Examiner 08-19-2009: NASA budget woes setting stage for asteroid impact events?

It's the plot of most disaster/"end-of-the-world" movies - an asteroid hurtles toward earth threatening to wipe out humanity; Sometimes mankind pulls together in order to avert the impending annihilation and sometimes the asteroid hits, killing everyone except a few lucky survivors whose job is to repopulate the earth. Maybe it was these types of scenarios, commonly referred to as impact events, that caused lawmakers to create a program in 1998 requiring NASA to monitor, detect and report, by 2020, 90% of all Near Earth Objects (NEO's) -asteroids, comets, or other space debris - that could potentially collide with earth causing numerous deaths and widespread disaster. However, as good as their intentions may have been, Congress failed to fund the program appropriately and now NASA is unable to continue the program due to a budget shortfall.

NASA estimates that there are over 20,000 NEO's flying through space but only 6,000 have been identified and, unfortunately, the United States is the only nation with this kind of detection system; Without it the World's safety may be threatened by earthbound space debris.

Although a potential impact wiping out the earth is unlikely, there have been lesser impacts that have occurred, such as the infamous 1908 meteor that hit Russia and wiped out over 800 miles of Siberian Forest or the meteorite that hit in Northern Arizona creating a Meteor Crater as well as a popular tourist attraction. Also every month it seems that there is another report or news story about an asteroid that could potentially hit earth. 

The Bible warns in Revelation 8:7-10, that during the 7-year tribulation, God will pour forth judgments upon the earth, using them as a last ditch effort to grab the attention of earth's inhabitants so that they will recognize who He is and in so doing they might turn to Him. The first three judgments in the series of the Seven Trumpet Judgments, deal with what appears to be impact events caused by comets and asteroids.

"The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

 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, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—" (emphasis mine)

With the amount of NEO's and other space debris flying through the galaxy it is only a matter of time before some "deep impacts" are felt on earth but it won't be because of NASA's lack of an asteroid detection program but rather their arrival and impact will be a sign of God's judgment. Are you ready?

UPDATE:
NASA will miss Congressional deadline for asteroid tracking