Rumours are spreading that claim that all over the world, waters are turning red with blood, since this is what Revelation 16:4 claims as one of the signs of the End of Days.

Revelation 16:4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood.

The rumours come attached to various photos apparently showing the sea bright red with blood, as predicted by Christian scripture.

So is this the end according to the Book of Revelation, or is there a more mundane explanation at play?

The messages spreading across Facebook are as follows –

All over the world, waters are turning red. From Ohio to Canada to Antartica. On April 28th of this year, Brazil beaches are blood red. Why? Well Revelation 16:4 says, The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. This is a sign that we are in End Time. Please pray people!!!

Whilst the photos are genuine, there are much more routine reasons as to why the photos on display show red water – reasons that don’t indicate the coming of any scriptural apocalypse.

One of the photos shows the result of an illegal red dye dump in China that resulted in the water turning red, but the other photos show a natural phenomenon known as an algal bloom (or red tide) that is a rapid increase in the amount of algae in a particular area that can result in the water turning red or dark brown (amongst other colours.)

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One of the photos was taken in Sydney in 2012, whilst another was taken in Brazil more recently. The consequences of algal blooms can potentially be harmful, resulting in the death of local marine life and the poisoning of shellfish.

Despite the claims made in the biblical rumour above, algal blooms are not new, nor are there any reports that they are becoming dramatically common.

They have been recorded for hundreds of years, and whilst we understand what causes them, the underlying reasons as to why they occur remains a subject of debate. We do know, however, that it isn’t blood, and considering they have been occurring in the natural world for hundreds of years, there is no obvious reason to interpret them as a coming of the End of Days.