Speculation of a catastrophic or world-changing event to happen on Sept. 24 has gone wild on social media, stemming from a mistake that a German legislator made in a speech earlier this month.
Fueling the spread of this online fascination are QAnon conspiracy theories, TikTok content creators and numerology-based interpretations of a specific episode of “The Simpsons” about a survivalist preparing for the end of the world.
Millions of people have posted or shared on social media this month various theories and imaginative thoughts ranging from Donald Trump coming back into power in the White House to a false flag attack or a major solar flare. Others believe there could be “10 days of darkness” resulting from massive cyber-attacks that would happen on Sept. 24, 2022.
Some on the fringe predict that Sept. 24 will be the date when John F. Kennedy Jr., who reportedly died in a plane crash over 20 years ago, is revealed as actually alive and well; JFK Jr. will then be Trump’s VP running mate for the 2024 election.
The speech that sparked off this rampant speculation was given by Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party. While addressing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a talk in early September, he misspoke, saying that Sept. 24 would be a day that people would remember.
He meant to say Feb. 24, which was the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He corrected it later for the record, but the correction did not matter.
Someone took the video clip of him saying Sept. 24, cut out the context around it and shared the soundbite on social media, where it caught digital “fire” and spread across the world extremely fast online. The damage had been done, and then others started to pile on.
QAnon followers believe they have spotted Merz revealing a detail of a secret plan. Yet, they don’t all agree on what exactly will happen on this date. Then, a theory based on a single episode of “The Simpsons” was floated out on the Internet, capturing people’s imaginations.
Some people have cited as proof the fact that the famous TV series “The Simpsons'” 9th episode in its 24th season—abbreviated as “9/24″—is about a doomsday that ushers in the end the world. It would be a complete breakdown of society after a major catastrophe.
“The Simpsons” is known for making strangely accurate predictions of the future. For example, this TV show was obviously right when it predicted that Trump would become President of the United States. Many people are quick to believe Homer and Bart Simpson, as if they have a crystal ball.
Predicting the end of the world—or Armageddon—may sound book of Revelation-ish, but most of the people pushing the idea are not following a biblical line of thought in any case. Specifying a date alone disqualifies it in a biblical context.
The conspiracy theories are geared more around the concept that there are shadow governments running the world, and that there is a “secret plan” that the globalists are ready to unfold. Or that there will be “saviors” that emerged to vanquish the globalists.
These storylines for Sept. 24 make good fodder for movies and books, but to date, there is not any tangible evidence necessarily pointing to anything of major consequence occurring on Sept. 24. Government agencies around the world have not issued any dire warnings. However, the lack of evidence has not slowed down the mad rush to believe the speculation.
This mass hysteria is reminiscent of Y2K, when it was believed the world would shut down at midnight on New Year’s Eve 2000 because all computers and online systems wouldn’t be able to handle the shift into the new century. Wild speculation at that time drove panic, but the date came and went in a whimper.
The world will be watching on Sept. 24 to see if a massive event will be unleashed within a 24 hour-period. While it may have the dramatic flare like the old TV series “24” starring Kiefer Sutherland, the wise approach may just be the watch and pray—without giving in to the hysteria or panic. Listening to the Holy Spirit will save you from listening to Homer Simpson about the future. {eoa}
Anthony Hart is a freelance writer for Charisma Media.