In a scene ripped from the pages of Exodus, the Sea of Galilee has turned blood red. It serves as an ominous sign to some locals, given the account in Exodus 7 when Moses turns the Nile to blood as a sign of God’s judgment upon Egypt, marking the first of ten plagues to strike. Locals referred to the blooming red spots in the sea as a “bad omen.” The plague also gets a reference in Revelation 16:3 as an end-time omen. In Revelation, the apostle John is witnessing seven angels who are pouring out vials of God’s wrath upon the earth. The third vial results in the rivers and fountains of the earth being turned into blood.

A video on TikTok claims that bodies of water throughout the world have “mysteriously” turned blood red, including in areas such as Iran, Russia, Peru, and Argentina. “Sea turns blood red and now water burst from mountain in Oman. Prophecies unfolding in the middle east,” wrote one person on X. “So Israel has had Locusts and now the Sea of Galilee is turning ‘Red,’” wrote another user. Locusts were another plague that was visited upon Egypt as a sign of God’s judgment. The Sea of Galilee also has biblical importance as being the site where Jesus walked on water according to Matthew 14.

Scientists, however, are offering a more natural explanation. Israel’s Water Ministry has stated the red color is a result of green algae Botryococcus braunii growing in the water. The color results from an accumulation of a natural pigment the green algae produces after strong sunlight exposure. According to the Ministry, the pigment is non-toxic and the water is safe to swim in despite its off-putting appearance. It also noted that there had not been any reports of allergic reactions to the algae in the past. The water has turned red in the past due to the algae, which some scientists have tried to say could explain how Moses turned the water to blood in Exodus. The account in Exodus does note, however, that the fish died in the river as a result of it turning to blood, which has not yet been reported in the case of the Sea of Galilee.