In the Book of Revelation, we read about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – War, Strife, Famine and Pestilence – and as I watch the endless debates among the presidential candidates, I wonder if St. John was warning us against the triumph of the Republican Party in America and of their allies around the world.

War is definitely one of the horrors we can expect if the Republicans win the 2012 elections in America. Every candidate but Ron Paul is straining at the bit in their eagerness to bomb Iran. Obviously, the Republican Party is in love with war.

Strife is already raging across the face of the earth, and if those contentious Republicans grab hold of the reins of power, look out world, there will be lots more where this iteration of strife is coming from. They are committed to restoring America’s domination of the globe, they say, and they will find more opposition than they bargained for this time.

Famine already afflicts much of the earth, and now we read of it spreading throughout developed countries. About half of the 300 million Americans are living in, or close to, poverty. Expect the situation to deteriorate rapidly if Republican policies prevail, siphoning more and more of the nation’s wealth to fewer and fewer people.

Pestilence will be the certain consequence of a Republican victory as health care protections are repealed, social programs are demolished, environmental regulations are eliminated and corporate looters are set free to plunder and despoil the earth.

Behind the prospect of  a Republican victory I see all too clearly that dreaded “pale horse, whose rider is called Death.”

Death is the inevitable destination for us all, of course, but with Republicans in charge it will come much earlier and much more horribly to most of us. Already, because of their obstructionism in Congress and their relentless defense of the richest of the rich, homelessness and poverty are at all-time highs in America.

To see what the future holds if they win in 2012, you have only to read the Ryan budget… or Newt Gingrich’s tax plan… or Mitt Romney’s economic proposals… or any of the candidates’ agendas.

The way I see it, you will be reading a prophesy as dire as St. John the Evangelist’s.