Plucking the Eagle's Wings

America's Remarkable Prophetic History

often refer to the Temple as the second house. Columbus apparently saw some significance in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and felt that he would play a part in the restoration of the holy city. On March 30, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed a decree to expel the Jews from Spain. Until that time, Spain had been one of the few safe havens for Jews. As mentioned earlier, many Jewish converts were in the royal court, including Luis de Santangel, Ferdinand's Budget Minister. Now, there seemed to be no place for the Jews to go. Oddly, this date coincided with key events in Israel's history. According to tradition, when Cyrus the king of Persia was crowned, his coronation made it possible for Jewish exiles to return to Israel and rebuild the city of Jerusalem for the Holy Temple. Exactly one year later, Ezra left Babylon intending to assist with the reconstruction. Was it coincidence that the Jews found themselves wandering once more, longing for a homeland without torment? If Columbus was Jewish, it must certainly have crossed his mind. I think that the same "coincidence" surely crossed the mind of God. On April 30, 1492, one month after the edict of expulsion was signed, it was read publicly. The same day, Columbus received the order to prepare for his expedition. Initially, Columbus' request to sail westward had been declined. Had it not been for the persuasion and financial support of Santangel and Abravanel, Columbus' voyage would not have originated in Spain. Ironically, the expedition these Jews helped make possible took place the same day they were ordered to leave the country they had served. The year 1491-92 corresponds to the Hebrew year 5252, written as bnrh . The Hebrew numbers can translate to the phrase har nov , meaning mount of fruit. According to Strong's Concordance, har is a shortened form of harar, which is from an unused root meaning to loom up . Nov(fruit) is from noov, meaning to germinate, flourish, to bring forth. (Matthew 21:43). It seems that this year signified a time to rise up and bring forth fruit. America, the nation that would bring forth fruit, was about to be established! On August 2, 1492, thousands of Jews departed from Spain. One of their ports of departure was Palos, the same port from which Columbus had intended to depart. Columbus originally planned to set sail on August 2, 1492. Faced with throngs of despairing, heartbroken people at Palos that day, Columbus decided to delay his voyage by one

49