Campegius Vitringa Sr., or Kempe VitringaEijnatten (2003), p.84 (May 16, 1659 at

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

– March 31, 1722 at

Franeker Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12, ...

) was a Dutch Protestant theologian and

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

. His youngest of four children was Campeius Vitringa (1693-1723). Vitringa, a follower of

Johannes Cocceius Johannes Cocceius (also Coccejus; ; 9 August 1603 – 5 November 1669) was a Dutch theologian born in Bremen. Life After studying at Hamburg and the University of Franeker, where Sixtinus Amama was one of his teachers, he became in 1630 profess ...

, was a supporter of prophetic theology. He was educated at the universities of

and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, and became professor of Oriental languages at the former in 1681. When locating prophetic outcomes, he would associate events to the near rather than the far-off future, placing a distinct focus on the period of the

Maccabees The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees ( he, מַכַּבִּים, or , ; la, Machabaei or ; grc, Μακκαβαῖοι, ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. ...

(2nd Century BC). Like

Joseph Mede Joseph Mede (1586 in Berden – 1639) was an English scholar with a wide range of interests. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow from 1613. He is now remembered as a biblical scholar. He was also a naturalist ...

(1586-1638), Vitringa believed wholeheartedly that the

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

was yet to come, but did not expect any immediate changes. He relegated the end of the time to a remote future and strongly emphasized the concept of

New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the c ...

. His most important student is considered Herman Venema (1697-1787), who was a theology professor at Franeker. Vitringa’s two chief works are his dissertation on the synagogue, ''De Synagoga Vetere Libri Tres'' (Franeker, 1685; 2d ed. 1696); and his ''Commentary on Isaiah'' (Leeuwarden, 1714–20), which was frequently republished in the eighteenth century. The latter was up to the time of Gesenius the most considerable contribution to the

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

. His other works include, ''Sacrarum Observationum Libri Sex'' (Franeker, 1683-1708) and ''Anacrisis Apocalypseos Joannis Apostoli'' (1705).

''Anacrisis Apocalypseos''

Vitringa’s most notable work was ''Anacrisis Apocalypseos Joannis Apostoli'' (1705), which was considered a major event, in the history of prophetic theology at the turn of the 18th century. He drew extensively on the Clavis Apocalyptica (1627), by

(1586-1638). Vitringa’s work was regarded the first major study to analyze the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

as a structured chronological outline of the history of the Christian church. His interpretation of the Apocalypse was that of a coded description of the history of the New Testament Church. Though Vitringa had integrated the

historical method Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be drawn o ...

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

in past work, he rejected the view of Grotius and

Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), French bishop and theologian, uncle of Louis * Louis Bossuet Louis Bossuet (22 February 1663 – 15 January 1742) was a French parle ...

that associated John’s visions exclusively to early

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitringa, Campeius 1669 births 1722 deaths Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians Christian Hebraists People from Leeuwarden University of Franeker alumni Leiden University alumni Academic staff of the University of Franeker 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians