Is This an Angel? Pastor, Michigan Neighbors Say 'Yes'
A Michigan pastor and some of his followers insist this now viral photo caught by a security camera outside the home of one of his parishioners in East Jordan depicts an angel hovering over a truck. But one expert suggests it could possibly be something else.
Glen Thorman, the fire chief for East Jordan, told Upnorthlive that when he first saw the image of the alleged angel recorded by his home security camera which is only activated by a motion sensor, he was left stunned.
"I said 'That's an angel!' And I was just blown away," Thorman said of the image hovering over his truck. "I couldn't wait to send it to my wife and send it to Deneille. And I said 'I got an angel, and my camera took a picture of an angel.'"
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Deneille Moes is pastor of Jordan Rivers Church where Thorman is a member. He said the minute he saw a copy of the image, he knew it was one of God's messengers.
"It was really clear to me the minute I looked at the photo, I just kind of freaked out a bit," Moes said. "I went like 'Whoa! That's an angel!' And I texted him back, 'That's an angel.' There wasn't any doubt in my mind that we were looking at something supernatural."
Last Wednesday, Pastor Moes shared two slides on his church's Facebook page of the alleged angel with a message praising God for watching over Thorman's property.
"Yep folks... It's an angel. I guess there is no question who is watching over their residence while they sleep, and yes, they pray that The Angels of the Lord will surround them and their property....These photos have not been altered in anyway. The second photo, the security camera also shot because the angel was moving away. The camera is designed to photograph anything in motion or unusual.... lots of tears today when they opened the security on their camera ...WOW!" he wrote.
Joe Clark, owner of Glass Lakes Photography in Petoskey, told Upnorthlive, however, that while it is difficult to say what exactly the figure in the photo is, it appeared to be an insect.
"It is definitely moth-shaped in the first photo," Clark said. "You can kind of clearly see what looks, or could be interpreted as, wings and a head, but at the same time since it's not clearly in focus and since it is what it is, there may be room for interpretation."
In a statement on Saturday, Jordan Rivers Church insisted that that the figure in the photo is that of an angel.
"We have studied the photo from all possibilities. This 'Being' is behind the truck with translucent wings. We checked the temp at 12:49 am for this location. 46* was predicted in town, 39* degrees at the Thorman's perhaps lower, but the average for his home is a 7 degrees difference in temperature. (Their home is out in the sticks which is much colder than us near Lake Charlevoix) The photograph was taken early morning on the 9th. @ 12:49... And it's believed the ground was still cold.
"We contemplated the piles of snow at the residence until May 3rd, (left over from the 3 1/2 + ft. snowstorm April 16-20th).and accounted for the melt down factor which took quite a few days. ...And although moths have been seen in temps of 35* according to research, not a mosquito or moth has been seen yet to-date in their neck of the woods or ours, not sayin' there ain't any; just that we haven't seen any yet in these parts....and tonight, we have another round of frost. So... that's the last of the scientific research. Our conclusion remains the same... Angel," the church said.
