The Bible expert said: “There are similar testimonies of Christians from around the world who have been helped or comforted in their hour of trouble by their guardian angel.
“In fact, I myself have quite possibly been visited by angels three times, though I suspect one encounter could have been with a fallen angel.
“Nevertheless, the Bible is persistent that these heavenly beings exist and that they deliver from trouble those who love the God of the Bible.”
There are some problems with the story, however, as not all historians agree it truly happened.
The story emerged at some point in the late 1800s and followed the physician until his death.
But it has been argued Dr Mitchell concocted the story, believing it would not be taken as seriously as it was.
The one shred of evidence to support this theory is a 1910 novel the physician published, in which one of his characters describes an eerily similar ghost story.
