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To the Muslim
TO THE TURK, (or today to the Muslims)
And all that are under his Authority, to read this over, which concerns their
Salvation.
—By George Fox
From Vol. 4, The Works of George Fox, Doctrinal Books I
Friends,—The mighty God of heaven and earth, that created all
things, that has given you breath, and life, and strength to this day,
commands you all to repent, and to believe in his Son the Lord Jesus
Christ, who was crucified at Jerusalem, who was dead, and ascended,
and is alive again, and lives for evermore, the man Christ Jesus, who
now reigns; he commands that all powers, principalities, dominions
should be subject to him. And this is the command of the Lord God to
you, and you all, who rules kingdoms and kings with his mighty hand,
which is his mighty power, as he does the waters; so he has kings in
his hand, as he has the waters; the Lord of hosts, of heaven and earth,
is his name, who sent his Son, who is the life of men, the Saviour of the
world, the great and mighty prince of peace, the covenant of God with
mankind, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and finish transgression,
and put an end to sin, the great governor of heaven and earth, who
has all power in heaven and earth given unto him, whose command is,
that he will be worshipped in spirit and in truth: the spirit that mortifies
sin, the truth, the devil and sin is out of, for by your Muhammad have
you been deceived, which saint is set up; therefore is the dreadful
presence of the Almighty God, the everlasting Father of life appeared
among you, and to you; unless you regard and embrace his voice,
his power, his command, [the] mighty God of power, of dominion, and
of dominions, who rules over all nations, heaven and earth; [unless you regard all of these, God] will seize
upon you, and surprise you, and take you at unawares, and bring his
judgments and dread upon you, which is now appeared in this the day
of his Son; and the hour of his judgment is come, and coming upon all the
world, of the mighty God of heaven and earth, of the mighty righteous
God of heaven and earth, who in righteousness reigns, and in truth and
equity.
Therefore dread the Lord, whose mighty power is spreading over all
nations, who commands all nations to forsake idols, and images, observances
of inventions, to serve and to worship him, the Creator of all
things, that clothes the earth with grass, and causes the trees to bud,
and bring forth; that gathers the waters together in one place, that
established man upon the earth, the eternal God, the Lord of hosts is his
name; and the word and charge of the mighty God is to you, and you throughout all your dominions, not give any worship to the sun, the
moon, gods of stone, or gods of wood, brass, or silver, or iron, and not to
put any trust or confidence in them, nor anything else, but the living
God, or any false conceptions, but the living God, the Lord of hosts, who
gives you all breath, life, strength, and all things needful; that you
might worship him who is a spirit, whose dominion is set up, and setting
up, whose glory now is revealed, and revealing; whose kingdom is now
set up, and setting up, and spreading over all the world, who will be
glorified and admired, the mighty King, the Lord of hosts, by all that
fear him, the terrible God of heaven and earth to the wicked, and they
shall find him dreadful that have trusted in lying vanities, and false conceptions,
the Lord of hosts is his name, who delivers his people from their
iniquities, and their sins; therefore remember him, for now is the day of
his Son, the Lamb's power, who is come to reign, and to rule all nations
with a rod of iron, whose scepter is gone forth, and righteousness shall
shine throughout the world, to the ends of the earth, Christ Jesus the
everlasting covenant of God, the great sacrifice, that one offering which
ended all sacrifices, and offerings of rams, lambs, oxen, sheep, and whatsoever
was outward, Christ the mystery of God, the Saviour of the world,
to all that believe in him, that through him they might have life, who
is the way again to God, who is the second Adam, the Lord from heaven,
that leads the sons of Adam, and the daughters of Adam, and is their
guide up to the Father, who is the life, the light, and power of God, and
their sanctification, that makes people clean, and presents them to the
Father spotless, and blameless; for Adam being driven from God, for sin
and transgression, and Adam's sons and daughters scattered up and
down the face of the whole earth, divided into families, and into nations,
and several kingdoms, spread up and down the face of the earth, and
some in one worship, and some in another; some worship the sun, some
the moon, some stocks, some stones, and some looking at Muhammad, others
setting up dead images, and likenesses, which the Lord never did command.
