I sat down to read an amazing book recently, titled The Book of Prophecies, filled with astounding insights and prophetic statements, some very controversial.  What makes it so amazing is that this book, a collection of the author's writing and favorite passages from other authors, was written around 1501 and the editor/author is someone I've heard of all my life but never - I mean never - even heard that he published such a book.

The author is Christopher Columbus; while he wrote this book, during the late 15th century, a terrible event known as the Inquisition swept through Spain and other parts of Europe. People were being tormented, burned at the stake and expelled from the country, and no one was targeted more heavily than the Jewish population, which had grown considerably over the centuries. Jewish conversos (converts) would be arrested and accused of not being true Christians. They wouldn't even know who was accusing them; evidence would be presented in secret. Then they would be tortured until they confessed to being heretics. Then, once they confessed, they would be killed.¹

Jewish immigrations into Europe escalated after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, but even before Christ, Jews had begun to settle in the Iberian Peninsula - they were referred to as Sephardim, which comes from the Hebrew term for Spain, Sepharad, used in the Bible.  So strong had this community become, that the apostle Paul recognized the need to minister there (Romans 15: 24-28).

Part of this community included Christopher Columbus, a man dedicated to his Christian faith, but who by ancestry was most likely Jewish.  He had earned the favor of the king and queen of Spain, with his vision and scientific knowledge. In fact, he had managed to raise the money to embark on what would become one of the most significant voyages in the history of the world.

But it was a dangerous time for all Jews, even favored ones. Historians note that the voyage was originally scheduled for later in 1492.  But the inquisition overshadowed all plans; an edict had been signed demanding the expulsion of all Jews by August 2, 1492 (which ironically coincided with Tisha B'av, the day of mourning.  If you haven't already read the article on our website about this day, I encourage you to do so here .)

Our voyager gathered his crew, boarded his ships that night, and set sail for the new world, on August 3, 1492.  Christopher Columbus obeyed the edict along with almost 300,000 other Jewish people.

The faith of Christopher Columbus has long been established, confirmed by much of his own writing.  But his Jewish ancestry has been examined and hotly debated. Was Columbus truly Jewish?  The evidence is compelling and has stirred passions among Moslems, Jews, and Christians alike for its implications.  "The story of Jews in America begins with Christopher Columbus," declares one Muslim source.²

I discovered that several Jewish resources, including the Jewish American Hall of Fame, claim him as one of their own: "It was Spanish Jewry, not Spanish jewelry, that paid for Columbus' voyage of discovery," they insist. "There is no question that it was his Spanish-Jewish friends who were instrumental in arranging for his meeting with the Spanish Monarchs in 1486 and who turned his dream into reality."³

Here are a few other interesting facts that have been noted in connection with this question:

• There is evidence that Columbus spoke Spanish while still living in Italy, an unusual situation unless his family had originated in Spain. Spanish-speaking Jewish refugees from the Inquisition were numerous in the Genoa area.

• The form "Colón" which Columbus adopted as the Spanish equivalent of his last name was not the expected form (which would have been"Colom" or "Colombo"). It was however a common Jewish variation on the name.

• Columbus was known to frequent the company of Jews and former Jews, among whom were some noted astronomers and navigators, as well as his official translator. Marranos (another term for Jews forced to convert) figured prominently among Columbus's backers and crew. Throughout his life he demonstrated a keen knowledge of the Bible and the geography of the Holy Land.

• Columbus began the official report of his first voyage to America, addressed to Ferdinand and Isabella, with the following words: "And thus, having expelled all the Jews from all your kingdoms and dominions, in the month of January, Your Highnesses commanded me that...I should go to the said parts of India." This is a strange fact to mention in this context, and it is not even correct: The order of expulsion was not signed until March 31st.
  
  
• The fact that the expulsion of Spanish Jewry and Columbus' voyage coincided is telling. Even when Columbus was scheduled to set sail on August 3rd, he insisted that his entire crew be ready on board a full day earlier.  August 2nd 1492 was the day that had been ordained for the last Jews of Spain to depart the country. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were departed from Spain on that dark day.

• When this coincidence of dates was first noted by the Spanish biographer S. de Madariaga, the English Jewish historian Cecil Roth also commented on the "coincidence" August 2nd 1492 coinciding with Tisha B'av, the Jewish fast of mourning.  It was as if Columbus had arranged to remain on board ship for that ill-omened day, and to depart only afterwards. ⁴

•  Columbus discussed particular dates and phrases unique to Hebrew people. When writing about the fall of Jerusalem, he said "the destruction of the second house," referring to the Temple.

