He now argues his earlier calculation was wrong because the Feast of Trumpets had been placed about a month earlier than its "true" date. He cited additional visions, including one featuring two full moons, as evidence that the biblical calendar was off by a month.
The report notes that the Book of Exodus does not state that the sun was in Aries during the Exodus.
Mhlakela’s latest claim has drawn criticism from other Christians. Pastor and author Vladimir Savchuk warned that assigning a specific date to Jesus’ return contradicts Scripture, which says the Antichrist must be revealed before Christ returns.
Mhlakela’s new assertion has reignited debate over attempts to predict the timing of the rapture and whether such forecasts align with Christian doctrine.
The rapture is a belief held by some Christians that believers will be taken up to Heaven to meet Jesus Christ before a period of severe suffering known as the Tribulation.