Now all the sons and daughters of Adam being dead in sins, and trespasses,
and in darkness under the power of Satan, killing and slaying
about their worship, being in darkness, and death, wanting life, and
light, being separated from the Creator, in sin and transgression, have
set up their inventions in the earth, and outward worships and inventions,
but Christ is the second Adam, the Son of God, which God sent
into the world, which does enlighten every one that cometh into the
world, that all through the light might believe, and that all might believe
in Christ; and this is the light that Christ the Son of God has enlightened
every one that cometh into the world withal, that he sees his evil
deeds that he has done, his evil works that he has acted, his evil ways that he has walked in, his ungodly deeds, that he has ungodly
committed, and his ungodly thoughts, that he ungodly thinks, and
his ungodly words, which he ungodly speaks; this is the light that
discovers and makes manifest all this to people, their sin and transgression,
which they have done in the first Adam, which separated them
from God: now Christ, the second Adam, does enlighten them, with
which light they see their sin; now being in this light, they see their
Saviour Christ, from whence the light comes to save them from their sins,
he is the second Adam, their life, and being in the light they have life,
being in the light Christ the life has enlightened them withal, they have
life, for Christ is the life; which light and life that does enlighten every
one that comes into the world, every one receiving, they are separated
from sin by Christ, and by him brought to God again; for sin and transgression
separates from God, and this is that that brings people to worship
God in truth, the light which Christ the truth enlightens every man that
comes into the world withal, which believing in, he has life, he has
truth, and he passes from death, and from darkness, from sin, and
transgression, and has the witness in himself, through which light and
life all comes to the Father of life, which light brings from all the worship
of images, as stocks, and stones, and gods made of men's hands; yes,
and from Muhammad, to the Lord Jesus Christ, the great prophet, the
Saviour of the world, whom God did promise by his prophet he would
give for a light to the Gentiles, a ruler to the people, and that he should
be his salvation to the ends of the earth: and a new covenant to the
house of Israel, and the house of Judah, who would put his law in their
minds and hearts, and they should not depart from him; which every
one of you that come into the world being enlightened, and having light
from the Son of God, and feel your teacher that tells you all that ever
you have done, you have thought, or you have spoken, that is the man
Christ Jesus, who said, learn of me, I am the way to the Father, that
enlightens every man; so all that come into the world must learn of
him; (all the sons of Adam, and daughters of Adam, in the transgression
are drove from God,) the way again to God, out of sin and darkness,
and death and damnation, to life and light again, and salvation. So
everyone that comes into the world being enlightened, and being in the
light they have the witness in themselves, and he that believes shall
not come into condemnation; but he comes into the light that condemns
all that is contrary, he comes into the light, into the truth, into the light
that is the truth, where the Father of light is worshipped, and the devil
and sin are out of; which truth will out-last all false worships, and worships
that be out of truth. Now is the mighty supreme judge risen,
and the mighty supreme authority set up, and the mighty King of glory,
the Lord of hosts (risen) is his name, before whose presence shall all nations tremble, and before whose presence shall all nations and kings
shake, for the mighty God of power, of heaven and earth is come to
rule, and his mighty power is gone forth to the gathering of all nations
to himself, to the subduing all powers to himself, who will rule and
reign, whose right it is, the Lord God of hosts, whose the earth is, and
the heavens, and the sea, and all things that be therein, and people upon
the earth, and gives them breath, and life, and strength, and all things
that is good, that they might serve, glorify, and worship him that is the
Creator. Therefore, give attention to your Maker, to your Creator, and
dread before Him; for before Him, the Lord God of might and power,
shall all nations tremble in this his day, in this day of his power, for his
mighty power has gone forth to gather all nations, which does compass
them, and all nations before Him is but as the drop of the bucket: and
now is his day of gathering of all nations and kings to the battle of the
great King of heaven and earth, and nothing shall reign and rule but
righteousness itself, and that over all kingdoms and dominions, and thrones,
and principalities is set up, and the standard of the most high God is
pitched over the whole world, and his call is to the bar of righteousness,
all kings, and dominions, and powers whatsoever; therefore, dread his
name, for his name is dreadful, the Lord God, the mighty God, the Most
High, who is in his glory, and rules in his dignity, and power, and majesty;
who is a spirit, and will be worshipped in spirit and in truth, by
whose breath of life man came to live, who is a spirit, and will be worshipped
