Book of Prophecies

The Book of Prophecies is a compilation of apocalyptical religious revelations written by Christopher Columbus in the 15th and 16th centuries C.E.

This journal of sorts conveys the medieval notion that in order for the end of the world or the "second coming" of Jesus Christ to occur, certain events must first be enacted:

1. Christianity must be spread throughout the world

2. The Garden of Eden must be found - It was the common belief in the Middle Ages that the biblical Garden of Eden must have been on the top of a crag or mountaintop so that it would not have been affected by the first destruction of the world by flood. Upon arriving in Venezuela in 1498, Columbus must have surely thought that the verdant crags of Venezuela bore the garden of the Old Testament of the Bible.

3. A Last Crusade must take back the Holy Land from the Muslims - It was also believed that when Christ comes, he will come back in the place he lived and died; Jerusalem.

4. A Last World Emperor must be chosen - Columbus had chosen, at least in his mind, that the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, would fulfill this position due to the vast imperial power and religious conviction the Spanish monarchs claimed. A last world emperor would be necessary to lead the aforementioned crusade against the muslims and to greet Christ at Jerusalem once the previous steps had been completed.

These notions were not new to Columbus' time period. Medieval monastic writers such as Joachim of Fiore made similar claims and heavily influenced the apocalyptical writings and beliefs of Christopher Columbus.

Many ignore or view this apocalyptical facet of Columbus as myth, however at the close of his life he was very much enthralled in apocalyptic and religious scholarship. Many found Columbus to be mad in his later years and as history notes, he never did see the whole of his visions realized.