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...though it would be some time before anyone would fully comprehend the real significance of his feat. His first words in the New World were the Bendita Sea la Luz:
“Blessed be the light of day, and the Holy Cross we say; and the Lord of Verity and the Holy Trinity. Blessed be the immortal soul, and the Lord who keeps it whole, blessed be the light of day, and He who sends the dark away.” (Grant & Wilbur, The Christian Almanac, p. 600)
From the very beginning, America was a mission field. The Spanish, French, and English all believed it was their God-ordained responsibility to evangelize the New World. The first of these European missionaries was Christopher Columbus (1451-1506).
When Columbus landed in the New World, he believed he was fulfilling an ancient prophecy. Almost one hundred years before, an Italian sailor waiting to return home discovered the bloodied body of a missionary to the Moslems. As the missionary lay dying, he prophesied of an undiscovered continent to the west that needed the Gospel. The sailor later told that story to his son and then to his grandson who recognized the call to “take the light of the Gospel to the heathens of the undiscovered lands.” The grandson’s name was Christopher Columbus. (Stephen Mansfield, Dates and Dead People, p. 27)
Columbus (like many people of his day) believed the world would end 7,000 years after the creation. The world was thought to be 5,343 years old when Jesus was born. By that reckoning, the end would be the year 1656. (Reginald Stackhouse, Columbus’s Millennial Voyage, www.ctlibrary.com) Columbus believed the Gospel must first be preached to all men. Therefore, if he could find a shortcut to the East, missionaries could reach it faster. (Apocalypse Not, Elesha Coffman, Christianity Today newsletter, 10/12/2001)
“God made me the messenger of the new heaven and the new earth of which He spoke in the Apocalypse of St. John after having spoken of it through the mouth of Isaiah; and He showed me the spot where to find it.” (Quoted in Bryan F. Le Beau, Christopher Columbus and the Matter of Religion, Center for the Study of Religion and Society Vol 4, number 1)
Columbus believed the discovery of America was the climax of a great pilgrimage and the opening of a new millennial epoch in salvation history. (Gaustad & Schmidt, The Religious History of America, p. 17) Unfortunately, Columbus was swayed by the love of riches and did not remain true to his initial mission. But the missionary endeavor in the New World had begun:
“Let Christ rejoice on earth, as He rejoices in heaven in the prospect of the salvation of the souls of so many nations hitherto lost.” (Columbus’ Letter to Lord Raphael Sanchez, 14 March 1493)
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