in spirit, and that is the spirit that mortifies the sin, and that is
it in which people must have fellowship with God, and with one another,
and with his prophets', and apostles', and Son's words: therefore, fear
the Lord, let him be your fear and dread, and turn to the light, which
Christ the Son has enlightened you withal, and believe in Christ, the
saviour of the world, the offering for the sin of the whole world, that
you might have life in him, and through him, and come to the dominion,
(which Adam has lost), over all the creatures, to Christ, the light and
life, the power and righteousness over all, and wisdom of God itself, that
renews man into the dominion which man has lost; Christ, by whom the
world was made, was before it was made, who is the brightness of his
glory, the express image of the substance of God: in him was life, and
the life was the light of men, which does enlighten every man that comes
into the world; through the light that enlightens them they have
life, light, justification, sanctification, redemption, they have salvation,
they have truth, they have peace with God; for the light is the covenant,
“I will give him for a covenant of light to the Gentiles,” said
God, “and a leader to the people:” So that light should be the leader
of every man that comes into the world, the light with which every man
is enlightened that comes into the world, that is the leader; which light was with the Father, glorified before the world began; which light lets
men see all their evil ways and sins, and transgressions they have done
in the world, and the first transgression that was upon the earth, with
which light, (the covenant of God,) sin and transgression is finished and
blotted out, (to them that believe in it,) the which separated them from
God, (sin and transgression,) Christ, the light and truth, separates from
the sin, transgression, and iniquity, and reconciles to God, and brings to
unity with God again, and in that has the people life and immortality,
and that is the word of the Lord God to all, and I charge you all to hear
it, the light that lightens every one that cometh into the world, it will
make you free from sin, by which light shall every one that believes see
their salvation Christ Jesus, and the man that has told them all that
ever they have done, and they shall know his salvation to the ends of
the world, and to you all this is the word of the Lord God, ye believing
in the light, which Christ has enlightened every one that comes into
the world withal, they being in the light, with the light they are justified;
and he that believeth in the light shall never be condemned in
this world, nor in the world without end. And in the light you will
have unity with God, and peace with God, and one with another, and bring you to live peaceably upon earth one with another: yes, all nations
and men, the sons and daughters of Adam being enlightened, having
a light from Christ Jesus the second Adam, the way to the Father; the
life, the truth, all being in this truth which the second Adam has enlightened
them withal, who is the life, the truth, the way to God, the
way again to God the father of life, where man is driven from, and cannot
enter again, but by the light, Christ the second Adam. So all being
in the light, they are in the way, they have found the way Christ
Jesus, the chief shepherd, the bishop of the soul, (which soul is immortal,)
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, who was with the Father before
the world began, by whom all was created, who is the soul's bishop, and
the author of man's salvation, and redemption, and justification, (who
has been driven from him by sin and transgression,) Christ who blots it
out, and is the offering that offered himself for the sins of the whole
world, who is the light of the world, that enlightens every man that
comes into the world, that all through this light might believe in the Son
of God, Christ Jesus, the one offering, who is the way to God, and the
covenant between God and man, in him is God well pleased, and does
accept man; and they which believe in him have life, have power, have
wisdom, and receive him that gives them power; and no one upon earth
has life, peace, or justification, but such as come into the light of Christ
the justification, the life of all that come to God, who was glorified with
him before the world began, who lets all men see their way again to
God, who is the life, the truth, and the leader of the people; which light is the condemnation to them that do not believe in it, and such have not
unity with God, nor one with another; they be not in the one offering,
the great sacrifice, the Prince of life, Christ Jesus, the Immanuel, and
know not the interpretation thereof, that is, God with us. Therefore,
every one of you that would have salvation, receive the light, and so
you receive Christ your salvation, and neglect it not; for this is the day
of your salvation and visitation; and the mighty power of God is gone
forth among you, and his everlasting gospel, which is his power, is going
forth to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that dwell upon the
earth, by which gospel shall kindreds and nations be gathered unto him,
and into the mystery of the fellowship of the gospel, which fellowship is
everlasting, the gospel everlasting, the power of God everlasting, in
which is the fellowship, so that is everlasting; in this, people have fellowship
with God, and one with another.
