Throughout the Bible, from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Greek, readers can easily find story after story of God’s prophets[1] stepping forward as the spokesman (or woman) of God, delivering God’s truths regarding His sovereignty, heralding warnings of His imminent judgment for the worldly and unrepentant, offering His exhortations of reformation and responsibility, but also sharing His absolute promises of delivery and loving reconciliation with Him in the aftermath. The Hebrew word for these prophets (nabi or hroeh), means “one called or seer;” the Greek word (prophetes) means “one who proclaims a interprets divine revelation.”[2]
As prophetic example, Isaiah states to the people of Israel and Judah, “Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him” (Isa 1:4, NIV). Later in the same chapter, Isaiah also reveals,
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isa 1:18–20, NIV).
These prophets historically have been encouragers—and accusers—of kings and commoners. They are moved by the Holy Spirit, bringing messages of exile, destruction, and hope, often to resistant or openly hostile audiences (Matt 23:31). Although faithful followers can find many literary examples in the Old and New Testaments, the Bible also records that God has sent out many other prophets throughout human history to reform and redeem His people (Hos 12:10; Acts 2:17; 1 Cor 12:28, NIV).
This reality is profoundly observable in The Journal of George Fox, which George Fox dictated to his stepson-in-law, Thomas Lower, in 1674 or 1675.[3] Like other biblical prophets, Fox felt supernaturally empowered and called to be the “Voice of God” across England. He expressed in his journal,
The Lord opened my mouth, and the everlasting truth was declared amongst them, and the power of the Lord was over them all. For in that day the Lord’s power began to spring, and I had great openings in the Scriptures. Several were convinced in those parts, and were turned from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God; and many were raised up to praise God. When I reasoned with professors and other people, some were convinced, and did stand.[4]
Once Fox became aware of God’s mission for him (and he embraced it),[5] he followed the patterns of most other prophets of old, presenting often unwelcome messages from God concerning the behaviors and attitudes English laypeople, pastors, and parishioners alike. In particular, he brought four types of prophetical messages to them: 1. Indictments regarding idolatry and social injustice, 2. Judgments regarding their political relationships and abuses, 3. Instructions on how and why to stop their wicked conduct, and 4. Promises of reward for their repentance and reformation.
Concerning Fox’s indictments regarding English idolatry and social injustice, in chapter two, he wrote: “The Lord saith, ‘I will come near to judgment, and will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the false swearers, and against the idolaters, and against those that do oppress widows and fatherless.’”[6] Concerning Fox’s judgments regarding his fellow countrymen’s political relationships and abuses, in chapter one, he wrote, “It was upon me from the Lord to go and speak to the justices, that they should not oppress the servants in their wages.”[7]
In chapter two, he also wrote,
As I travelled through markets, fairs, and divers places, I saw death and darkness in all people, where the power of the Lord God had not shaken them. As I was passing on in Leicestershire, I came to Twy-Cross, where there were excise-men [tax collectors]. I was moved of the Lord to go to them and warn them to take heed of oppressing the poor; and people were much affected with it.[8]
Concerning Fox’s instructions on how and why his English listeners should stop their wicked conduct, in chapter three, he wrote, “So I declared God’s everlasting truth amongst them, warning them of the day of the Lord that was coming upon all sin and wickedness; and exhorted them to repent” Finally, regarding Fox’s sharing God’s promises of reward for their repentance and reformation, in chapter one, he wrote,
I was sent to turn people from darkness to the light, that, they might receive Christ Jesus: for, to as many as should receive Him in His light, I saw that He would give power to become the sons of God; which I had obtained by receiving Christ. I was to direct people to the Spirit that gave forth the Scriptures, by which they might be led into all Truth, and so up to Christ and God, as they had been who gave them forth. I was to turn them to the grace of God, and to the truth in the heart, which came by Jesus; that by this grace they might be taught, which would bring them salvation, that their hearts might be established by it, and their words might be seasoned, and all might come to know their salvation nigh.[9]
Ironically or unavoidably, Fox (like every other biblical or true prophet of God) also suffered for his divine calling, experiencing persecution, incarceration, physical assaults, and unjust slander and accusations from those people (at all social levels) to whom he had been sent to plead change their ways, according to the Holy Spirit’s expressed message to Fox (in agreement with the Scriptures). Fox explained, “These things I did not see by the help of man, nor by the letter, though they are written in the letter, but I saw them in the light of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by his immediate Spirit and power. . . [but] what the Lord opened in me, I afterwards found was agreeable to [the Scriptures].”[10]
So many more examples from Fox’s journal could be provided, but focusing on Fox’s testimonies in his journal, evidentially, it is clear that Fox’s calling from a young age (like other biblical prophets) was to proclaim God’s will to all people needing repentance (which started with himself). Thereafter, Fox was convinced that he had an immediate saving prophetic mission in England to reach his countrymen about the holiness and sovereignty of God, the horror of their sins, their need for repentance, true righteous worship of God, and the indefatigable power of God’s Spirit and His Word.
Ultimately, perhaps the best “snapshot” of Fox’s prophetic spirit can be found in his personal revelation shared in chapter one, which is also a perfect model of the mindset of an authentic prophet of God. Fox wrote,
Great things did the Lord lead me into, and wonderful depths were opened unto me beyond what can by words be declared; but as people come into subjection to the Spirit of God, and grow up in the image and power of the Almighty, they may receive the word of wisdom, that opens all things, and come to know the hidden unity in the Eternal Being.[11]
Bibliography
Fox, George. The Journal of George Fox. Ebook: Braunfell Books, 2023.
Martin, Marcelle. “The Radical Original Vision of George Fox.” Friends Journal (2024): online. Https://www.friendsjournal.org/the-radical-original-vision-of-george-fox/.
Nickalls, John L., ed. The Journal of George Fox. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952.
Tsohantardis, Tim, and John S. Knox. God in the Details: A Biblical Survey of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. Dubuque: Kendall-Hunt, 2017.
[1] See the Major and Minor prophetical books in the Old Testament for a more comprehensive understanding of their lives, ministries, and ultimate fates.
[2] Tim Tsohantardis and John S. Knox, God in the Details: A Biblical Survey of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures (Dubuque: Kendall-Hunt, 2017), 158.
[3] John L. Nickalls, ed., The Journal of George Fox (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952), vii.
[4] George Fox, The Journal of George Fox (Ebook: Braunfell, 2023), 37.
[5] Marcelle Martin, “The Radical Original Vision of George Fox,” Friends Journal (2024): online; https://www.friendsjournal.org/the-radical-original-vision-of-george-fox/.
[6] Fox, The Journal of George Fox, 64.
[7] Fox, The Journal of George Fox, 43.
[8] Fox, The Journal of George Fox, 60.
[9] Fox, The Journal of George Fox, 49.
[10] Fox, The Journal of George Fox, 50.
[11] Fox, The Journal of George Fox, 45.