Are these the end times?

I began writing this essay five days after the first presidential debate of 2008. I am frightened for the welfare of the United States and the world. For the past month now, I have had visions that the end of the world is nigh. Ever since John McCain’s acceptance speech, visions of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse have ravaged my mind.

I am not a very religious person, believing more in science as means to an end, albeit the end may be not always pleasant. I have a very limited knowledge of the four horsemen. Until now, I have interpreted, as have many others, the prophecy of horsemen told by Saint John the Devine of Patmos as four individual plagues that are felled upon man by man’s own hubris through the misuse and abuse of science and technology. In John’s prophecy, the first man, who rides the white horse, allegedly represents false prophets. The second man, who rides the red horse, commonly portrays war. The third man riding the black horse symbolizes famine and pestilence, and finally the fourth man, riding the pale horse, supposedly portrays death.

This interpretation is nice, however we are led to believe these are four separate events, and they will happen sometime in the distant future. I disagree with this interpretation. I had a disturbing epiphany during the Republican National Convention that John of Patmos did not prophesy about four separate plagues, rather a point in time, right now, the 2008 United States’ presidential elections.

Read the book of Revelation in the Bible (6:1-8). Then, replace the image of a man on a white horse with that of a man with white hair – John McCain has white hair. Replace the image of the man on the red horse with that of a woman who likes the color red – Sarah Palin likes red. Replace the man on a black horse with a black man – Obama is black. Replace the man on the pale horse with a man with gray hair – George W. Bush has graying hair. What about the other characteristics of the four horsemen fit the people I have linked to the horsemen?

The Bible says that the first horseman will go forth conquering and to conquer… McCain says he shall fight in Iraq until we win. Is this not going forth to conquer? The Bible also says that this horseman has a crown given to him… Does this mean McCain will win the election? If this indeed is what it means, it follows that his election would bring about Armageddon. The Bible also says that the first horseman shall carry a bow. It says nothing about him carrying arrows though… This could mean that McCain will be a weapon waiting for someone to pull the trigger. Take into consideration the words shouted by audience members at McCain rallies about Obama, words like, “Terrorist,” “Kill him,” and “Bomb Obama.” That tells me that some radicals out there are just begging an excuse to assassinate Obama, hence McCain’s words shall be the bow, and a supporter of his will provide the arrow.

The Bible says that the second horseman will have power given to him to take peace from the earth… From the vice-presidential debates, it is very apparent that Palin wants to expand the powers of which the office claimed authority under the Bush/Cheney regime.

The third horseman, says the Bible, shall carry a pair of balances in his hand. A voice from the vicinity of this horseman proclaims, “a measure of wheat for a penny, a measure of barley for a penny…” With the economic crisis that now is in its infancy, I can envision Obama saying this both as president if elected and as the senator from Illinois. In addition, the voice says, “…and see thou not hurt the oil and the wine.” How ironic that Obama consistently endeavors to fight for the environment by resisting the short term, knee jerk solution to the energy crisis via drilling for more oil. Obama knows the oil reserves the U.S. holds in the Anwar region of Alaska and off the continental shelf is a mere pittance to the amount used by the U.S. every year and would be exhausted in no-time. The clear solution to the energy crisis is some kind of alternate fuel. All the McCain campaign can offer is, “…drill baby, drill,” a simple solution to a complex problem. This approach often leads to problems that are more complex in the end. Also, the fact the voice came from around the third horsemen and not from himself indicates to me that the message this voice conveys is fleeting or comes from the dead, harkening back to my previous statement about an assassination attempt on Obama.

The fourth and final horseman rides the pale horse and his name is death, and hell follows him. President Bush indeed has set the precedent of an administration from which only hell can follow.

I pray that I am wrong about these four people being the prophecy of the four horsemen. If I am right though, I pray for all mankind.