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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 be courageous in their faith and to uphold the truth of Jesus, emphasizing that they should not fear human wrath but rather honor the Lord. He reminds them that through the blood of the Lamb, they have victory over the world and should remain united in spirit, producing good fruit in their lives. Fox highlights the importance of living in the newness of life, serving the Lord, and maintaining peace among one another, assuring them of the eternal rewards for those who overcome.
Epistle 338
My dear friends,—Be valiant for the truth, and the power of it, in the spirit and faith of Jesus, and let no one take your crown [Rev 3:11]; for the saints overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the testimony Jesus [Rev 12:11]. And so fear not the wrath of man, but fear the Lord, and keep your men and women's meetings in the name of Jesus [Mat 18:20]; in whose name you have salvation, life, and peace; so that all may be in the vine, bringing forth heavenly fruit [John 15:5], to the glory of God. And so feel his banner of love over you [Song 2:4], and you sitting under the shadow of the Almighty [Psa 91:1], and look over that which maketh to suffer, to that which was before it was; and know your faith, to stand in the seed that bruiseth the head of it; which seed, Christ, is your rock and foundation, who will raze down the foundation [Psa 137:7] of the world of wickedness, from which foundation the lamb hath been slain [Rev 13:8]. But he is risen, and hath overcome the world [John 16:33], and hath the victory [Rev 17:14]: glory to the Lord God and the Lamb for ever. Amen. And in him you have the victory, and do overcome; and they that do overcome, shall eat of the hidden manna [Rev 2:17], and shall go no more forth into the barren world of wickedness, but feed in the fruitful land of the living [Psa 116:9], and their feet shall be set in a sure place [Psa 40:2]; and beautiful are the feet of those that publish peace and glad tidings , and that say in truth and righteousness to Zion, thy God reigneth [Isa 52:7]. Who is a consuming fire [Deut 4:24] to the wicked; and the joy of the Lord is strength [Neh 8:10] to the righteous. So serve the Lord in the newness of life [Rom 6:4/7:6], for the Lord is dishonoured [Rom 2:23] in the old life of wickedness; and keep the unity of the spirit, which is the bond of peace [Eph 4:3], which no man can take away. So, with my love to you all, in the everlasting seed, that changeth not. 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.