On May 19, 1996, the earth had a close call with disaster. A small asteroid, between 100 and 300 meters wide, passed 279,000 miles from the earth (a bit farther out than the moon). If it had hit earth, it would have hit with the force of a thermonuclear explosion larger than any hydrogen bomb ever tested. I mean, I'm not talking about fireworks here-- it could have been good-bye to the state of New Jersey. What is most troubling, is that this asteroid was discovered only four days before its closest approach. Also, consider that a comet collision occurred with Jupiter in July 1994, again a very rare event, that demonstrated the destructive power of comets. And we just had Comet Hyakutake in 1996, and Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. Could there be a pattern to all this increase in comet and meteor activity? Or are these just random, unrelated events? Is the earth in danger of a collision with a large asteroid?

Most scientists would say that there is a very small chance of a meteor collision with the earth. But there is another factor to consider: prophecies. Prophecies may indicate that there could be a major asteroid collision with the earth in our lifetime. There are two types of prophecies to consider: Nostradamus" Prophecies, and Biblical Prophecy.

Nostradamus lived in France several hundred years ago, and his prophecies of future events have been followed ever since. Nostradamus Prophecy Century 1 Number 69 describes a mile-wide mountain hitting the earth, causing enormous destruction, and destroying entire countries. He does not give a time for this event, however.

As for Biblical Prophecy, the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation, seems to be describing asteroids or meteors striking the earth in part 8. In Revelation 8 seven angels with seven trumpets sound their trumpets one after another, each trumpet causing a disaster on the earth. The first angel sounds his trumpet, and hail mixed with fire strikes the earth. The second angel sounds his trumpet, and a mountain on fire is thrown into the sea. The third angel results in a blazing star striking the earth, poisoning the water on earth. The fourth angel results in the sun being darkened.

This is a remarkable description of what could happen if the earth was struck by an asteroid, when you consider that it was written almost 2000 years ago. Initially, the blast and fire would destroy life on earth over a wide area. Acid rain as strong as battery acid resulting from the dust cloud produced by the collision explosion would poison the earth and rivers. And less sunlight would come through the the dust cloud surrounding the earth, possibly starting an ice age.

There seems to be a pattern in that where asteroid collisions have occurred, a "dark side" influence on human history emanates from these craters. For example, the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs millions of years ago hit next to the Yucatan, in Mexico, and the Mayan culture resulted in that area-- a brilliant culture, that had a "dark side", practicing human sacrifice. In this century, in 1908, a meteor hit in Siberia, with the power of a thermonuclear blast, and Communism with its "dark side" influences resulted not long after that. Another example: the Serpent Mound in Ohio, a giant earth mound in the shape of a snake, is located near an ancient asteroid collision site. The serpent, of couse, has a "dark side" connection. And in 1972, a large meteor almost hit the earth in Montana, bouncing off the atmosphere into space because of it's angle of approach. And after that, the alleged Unabomber was busy in Montana mailing his bombs to people. In 1937, a 900 meter wide asteroid passed near the earth-- and within a couple of years World War 2 began.

If asteroids are not truly random, but hit the earth according to a pattern, then that could be a real problem. It is as if the universe is virtual reality software-- then an asteroid could suddenly be headed for the earth, if that is what the program says will happen. Think of it this way-- maybe the angels in Revelation 8 hurling rocks at the earth are at the keyboards of their computers. God is in charge of software development. And I think the Book of Revelation is the key to how this software works.

An interesting thing about the date (May 19, 1996) of the recent asteroid near-miss: exactly 216 years before (May 19, 1780) New England experienced an unexplained Dark Day when it became very dark in the daytime-- and 216=6x6x6 (666 is the "Number of the Beast" in Revelation). This could be an indication that this near-miss was not an accidental event, but could be "angels playing marbles".

Personally, I think an asteroid tracking system and missle defense should be built, that could deflect an earth-bound asteroid. In fact, in 1990 Congress authorized NASA to study this subject. The conclusions from this study were:

(1) To detect the asteroids, a network of telescopes spaced around the earth is needed, to scan the sky continuously for these small asteroids for a period of years. The more powerful the telescopes, and the more of them you have, the faster and better the asteroid search job would get done. Still, it would take years to determine the orbits of asteroids that are 1 kilometer or larger ( a 1 kilometer asteroid could be a continent-destroyer). With larger telescopes, and more of them, smaller asteroids could be detected.

(2) An intercept system would be needed to deflect an asteroid that is determined to be in collision course with earth. Probably that would be a rocket with a hydrogen bomb warhead, exploded near the asteroid to change its course. The farther from earth you reach the asteroid, the better.

Unfortunately, these ideas have not gone beyond the study stage. So, right now the earth is a "sitting duck" for a small asteroid headed our way; it probably wouldn't be noticed more than a few days before it hit, and then it would be too late to do anything about it. Imagine the panic that would result, once the world was warned of an imminent collision. We need an international program to build an asteroid tracking and intercept system, and an additional benefit of this program would be the international cooperation that would result. It would have to be an international program, because you would want to locate the tracking telescopes spaced around the globe.

Copyright 1997 by Tom Chase

Tom Chase is educated in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and writes on Astrology for "Welcome to Planet Earth" Astrology magazine in the U. S. His writing combines Astrology and Biblical symbolism. Tom may be reached at: 60 Thoreau Street, #317, Concord, MA 01742 USA, and email address "zchase@connect.cybersmith.com"