From England.
An answer to the speech or declaration of the great Turk, and others By
George Fox
A Modern Answer to the Muslims' Belief That They Serve God By Killing Christians and Jews
Sultan Muhammad,
I find in a paper, which is said to be thy declaration, directed
to Leopold, the German emperor, dated the 25th of March, 1683, viz.
First, you say you are a ‘possessor of the sepulcher of your
God,’ to wit, the christians. And that you are a great persecutor of
the christians.
Secondly, you say you are lord of all the emperors of the world,
from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof.
Thirdly, you say you are king of all kings, and lord of the tree
of life.
Fourthly, you say you are commander and guardian of your
crucified God, (namely, the christians,) and you say, you will ‘pursue
your crucified God, whose wrath I fear not, nor his coming to defend
or deliver you out of my hands.’
Now, here is something in answer to the words of sultan Muhammad,
the emperor of the Muslims, saying, he is a great persecutor of the christians;
but let him take heed, for the great God that made him, and
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things therein, who is Lord,
Creator, and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and beholds
all his words, ways, thoughts, and actions, and all men's and
women's upon the earth; neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in God's sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes
of him, with whom we have to do, who are the true christians, in scorn
called Quakers, who do fear, serve, and worship the great God that made us, who is a consuming fire to the wicked. And where ever men
do turn themselves, there the face of God will meet them; his divinity
extends through the whole world. Therefore you are to fear his divine
majesty, as you do confess in your Qur'an; for the great God, the
creator of all, does know all in the heavens, and in the earth, both
what is done in secret, and openly, and all is naked before him, who
will reward every man, and woman, according to their words and
works, whether they be good or evil, for God is a consuming fire to
the wicked; and who shall dwell with everlasting burning, but the just
and holy?
And, Muhammad said in his Qur'an, Chapter 3, page 34, that Jesus
said, ‘Who shall sustain the law of God in my absence? And the apostles
answered him, we will sustain the law of God in thy absence;’ and
that ‘Jesus shall be a witness in the day of judgment against such that
obey not his law,’ &c.
Now see how you Muslims do obey the law or command of Jesus, for
Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute
you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven.'
Now if the christians were the Turks' enemies, according to the command
and law of Jesus, the Muslims are to love and bless them that curse
them, and do good to them that hate them, and pray for them that
despitefully use them and persecute them; so then the Muslims are not
to be persecutors, if they do obey the command of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and if they be the children of God the Father which is in heaven.
But the emperor of the Muslims said, he is a great persecutor of the
christians; and you say in your Qur'an, that ‘Jesus shall be a witness
in the day of judgment against such that obey not his law?’ Are not
your own words in your Qur'an, (and the Lord Jesus, and the apostles
of Jesus, who should sustain the law of God in Jesus' absence), witness
against you, who are haters and persecutors, instead of loving enemies,
according to the command or law of Jesus? And therefore as Muhammad
said, ‘Jesus shall be a witness in the day of judgment against
such as obey not his law.’ So according to your own Qur'an, you
Muslims, and all others that are persecutors, who disobey the law of
Jesus, he will be a witness against you in the day of judgment; yes, I
say, against you Muslims, and all other persecutors upon the earth.
Secondly. Sultan Muhammad, emperor of the Muslims, said, he is lord
of all the emperors of the world, from the rising of the sun to the going
down thereof, king of all kings, and lord of the tree of life. But are
there not many kingdoms and kings in this northern part of the world, and many emperors and heathen kings in America, and also in the
East Indies? Has not the Great Mogul many kingdoms under him?
