El Libro de las Profecías by Christopher Columbus

We have talked before about how some important figures in history have become obsessed with prophecies such as Isaac Newton, but here we will take at another famous personality from history that was obsessed with prophecies, Christopher Columbus.

Between 1501 and 1502 he compiled a book with the help of his friend Gaspar Gorricio, the book was simply called El Libro do las Profecias, or translated to english> Book of prophecies.  The book lists a number of things that he saw as being on a 'to do' list to bring about the return of Christ.  In fact one of his voyages aims across the Atlantic was to gain gold for the monarchy to fund a crusade to Jerusalem!  The events he saw as needing to completed are as follows
1. Christianity must spread around the world
2. The Garden of Eden must be found (of which he believed he discovered it in Venezuela)
3. A crusade to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims
4. A last world leader should be chosen

These beliefs were common place during medieval times and it is clear that Columbus was influenced by the writings of Joachim of Fiore.  But some saw Columbus' obsession as a sign of madness, and refused to listen to his rants about attempting to fulfill prophecies.

It is possible to buy translations of his book, though currently they are out of print, you may still find second-hand copies online at Amazon for around $90.

Old Document Review 'On the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse'

This ancient document was written by Joachim of Fiore (d.1202) and features his interpretations of what the seals in the Book of Revelations represent.  Joachim sees the seals as representing the story of the church between the first and the second coming of Jesus.

However his understanding goes much deeper, when Joachim looks at history he sees a link to the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are matched to the Old Testament, the life of Jesus and the New Testament.  Whats more, is that each of these eras can be broken down into seven periods of time which will match with the corresponding period in the next era.  These seven periods are also represented by the seven seals which are laid out in the Book of Revelations.  As always periods of time divided into seven can also be linked to how the Mayans viewed time, each period of time is seen to have seven days and six nights.

For example the first period in the Old Testament is seen from Abraham to the promised land, which is matched to the New Testament period of time from John the Baptist to the early church.  This matching carries on as far as the sixth seal which Joachim seen as matching against his own era, and everything that was happening during his lifetime such as the crusades and so on.  Joachim foretells that soon the Catholic Church shall be overthrown or challenged by a new church (the rise of Protestants?) and he sees this as the time where Satan will be bound up into his prison.  Then in the seventh seal will be the second coming.