Pestilence:
Luke 21:11 (KJV)
11. And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;
and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
A contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent
and devastating; especially : bubonic plague.
Pestilence is a deadly disaster, usually a disease, that affects an entire community. Pestilence is contagious, virulent, and devastating. For example, the Black Plague in Europe that killed over thirty percent of the population during the late Middle Ages was a pestilence. In the Bible, pestilence is usually a sign of God’s judgment on a nation or people group. The God who protects and blesses is also the God who sends disaster and pestilence when it accomplishes His righteous purposes on earth. Pestilence is promised as part of God’s final judgment on the world in Revelation 18:8. (KJV)