Besides Prestor John, (commonly so called,) has not he many kingdoms
under him? And does not the emperor of the Muslims know, that these
kingdoms and empires he is neither king nor emperor over? Yet he
said, he is emperor over all the earth, from the rising of the sun, to the
going down thereof! Which world he knows is but his own country,
and from the rising of the sun in it, to the setting of the sun in it; for
the sun rises and sets in America, and the East Indies, and all other
parts of the world where he has no rule nor power; and how long he
may have rule and power, and be emperor in his own country God
knows. And therefore it is best for the emperor of the Muslims to be
humble, and not conceit himself with an high and ambitious mind, that
he is king of kings, and emperor of the world where he is not, and
where God has given him no power, lest the Almighty God abase
him, and take away his power which he has given him. For Daniel
said to Nebuchadnezzar the emperor, that he should ‘eat grass like an
ox, etc. till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdoms of
men, and gives them to whomsoever he will; and his kingdom should
be sure to him after that he knew that the Most High did rule.’ And
therefore the unchangeable God, man must fear; for heaven is his
throne, and the earth is his footstool, that earth that the Muslims and all
men stand and walk upon, And so from the face of the eternal God
and his footstool, cannot the Muslim, nor any other man or woman turn
themselves, but there the face of God will meet them, for God's divinity
extends throughout all the earth; who inhabits eternity, and dwells
with an humble heart; who beholds the proud and lofty afar off, and
brings down the high looks, and abases the pride of men.
or
Thirdly. And again, Sultan Muhammad, emperor of the Muslims, you
say, you are lord of the tree of life. But the Turkish emperor must
know he is not lord of the tree of life, which bears twelve manner
of fruits, and yields her fruits every month; and the leaves of the tree
were for the healing of the nations. We do not believe that the emperor
of the Muslims has any such natural tree in all his land or garden,
that yields twelve manner of fruits every month, the leaves of which
are for the healing of nations. This tree of life the Muslims have no power
over; and John the apostle of Christ, that kept the law or command of
Jesus, Jesus spoke to him and said, ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the tree of life, that they may
enter through the gates of the city,’ namely, heavenly and holy Jerusalem,
which descends out of heaven from God, which is not outward
Jerusalem in the land of Canaan; as in the Revelations of John the 21st,
and 22d chap. And Christ said to John his apostle, ‘He that overcomes I will give him to eat of the tree of life;’ namely, he that
overcomes the devil, sin, and unrighteousness, whose name is written
in the book of life, has right to eat of the tree of life. But if the
emperor of the Muslims does not overcome, with the spirit of God and his
power, the devil and his works, sin and unrighteousness, &c. he cannot
eat of the tree of life; therefore he is not like to lord, and to have
power over this tree of life, which he cannot eat of, except with the
power and spirit of God he overcome the devil and his works.
And concerning the pure religion and the false, James who was one
of the apostles of Christ Jesus said, ‘If any man seems to be religious,
and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, that man's religion
is in vain.’ Therefore, what religion so ever the emperor of the
Muslims set up or profess, or any man or woman else in the whole world,
and bridle not their tongues with God's power and spirit, according to
the law or command of Jesus which he gave to the apostles, their religion
is vain, and they do but deceive their own hearts with their vain
religion, from their unbridled tongues; ‘For pure religion and undefiled
before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and the
widows in their affliction, and to keep themselves unspotted from the
world.’ And this is the pure religion that God and Christ Jesus set up,
and his apostles preached and declared to men, and all the believers
and converted to God and Christ, and that keep their command, did
and do walk in this pure religion.
Fourthly. Sultan Muhammad, emperor of the Muslims, you say,
you are commander of the christians crucified God; and say, you
will ‘pursue their crucified God, whose wrath you fear not, nor his
coming to defend or deliver them out of thy hand.’
Answer. These high words are not spoken in the fear of God; for if
you know God you would know his son Jesus Christ, who was
made of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, and declared to be
the son of God, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead; so that you have neither power over his godhead, nor
his flesh. And Muhammad confesses in his Qur'an, ‘that Jesus, son of
Mary, is full of light,’ (which is according to the ancient scriptures,)
‘and of the gospel, to conduct people the right way; with a confirmation
of the old testament, and to guide and instruct the righteous.’ Now
Muhammad and the Muslims, who make this confession in your Qur'an,
then you must believe the old testament, and the gospel of the new,
concerning Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, and of the seed of David,
according to the flesh; and that Jesus Christ came according to the
promise of God to his prophets, who was born of the virgin Mary.
And Muhammad in his Qur'an confesses ‘that Jesus Christ was not
begotten by the will of man, who was conceived of Mary, and that she should conceive, and bring forth without the touching of man.’ I say,
the angel of God said to Mary, he was ‘conceived by the holy ghost,’
and so called the son of God. And Muhammad said in his Qur'an, page
30. chap. xxxiii. ‘That John did affirm Christ to be the Messiah, and
to be the word of God.’