Suddenly, for me, a whole new light was shed on the discovery of America and some of our current politics.  And that light is even more amazing when I read The Book of Prophecies by Christopher Columbus.

Columbus truly believed he was on a mission from God.  Over and over in his written logs he dedicated his voyage to the Lord Jesus Christ.  He brilliantly combined and used the practical knowledge gathered by scientists of his time, but in the letter he drafted to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to make his appeal, he said, "I base what I say only on holy and sacred scripture."⁵

Columbus had a sense of destiny, that he was chosen for a mission, perhaps confirmed by his name, Christ-Topher ("Christ-bearer"). He was motivated by prophecy as much as a longing for discovery. In his Book of Prophecies he collected passages from the Bible that inspired him to plan his voyage:  Proverbs 8:27, which speaks of the earth's surface as being curved; Isaiah 40:22, the spherical earth; and the ocean currents in Isaiah 43:16.  He would later describe his discovery of the New World as "the fulfillment of what Isaiah prophesied," from Isaiah 24:15, "Isles beyond the sea," and Isaiah 60:9. ⁶

He also at least suspected the existence of the American continent. He appears to have owned the 1472 edition of Bibliothecae Historicae, written by Diodorus Siculus, a first century BC Greek historian who spoke of "a very great island many day's sailing from Africa."

But even beyond the geographical evidence he collected, the Book of Prophecies shows an uncanny knowledge of prophetic events, vision for the future, foresight, a deep faith-and a mission.  Columbus wanted nothing less than the universal conversion to Christ of all people.⁷ 

The book was compiled with the help of an anonymous Italian scribe to whom Columbus indicated which passages he wanted copied, including several passages from the works of Augustine, one of my favorite authors.

Apparently Columbus owned an anthology of the works of Augustine, published in Venice in1491. Columbus also loved the book of Isaiah from which he quoted at length; he also included lengthy commentary by a 14th century Franciscan monk on the prophetic eighth chapter of Daniel.  Columbus specifically picked passages from various sources that seemed to lend support to his personal role in fulfilling the prophecy.

Here are just a few other passages from the Book of Prophecies that I find spiritually and historically interesting:

• "In the final year you will come to the land that has been returned by means of the sword and has been created by many peoples upon the mountains of Israel" (from Ezekiel 38; p.229).

• "The sons of Ishmael…will be the leaders of the persecution of Christians in the final days of the world…" (p.24).

• The Book of Prophecies commentator writes:  "Columbus began to view the goal of the liberation of Jerusalem from Moslem domination in a more apocalyptic sense…the discovery of the West Indies became identified in his mind with one of the events which would precede the end of the world…and the universal conversion of the peoples to the gospel of Christ" (p. 33).

• "With these and similar prophecies it is shown that what we know to have been fulfilled by Christ has been predicted: the God of Israel, who we know to be the one true God, will be worshipped not only by the one nation that is called Israel, but by all people, and that He will throw out the false gods of the Gentiles from their temples and from the hearts of their worshippers" (quoted from Augustine, p. 163).  I would like to note that when this passage was written and later quoted there was no physical nation of Israel - and there hadn't been since 70 AD.

The book is full of numerous references to Muslim domination and the conflict between Muslims and Christians and Jews - comments that would be extremely politically sensitive in today's climate, but seem eerily prophetic.  Columbus held the same passion and regard for Jerusalem and God's people as many Christians do today.

After five centuries, Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure.  I've read enough to know that he has been variously described as one of the greatest mariners in history, a visionary genius, a mystic, a man of faith, a hero, a failed administrator, a naive entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist. 

Was he Jewish?  We can't know for sure, but I think the evidence points heavily in that direction. Whoever he was, he seemed to know that he had a unique call on his life, and a place in the timeline of God's prophetic plan.

1. www.aish.com/literacy/jewishhistory/Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History_Part_48_-_The_Inquisition.asp
2. www.allaahuakbar.net/jew/jewish_history_in_the_united_states.htm
3. http://www.amuseum.org/jahf/virtour/index.html#columbus
(Jewish-American Hall of Fame)
4. Eliezer Segal,  Jewish Free Press, Oct. 14 1991.
5. Columbus, Christopher; Rusconi, Roberto, The Book of Prophecies, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 1997.
6. Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.16, p. 688.
7. Columbus, Christopher; Rusconi, Roberto, The Book of Prophecies, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 1997, p. 20.

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