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George Fox
George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.
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Sermon Summary
George Fox urges the prophets of the Lord to boldly proclaim the truth and not to be discouraged by the world's disdain for prophecy. He emphasizes the importance of remaining true to their divine calling and responding to the God-given insights within themselves and others. Fox encourages both men and women in ministry to stay grounded in their spiritual gifts while warning against pride and the dangers of straying from God's guidance. He reminds them that true prophecy leads to the Son of God, who is the ultimate judge of their actions.
Scriptures
Stand Up, Ye Prophets of the Lord
(To Friends in the Ministry) STAND up, ye Prophets of the Lord, for the Truth upon the Earth; quench not your Prophecy, neither heed them that despise it; but in it stand, which brings you through to the End. . . . Heed not the Eyes of the World, ye Prophets of the Lord, but answer that in them all, which they have closed their Eye to; that ye may to them tell of things to come, answering that of God in them, that shall remain. Keep ye in your Habitations, ye Sons of God, that over all the Contrary ye may reign. And ye Daughters, to whom it is given to Prophesie, keep within your own Measure, seeing over that which is without, answering that of God in all. And despise not the Prophecy, keep down that Nature that would, which is the same as that is, which acts contrary to that of God in them. Neither be lifted up in your Openings and Prophecies, lest ye depart from that which opened, and so come by the Son of God to be Judged, and bidden to depart as Workers of Iniquity; for a Worker of Iniquity is gone from that, which leads to the Son of God, who is the End of the Prophets. . . .
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George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.