Evangelist Christians waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the world fear an asteroid “deep impact” is coming. Paul Begley, a Christian preacher from West Lafayette in Indiana, US, has warned an in April this year an asteroid could hit the Earth as soon as 2029. Citing prophetic passages from the Bible’s Book of Revelation, the firebrand preacher said the monstrous Asteroid Apophis matches biblical descriptions of the Apocalypse. Speaking online to his fervent followers, the preacher said Apophis could Earth on Friday 13 in 2029 or on its return date in 2036.


Pastor Begley said: “Everybody calm down but are you ready for deep impact? Are you ready for a biblical impact that the Bible prophesied is going to happen? “Well, we may have identified at least the meteorite, asteroid if you will, called Apophis. “Huge, huge asteroid that is headed right for the Earth. Matter of fact, it is headed right this way and on Friday 13, April 13, 2029, our planet could have a deep impact. “I don’t think it’s going to be that day although man could accidentally alter this asteroid by trying to destroy it. READ MORE: Will 1,200ft asteroid named after god of CHAOS slam into Earth in 2020?

“It will be making a return in the year 2036, where all bets are off. “Now the Bible does tell us in Revelation chapter eight – could this very well be the day it happens?” The biblical passage mentioned by pastor Begley speaks of a fiery object crashing into the Earth and the seas. In pastor Begley’s opinion, the passage forewarns of a killer asteroid or comet striking the Earth in the end days. READ MORE: US Defence Secretary warns DEVASTATING asteroid impact 'could be TOMORROW


Revelation 8:8 reads: “The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood.”

But why did the preacher chose to blame the apocalypse on Asteroid Apophis? Asteroid Aphis is a 1,213ft-wide (370m) space rock hurling through space towards the Earth. The monstrous space rock caused an initial stir in 2004 when astronomers predicted a slim chance of Apophis hitting Earth in April 2029. READ MORE: ‘Earth's in the firing line' Physicist warns rogue asteroids are hard to spot

Asteroid warning: Pastor Begley said an asteroid strike is described in the Book of Revelation

Subsequent orbital projections have ruled out the cataclysm but introduced another minor chance of the asteroid slamming into Earth seven years later in 2036. However, as of 2013, all concerns about the asteroid wiping out life on Earth in the next 20 years have been eliminated. The European Space Agency (ESA) explained: “Catalogued as asteroid Apophis, previously 2004 MN4, it is often nicknamed ‘the doomsday asteroid’ in popular media, after initial observations made after its discovery in 2004 gave it a 2.7 percent chance of striking Earth in April 2029. “With additional data, however, an impact in 2029 was soon ruled out, although the asteroid will pass within 36,000 km of Earth’s surface, closer even than the orbits of geostationary satellites.

“The asteroid will return to Earth’s neighbourhood again in 2036, but quite how close it will come then is uncertain, as the 2029 approach is predicted to alter its orbit substantially. “Obtaining improved physical parameters for Apophis and its orbit is thus of great importance in being able to make better predictions of its future trajectory.” There is a minimal chance of Apophis crossing paths with Earth in the year 2068 but astronomers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory calculate the odds to be one in 150,000. NASA said: “No human in the past 1000 years is known to have been killed by a meteorite or by the effects of one impacting.

Asteroid danger: There is no asteroid currently barrelling towards the Earth

“An individual's chance of being killed by a meteorite is small, but the risk increases with the size of the impacting comet or asteroid, with the greatest risk associated with global catastrophes resulting from impacts of objects larger than one kilometre. “NASA knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small. “In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years.” The ESA similarly does not expect any killer rock to strike the Earth in the foreseeable future. But astronomers are constantly on the lookout for dangerous objects zipping by through our corner of space.

The ESA said: “The main challenge stems from the population of middle-size objects, ranging from tens to hundreds of metres in diameter. “There are a lot of these asteroids, and most have not been spotted yet. “Any impact from one of these could really do damage to a city or a populated area. “But if they are discovered early enough, their point of impact could be estimated with a good degree of accuracy, and measures could be taken to protect people. "Today, no known object merits any worry, but many remain undiscovered, so we need to keep searching." And yet, despite these assurances from the world leading astronomers, pastor Begley said an asteroid strike is coming and there is nothing that can be done to prevent it.

The doomsday prophet said: “There’s a deep impact coming, there’s no question. “Whether it is Apophis or some other asteroid, it’s coming.” Pastor Begley then claimed the asteroid which strikes Earth will be followed by a second deep impact by a space rock known as Wormwood. He said: “Deep impact, is it imminent? Well, the Bible says it is.”

Asteroid warning: NASA does not expect Apophis to hit Earth anytime soon