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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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George Fox encourages believers to focus on the eternal seed of God, Christ Jesus, which transcends all earthly sufferings and challenges. He emphasizes the importance of living in the power and wisdom of God, urging the faithful to stand firm against spiritual adversaries and to claim their inheritance in Christ. Fox reassures that through faith and the armor of God, believers can overcome all opposition and remain steadfast in their divine calling. He calls for a rejection of false practices and a commitment to righteousness, reminding the faithful of their victory through the Lord's power.
Epistle 207
My dear friends,—Look above all sufferings that are outward, at the seed of God, which was before that was which makes to suffer; and the seed of God, Christ Jesus, will stand, when that which makes to suffer, is gone: and so, in the seed of God live, and lie down in the same, which is Christ, the life, the way to God [John 14:6] the Father of life. The tithes of the Jews, and the tithes of the apostate christians must all be borne testimony against, by them that be redeemed from the earth [Rev 14:3], and reign above it, in his life, and power, and wisdom. And so, be of good faith, and never heed, but make war in righteousness with the beast, dragon, whore, and her followers; for by the Lord many walls and troops have ye gone through and leaped over [Psa 18:29], and the Lord hath given you dominion over that which warred against you [Rev 17:14]; and by the power of the Lord ye have overcome, and in the power of the Lord ye will overcome all, and in it will stand, when all the contrary is gone. And know your portion, and sit down in the possession of it: so, every one of you to be in your possessions and inheritances, and with the shield of faith and helmet of salvation, and the breast-plate of righteousness, and the sword of the spirit [Eph 6:14-17], the word of God [Heb 4:12], which was before deceit was, which will hammer [Jer 23:29], and break, and cut down all that which is contrary. And being shod with the preparation of the gospel [Eph 6:15], which is the power of God [Rom 1:16], which was before the fall was, in that stand, in the power of God, which was before the devil was, and will remain when he is gone. G. F.
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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.