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'Hand of God' appears in Portugal's skies, could be sign of the end times

The 'Hand of God' cloud formation over the skies of Madeira, Portugal as it appeared on Jan. 25, 2016. | Screenshot/YouTube/WEBZ.TV

The "Hand of God" has reportedly been spotted in the skies of Portugal.

Residents near the island of Madeira were surprised to see the cloud resembling the shape of a hand holding a ball of fire. 

Weather blogger, Rogerio Pacheco, was able to capture the epic cloud formation on film, posting it on his blog and social media pages.

"As soon as I saw the sky, I was immediately intrigued and I just had to grab my camera to take photo," the 32 year old said about the phenomenon.

Viewers and Internet users have dubbed the sight the "Hand of God", while some people found similarities in the figure and the iconic comet that is featured in the video game "Final Fantasy VII."

The 'heavenly sign' is among the strange phenomena that have been recently spotted. Earlier this year, sunset and sunrise images in the U.S. reportedly had the figure of angels and crosses. The images were seen in Hawaii, Michigan and New York.

However, scientific experts have debunked the idea that the cloud formation, as well as the sunrise and sunset signs are out of the ordinary.

"The cloud formation takes on a breathtaking appearance due to a phenomenon called light scattering," Weather.com meteorologist Quincy Vagell explained.

"At sunrise and sunset, light from the sun has to pass through a greater distance across earth's atmosphere, where the light is scattered. The result is that vibrant colors, such as reds and oranges, are more dominant."

There are people who often consider heavenly phenomena as signs of the end times when Jesus Christ will meet His followers. However, the Bible clearly states that no one will be able to tell when He is coming back.