Johannes Rothé, or Jan Rothe, de Rothe of Rode, also Mr Roder (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 2 December 1628 - 18 March 1702), Lord of Oud-Wulven and Wayen in the Netherlands, was a prophetic preacher and Fifth Monarchist. He was the son of an Amsterdam patrician, Zacharias Rothe, a sugar merchant and administrator at the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

. His mother was Mary Bas. She died in childbirth. His father sent him on foreign trips in preparation for merchant life, where he was introduced to the pietistic ideas of Ludwig Friedrich Gifftheil among others. Walking the ''Haagse Bosch'' in 1652 he received a calling as a prophet, stating "God came to me like in a heavy tempest". During the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...

, he served as an

itinerant preacher An itinerant preacher (also known as an itinerant minister or evangelist or circuit rider) is a Christian evangelist who preaches the basic Christian redemption message while traveling around to different groups of people within a relatively shor ...

. Through sermons and writings, he sought contact with foreign leaders. In 1654 he was imprisoned in England by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, as his sermons were seen as a plea for the return of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

. After his release in 1658, he travelled to Denmark and Prussia, before returning to England in 1660. At that time, Charles had been restored to the crown and rewarded his supporters, including Rothé, who was elevated to a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

. In London, he married Anna (Nan) Hartlib, daughter of the celebrated scholar and "Intelligencer"

Samuel Hartlib Samuel Hartlib or Hartlieb (c. 1600 – 10 March 1662)
M. Greengrass, "Hartlib, Samuel (c. 1600–1662)", ''Oxford D ...

. The diarist

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

wrote an account of the wedding, which took place in Goring House, and was described as a magnificent occasion. Pepys somewhat cynically remarked that Nan was lucky to marry a wealthy man, ("a great fortune she has lit upon"), since her father was almost destitute. Presumably Roder, or his brother-in-law, the German-born chemist

Frederick Clod Frederick Clod (or Clodius) (1625 – after 1661), was a physician and "mystical chemist" of German extraction. He lived in a sizeable house (taxed on eight hearths) in Axe Yard, London, next door to the Hartlibs, whose daughter Mary he married ...

, who had married Nan's sister Mary, paid for the lavish wedding. After returning to the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, Rothé continued writing pamphlets. He threatened senior people, especially the "stadhouder", declaring that they should do

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

. He announced the coming of

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...

, Chaldean king of the

Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the List of kings of Babylon, King of B ...

. In the year 1672 (the Dutch "year of disaster") after the assassination of

Johan de Witt Johan de Witt (; 24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672), ''lord of Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp en IJsselvere'', was a Dutch statesman and a major political figure in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th century, the Fi ...

, he foretold the end of the world and with his supporters he moved North to fight the final battle against

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

. He arrived in Hamburg in 1677 with his followers, who quickly disbanded after the world's end failed to arrive. Because of another pamphlet aimed at

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from ...

he was arrested in 1676 and imprisoned. Family connections led to his release.

Publications

* Eenige Schriften, tot dienst van alle Inwoonderen van het Triumphante Koninckrijck Jesu Christi. 1664 * Een nieuwe Hemel en Aerde. Amsterdam 1673 * Eenige Prophetien en revelatien Godts, aengaende de Christen Werelt in dese Eeuw. Amsterdam 1673 * Spiegel voor alle Menschen, besonderlijck voor de Leeraren, in dese Eeuw. Amsterdam 1673 * Het leger des Grooten Godts. Amsterdam 1673

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothe, Johannes Dutch religious leaders People from the City of London 1628 births 1702 deaths