Christopher Columbus October 1451 – May 20, 1506

The following quotes come from Journals and Other Documents on the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Samuel Eliot Morison, Heritage Press, 1963. Morison said:

I found that almost all translations of Columbian documents were untrustworthy, and in consequence I made, or caused to be made, fresh ones for my own use. It seemed odd that no trustworthy translation of the momentous First Voyage Journal had yet appeared; but none had, nor has to this day. (v)

1. His writings began with:

 

In the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Christopher Columbus was a pious man.

 

2. The entire purpose of his travels was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ on behalf of Spain for the purpose of gathering adherents, and wealth, sufficient to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims:

 

And Your Highness, as Catholic (Universal) Christians and Princes devoted to the Holy Christian Faith and the propagators thereof, and enemies of the sect of Mahomet and of all idolatries and heresies, resolved to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the said regions of India, to see the said princes and peoples and lands and the disposition of them and of all, and the manner in which may be undertaken their conversion to our Holy Faith, and ordained that I should not go by land (the usual way) to the Orient, but by the route of the Occident, by which no one to this day knows for sure that anyone has gone; (Dated 1494, p. 48)

 

I declare to Your Highness that all the gain of this my Enterprise should be spent in the conquest of Jerusalem, and your Highnesses smiled and said that it pleased you, and that even without this you had that strong desire. (Dated 1492, p. 139)

 

3. He believed the land which he would discover would fulfill prophecy regarding a “New Heaven and Earth:”

 

I came with such cordial affection to serve these princes, and I have served them with unheard of and unseen devotion. Of the New Heaven and Earth which Our Lord made, as St. John writes in the Apocalypse, after he had spoken it by the mouth of Isaiah, He made me the messenger thereof and showed me where to go. (Dated October 1500, p. 291)

 

Not only did he cite the Revelation of John and the prophecy of Isaiah as being fulflled through him as the “messenger,” he stated that God had even shown him where to go.

 

4. This land he was certain was hidden, and would only be revealed to him:

 

I undertook a new voyage to the New Heaven and World which hitherto had been hidden. And if, like the rest of the Indies, this is not held in esteem over there; this is no wonder, since it came to light through my exertions. (Dated October 1500, p. 291)

Columbus removed out of the range of mere speculation the idea that beyond the Atlantic Ocean lands existed and could be reached by sea, made of the notion a fixed fact, and linked forever the two worlds. That event, which is unquestionably the greatest of modern time, secures to Columbus a place in the pantheon dedicated to the worthies whose courageous deeds mankind will always remember. (Henry Harrisse, Columbus and the Bank of St. George)

 

5. After Columbus there came greedy explorers who had one ambition – to find gold for their own wealth. The difference? Columbus wanted it to regain Jerusalem from the Muslims:

 

I did not come on this voyage for gain, honor or wealth, that is certain; for then the hope of all such things was dead. I came to Your Highnesses with honest purpose and sincere zeal; and I do not lie. (Dated 7 July 1503, p. 385)

 

TO HIS HONOR

  • Columbus Day – A Federal Holiday.
  • Federal Capital – District of Columbia
  • State Capital – Ohio and South Carolina
  • Columbia River
  • Knights of Columbus
  • Many cities, towns, streets, etc.

 

CONCLUSION:

This new land that was hidden – but destined to be found by Columbus – would grow until it fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and John regarding a New Heaven and a New Earth. This land would be built by Christians, who would then facilitate the retaking of Jerusalem from the Muslims. Indeed, all these prophecies have been fulfilled except the last one. Muslims still occupy the Temple Mount.