Despite a number of predictions suggesting that the End Times were about to unfold during 2016, our planet managed to survive for another year, however 2017 has already produced a fresh forecast for doom.
Author and conspiracy theorist David Meade claims that this will be the year that the infamous Planet X finally arrives and destroys the Earth.
Specifically, Meade contends, a previously-unknown star that is a proverbial 'evil twin' of our beloved son is quickly heading towards our planet.
Accompanying this sinister star, he says, will be seven bodies orbiting around it, most notably Planet X, which he believes is the notorious Niburu of esoteric lore.
According to Meade, the star and its planetary minions are due to reach us later on this year when Niburu will smash into the Earth in October, ostensibly destroying the planet and effectively cancelling everyone's Halloween plans for 2017.
Unfortunately, since the cadre of Earth-killers are coming from an odd angle towards our planet, it's nearly impossible to observe them, Meade writes, and thus the apocalypse remains more a matter of faith than science at this time.
Critics of Meade's theory argue that much of his work is reliant upon Biblical interpretations and, thus, it is probably incorrect.
We will know in time whether that proves to be the case or not, but for now Meade may lay claim to the dubious honor of the first apocalyptic prediction for 2017.
Speaking of which, we'd be remiss in not issuing a warning now for what will almost certainly be another major End Times event that will be trumpeted at some point during the year: a total solar eclipse due to happen on August 21st.
The highly anticipated astronomical event will be the first total solar eclipse to be seen from the United States in nearly 40 years, making it prime apocalypse prediction material.
And, should those two doomsday prophecies fail to produce, there's always 2017's one and only supermoon which will be on December 3rd.
Taken together, the good news is that we've got until late August before apocalypse season starts and then we've just got to survive a total solar eclipse, a possible Niburu encounter, and a supermoon to make it to 2018.
Source: Daily Mail