Jane Lead
Jane Lead (March 1624 – August 19, 1704) was an Christian mystic whose calling from God inspired a visionary ministry that shaped the Philadelphian Society, proclaiming divine wisdom and spiritual renewal across the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Born Jane Ward in Letheringsett, Norfolk, England, to Hamond Ward, a prosperous gentleman, and Mary Calthorpe, she was the youngest of twelve children in a well-off family, baptized on March 9, 1624. Her education was informal, shaped by a comfortable upbringing and personal spiritual experiences rather than formal theological training, culminating in a transformative moment at age 15 during a 1639 Christmas dance when a heavenly voice declared, “Cease from this, I have another dance to lead thee in.” Lead’s calling from God unfolded after marrying William Lead, a merchant, in 1644, living happily with him and their four daughters in King’s Lynn until his death in 1671 left her penniless in London. That year, a vision of the Virgin Sophia—divine wisdom personified—called her a “Bride of Christ,” igniting her ministry of recording divine revelations. Ordained informally by her mystical experiences, she preached through writings and leadership, joining John Pordage’s Behmenist group in 1668 and assuming its helm after his 1681 death, renaming it the Philadelphian Society in 1694. Her sermons, preserved in works like A Fountain of Gardens (1696–1701) and The Revelation of Revelations (1683), called for a universal restoration through the Inner Light, influencing Quakers and Pietists despite opposition from Anglican authorities. Widowed, with no further marriages, she passed away at age 80 in London, leaving a legacy of mystical preaching that echoed beyond her time.
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Jane Lead preaches about a divine revelation received during a resting trance, where a message from the Prince of Love and Peace was presented on a paper-roll, emphasizing the reconciliation of outward and inward birth through life-union with God in nature. Despite the disappearance of the written inscription, it symbolizes the transient nature of earthly things, while highlighting the eternal imprint of spiritual truths by the Spirit. Believers are encouraged to seek the fresh revelation of God's truth in the Book of Life within them, waiting for divine insight to discern and understand it.
December 1. 1678. Letter and Spirit. the Vision of a Roll.
IN the Night-Watch, as I was in a resting Trance, there was held out to my view a Paper-roll, and I could read the Inscription of the first part, which was in these Words: Greeting from the Prince of Love and Peace to thee, and the same in Life-Union with God in Nature. Behold and read the Articles, that will the outward and inward Birth reconcile. Then did the Roll fold up and pass away. Then I said, Lord how shall I read, what is taken away? But it was answered me, So it must be. To signifie the Letter-Inscription may vanish and be snatched away: but the Spirit is at hand to imprint it fresh and new in such a Book, as the Lord's own Seal shall witness to it. In that thou wilt review, what was specified in the Roll, and what the Springing Book of Life in thy hidden Ground doth put forth, as thy Eye may be quick for to spy it, and waiting for the Eye-Salve to discover it.
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Jane Lead (March 1624 – August 19, 1704) was an Christian mystic whose calling from God inspired a visionary ministry that shaped the Philadelphian Society, proclaiming divine wisdom and spiritual renewal across the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Born Jane Ward in Letheringsett, Norfolk, England, to Hamond Ward, a prosperous gentleman, and Mary Calthorpe, she was the youngest of twelve children in a well-off family, baptized on March 9, 1624. Her education was informal, shaped by a comfortable upbringing and personal spiritual experiences rather than formal theological training, culminating in a transformative moment at age 15 during a 1639 Christmas dance when a heavenly voice declared, “Cease from this, I have another dance to lead thee in.” Lead’s calling from God unfolded after marrying William Lead, a merchant, in 1644, living happily with him and their four daughters in King’s Lynn until his death in 1671 left her penniless in London. That year, a vision of the Virgin Sophia—divine wisdom personified—called her a “Bride of Christ,” igniting her ministry of recording divine revelations. Ordained informally by her mystical experiences, she preached through writings and leadership, joining John Pordage’s Behmenist group in 1668 and assuming its helm after his 1681 death, renaming it the Philadelphian Society in 1694. Her sermons, preserved in works like A Fountain of Gardens (1696–1701) and The Revelation of Revelations (1683), called for a universal restoration through the Inner Light, influencing Quakers and Pietists despite opposition from Anglican authorities. Widowed, with no further marriages, she passed away at age 80 in London, leaving a legacy of mystical preaching that echoed beyond her time.