Signs of His Presence Archive

Australia (1995)
In December 1995, Julian Webb, an Australian wheat-farmer, witnessed the miraculous materialization of Christ's face on a hard slab of granite rock. The miracle took place at night when Mr Webb was walking on his farm near Beverly, 120 miles east of Perth. He saw a shaft of light illuminate the rock, and watched amazed as the face of Christ slowly appeared from nowhere.

Some days beforehand Mr Webb had heard a message coming from the area of the rock, saying: "Let I, the Lord, show you the way." Thinking he'd imagined it all, he took his son Adrian, 20, with him the next time. He felt sure "something profound was going to happen" to him -- and the miracle occurred.

Mr Webb, who rarely attends church, said: "I'm just an ordinary bloke who's experienced a miracle and people can take it or leave it." (Source: Daily Mail, UK)
 

 
Indonesia ( c1980 )
Since a voice urged her to give a sermon when she was six years old, Rebekka Monningka, a young Indonesian woman now in her early 20s, has drawn enormous crowds to religious mass meetings. While some people in the audience "see fire", others "experience Jesus". In 1981, at the age of 13, Marthen Roti attended his first meeting in the stadium of Klabat where 20,000 people had gathered to hear Rebekka speak. He says: "This was the first time I saw the fire. The body of Jesus became visible and He addressed the crowd." Photographs taken at the meeting show two fiery hands, stretched out in blessing. There have also been reports of spontaneous healings during these meetings. (Source: Omega, Evangelical Broadcasting Organization, the Netherlands; reported in Share International, July-August 1997 )
 

 
Iran (1995)
"It is reported in various parts of the city ( Teheran ) that an image of Jesus has been seen on fences or in windows. People have gathered to witness it for themselves." So writes the Iranian newspaper Akhbar in its 25 December 1995 edition. Reuters news agency quotes newspaper reports of the face of Jesus appearing on the wall of a flat in the Iranian capital of Teheran. The report also mentions the spontaneous healing of a paralysed girl from a Christian family. Rumours spread like wildfire within the city and hundreds of Iranian Christians and Muslims alike flocked to the apartment building. An elderly woman in a black chador claimed it had happened before and that a Muslim man suffering from cancer had been healed on that occasion.
( Source: NRC Handelsblad, Holland )

 
Italy (1997)
On 12 April 1997 a fire raged through Turin Cathedral destroying the 300-year-old Guarini Chapel which was built especially for the Sindone, the Shroud in which, tradition has it, the body of Jesus was buried. The Turin Shroud itself was saved from the blaze by a fireman who, as if in trance, cut through four layers of bullet-proof glass to rescue the silver box containing the Shroud.

Report and Turin Shroud update ( from Share International, June 1997 )

 
Kenya (1998)
Residents of the Kenyan border town Busia are saying that Jesus appeared to them. According to Kenyan radio stations people fell to their knees, weeping and praying. Local officials, however, maintain that the people were simply confused by a light-show used to advertise a local discotheque.
(Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)

 
Nigeria (1988)
Saint Mary's Catholic primary school, Aking in Akamkpa Local Government area of Cross River State (Nigeria) became a centre of attraction when the image of a man suspected to be Jesus Christ appeared on the wall of the school.

The picture of the man, clad in white garment with a lamb on the right hand side and a staff in his left hand appeared on the wall with light shining around the area, attracting various people to the scene.

Reports said the picture disappeared after 10 minutes but stayed for several hours on the wall on a second appearance. It was also gathered that after the second appearance the head of the man with a long beard appeared for a longer period.

According to the deputy headmaster of the school, Mr Bassey Itaya, the fingerprint of the man is still visible on the wall of elementary 3A classroom. Mr Itaya said that people from all walks of life thronged the school premises to have a glimpse of the mysterious picture on the wall which remained like a television screen throughout the scene.

The councillor representing the ward in Akamkpa Local Government, Mr Lawrence Effa, who was also present, described the incident as the first in the history of the area, saying that he was confused. He wondered what was the significance of the picture on the wall.
( Source: The Nigerian Chronicle, Cross River State, Nigeria, 3 October 1988 )
 

 
Philippines (1997)
An image of Jesus has appeared on the floor of the Sacred Heart Clinic in Narra, Palawan, in the Philippines. The image has attracted devotees, and "has transformed the clinic into a worship centre".
(Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

 
Portugal (1997)
The head of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns appeared recently on a communion wafer in the little town of Moure in Portugal. Hundreds of the faithful gathered to see the pale and sad face of Jesus on the wafer. This follows a similar incident which also occurred in Moure the previous year. (Source: Le Dauphine, France)

 
Slovenia (1991)
Dear Editors,
One day in spring 1991 a small picture of Jesus caught my attention. I got a desire to paint that face of Jesus on a bigger piece of paper. When it was finished I fixed the portrait on a wall but was not quite satisfied with the beard. So I came closer and began to paint little hairs on the left side of it. I suddenly noticed that at the same time little hairs were being painted by themselves on the right side of the beard. Who helped me paint the right side of Jesusí beard? Jesus Himself?

Blanka Plesec, Verovskova, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
(Source: Share International, March 1998)

 
United Kingdom (1993)
Colin Pepler is set to win £35,000 after placing a bet at a British bookmakers, William Hill, that the Second Coming will happen. For many months Colin sensed the nearing of this event, and arranged to place a £35 bet at 1,000-1. Some weeks later, whilst watching a football match, Colin experienced a "vivid dream" in which he knew the Second Coming had taken place. "It felt like somebody had planted the idea in my head ... and I knew that every eye will see Him," he said.

Colin then returned to William Hill's to demand his winnings, and was asked for confirmation of this event from the Archbishop of Canterbury, who replied in the negative. Colin vows: "I am not giving up. I saw the Second Coming so clearly in my mind". For readers' information, the odds have now dropped to 500-1. (Source: The Sun, UK)

 
USA - California,(1992)
Images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin of Guadalupe have appeared in the window of a small apartment building in Long Beach, California. A steady stream of visitors now comes to the building to pray and pay homage to the images. Seventeen-year-old Guadalupe Orozco was among the first to notice something unusual in the window. "We were parking the car and one of my friends felt something telling him to look toward the window. That's when we noticed the image of Christ." Not everyone sees the images, but those who do have set up an altar of flowers and candles beneath the window. "We just want people to feel comfortable coming here and looking," says Carmelo Contreras, a building resident. ( Source: Press-Telegram )
 

 
USA - Connecticut(1993)
Hundreds gathered around a sycamore tree in Wooster Square Park in New Haven, Connecticut (USA), where many saw the figure of Jesus crucified on the cross. Although many of the people who came were clearly convinced that they saw Jesus' form, the priests have declared it an optical illusion. Unless miracles of healing take place at the site, the church will not sanction the tree as an authentic manifestation of Jesus.

People's opinions varied on why Jesus would appear. "Because the world is in such terrible shape," "I think we've gone too far," "I think God's fed up." "The world is coming to an end." and "The world is entering a better time."

The image was discovered by a young mother who is simultaneously losing her sight and hearing. She was visiting her lawyer, who was helping her with some legal business. The lawyer suggested that he could complete the tedious work while the woman and her father took a stroll through the park. On their stroll the woman saw the unmistakable image of Jesus and asked her father to confirm it. They told the lawyer, but he didn't think anything of it.

A couple of days later, they dropped by the lawyer's office and left him a home video of the tree. "I tell you I literally leaped out of my chair!" the lawyer said. "There it was as plain as day ... I was completely flabbergasted." After he spread the word to people in the community, people flocked to the tree. While no healings appear to have taken place, many people say they feel great peace when they are there. (Source: Village Voice)