Is the world about to end? Biblical doomsday prophecy claims apocalypse is coming next week

The world may be coming to an end as soon as next week, a Christian numerologist and renowned conspiracy theorist has claimed, citing a slew of non-scientific evidence including rough readings of biblical verses and the recent hurricanes which have ravaged America.

David Meade, who for some reason has chosen to cash in on the incoming apocalypse by publishing a book on the matter called "Planet X - The 2017 Arrival", says that a theoretical planet known to Nasa as "Planet Nine" is set to collide with the Earth on 23 September 2017.

His evidence includes a number of Bible verses lifted from the book of Luke (Luke 21:25-26) which reflect the dates of the recent solar eclipse (21 August) and Hurricane Harvey (25 August) and Houston floods (26 August).

The mysterious planet – also dubbed "Nibiru" by people who are not scientists – Meade says is set to fulfil prophecies from the book of Revelation.

Meade believes Planet X will help to set off volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes across the world.

This year is definitely the year, even if the theory has been pushed since 2012.

The Luke passage reads: "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken."

As noted by The Express, YouTube commentators who believe the theory also put forward the idea that an astrological constellation on 23 September means that Revelation 12:1–2 is set to take place, signalling the start of the so-called "Rapture" and the second coming of Christ.

The passage in question reads: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth."

The vague theory claims that the woman is Virgo and – on 23 September – the Sun and the moon will be in that very constellation, which somehow represents the Messiah.

There are other reasons, but scientists note that this movement happens every 12 years.

According to Meade, 23 September 2017 was also pinpointed using a "date marker" shown by the pyramids of Giza in Egypt although it remains unclear what that means in reality. Supporters say his theories were only boosted by the 2016 Nasa discovery of Planet Nine.

On its website, Nasa still describes Planet Nine as a hypothetical discovery.

In February 2017, it openly invited the public to help search for possible undiscovered worlds. In 2016, astronomers at Caltech in Pasadena, California, first claimed that it may indeed exist.

Back in 2012, Nasa rubbished reports that a planet called Nibiru would cause mass destruction.

It wrote in a blog post: "News flash: the world didn't end on 21 December 2012. You've probably already figured that out for yourself.

"Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

"Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax.

"There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist."