Mystery Photograph Corroborates Galilee Sightings
CAPERNAUM - Toursists are flooding this northern Sea of Galilee town in wake of the mysterious photo taken by Hollywood film director, Jerry Lensman, who came here with a camera crew looking to document the mysterious sightings of a man resembling the Biblical Jesus Christ, reportedly seen at the shores of Lake Kineret in Israel - traditionally known as the Sea of Galilee.
Lensman released the photograph on Sunday in a press conference from the Tiberias Hilton as he told of his encounter with the mysterious figure that's brought millions of tourists to the region amidst growing speculation that the escalating phenomenon heralds the Christian Messiah's return to his homeland and his imminent revelation to the world.
"We were driving by Capernaum when Johnny, our technical assistant, noticed someone crossing an open area between the synagogue and church ruins of the landmark site," Lensman said, "at a few hundred yards from him, we couldn't stop the car in time to get a clear shot. Our photographer, Bobby, was barely able to zoom in on him before he disapeared into the ruins." Lensman then told of how him and his crew spent the next few hours combing the Capernaum site looking for more traces of their quarry. "By sundown," he added, "we realized that the reports of his mysterious disappearances are also true. This photograph is all we have to show for what we all saw with our very own eyes."
The photograph appears to match descriptions from previous sightings in the region. Aside from the striking resemblance to the Biblical Jesus Christ, the figure is seen to be wearing a suit jacket and leaning on a walking cane or staff, as has been previously reported. "As he walked away," Lensman told at the press conference, "He seemed to have a slight limp which might explain his need for that staff he uses."
Chief detective Shimon Barak, commander of the Tiberias Police investigative unit, released a statement today saying his forensics team examined the photograph and concluded it to be an authentic image of what the camera recorded at the site. "This is the first corroboration we have of the hundreds of sightings that have been reported here," he added, "but we still have no solid evidence that the man in the photograph is who people here are claiming him to be." Barak's investigative unit sealed off Capernaum after the incident but found no other evidence for the mysterious presence.
The Christian world has become sharply divided by the phenomenon in Israel and the mass rush of millions of believers from around the world to the Sea of Galilee, hoping to get a glimpse of what many believe to be the beginning of a miraculous revival of prophecy in the Holy Land .
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rick E. Myerson, leader of the Liberal Religious Coalition, exhanged a heated debate on the Oprah Winfrey show last night when the Archbishop scoffed at what he termed as "The obvious deception behind a man sporting a limp and alluding to his role as the returned Christ to the world."
"He was stabbed in the side by a damned Roman sword, for Christ's sake!" Meyerson reprised. "What the hell is so deceptive about that?"
The Vatican released a statement today warning Catholics not to be tempted by the events in Israel. "Our Lord will return in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory, as he told us in the Gospels." The statement said. "Anything less is clearly the work of a deceiver and a false prophet."
More to come as events unfold from the Sea of Galilee - Israel.