Now if the Muslims do believe this which Muhammad said in his Qur'an,
then you must believe what Christ said of himself, and the angel
of God, and what the apostle said of him. John said of him, ‘In the
beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and God was the
word; and all things were made by the word, and without him was not
any thing made that was made. And in the word was life, and the life
was the light of men, and that was the true light which enlightens
every man that comes into the world.’ Now here is the divine light
which is the life in Christ, the word, by which all things were made,
which enlightens every man that comes into the world, to their salvation,
if they believe in the light, and to their condemnation if they hate
the light. And John said, ‘This word was made flesh, and dwelt
amongst us, and his apostles beheld his glory, as the glory of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and of his fullness they
did receive grace for grace;’ and said, ‘The law came by Moses, but
grace and truth by Jesus Christ.’
Now whereas the emperor of the Muslims said, ‘that he is commander
and guardian of the christians' crucified God.’ Now in this he is mistaken;
for the eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, everlasting God,
whose divinity extends throughout the whole earth, who is God in
heaven above, and in the earth beneath, to whom all nations are but
as the drop of a bucket; this is the true christian's God, whom they
serve and worship in his spirit and truth, which the Jews did not crucify,
nor could they crucify. And it is blasphemy for the Jews, or any
to say, that they did crucify the true christians' eternal invisible God;
and great ignorance for any to say, that the true christians' God was
crucified, or that the eternal, incomprehensible, immortal God, the
creator of all, who is the God of the spirits of all flesh, and the breath
of all mankind is in his power; so that poor mortals, or externals, should
say, think, or imagine that the eternal, invisible, everlasting, immortal,
incomprehensible God was, or can be crucified, which they cannot
comprehend, which is the true christians' God.
But Christ, which was made of the seed of David, according to the
flesh, who took not upon him the nature of angels, but the seed of
Abraham, he suffered for us in the flesh. And so as Christ also has
once suffered for sins in the flesh, he the just for the unjust, that Christ
might bring us to God. So God was not crucified, but Christ being put
to death, or crucified in the flesh, but quickened again in the spirit and rose again, and sits at the right hand of God. This Peter, one of the
apostles of Jesus, testifies, and the true christians now believe it;
and though Christ was crucified through weakness, that is, through the
flesh, yet he is alive, and lives by the power of God. 2 Cor. 13:3-4.
So it is clear that the eternal, and invisible, incomprehensible God,
was not, nor cannot be crucified; but Christ, the son of God, suffered
according to the flesh, not in his godhead. So Christ died for our
sins, according to the scripture of the old and new testament. ‘For as
in Adam all died, so even in Christ shall all be made alive, and that
Christ by the grace of God should taste death for every man.’ So it
was not the invisible, eternal, incomprehensible God that was crucified
and died, and did taste death for every man, but Christ according to
the flesh, who was manifest to take away our sin, and in him there was
no sin. So Christ was manifest to destroy the works of the devil, and
Christ through his death, destroys death that sin brought, and the devil
the power of death. ‘And about the ninth hour,’ (when Jesus Christ
hanged upon the cross,) ‘he cried with a loud voice, saying, My God,
my God, why hast you forsaken me.’ So it is clear, the eternal God
did not die, nor was crucified, but Christ was put to death in the flesh;
this testifies Matthew, one of Christ's apostles. So he was the one offering,
who made an end of all the offerings among the Jews, through
the offering up of the body of Jesus once for all. So the man Christ
Jesus offered up himself one sacrifice for sins; so by that one offering
he has perfected for ever them that are sanctified; so he is the propitiation,
offering, and sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, yes,
Jesus Christ which was of the seed of David; and so, according to the
scripture, Christ died for our sins, and he was buried, and rose again the
third day, according to the scriptures; and after he was risen from the
dead he was seen of the apostles; and again he was seen of above five
hundred brethren at once, that were believers in him; and this was
after he was dead, buried, and risen. But none of the princes of the
world knew him; for had they known Christ, they would not have crucified
him. But we know now, that Christ being raised from the dead,
dies no more, and death has no more dominion over Christ, in that he
died unto sin, and for the sins of the whole world; but now he being
raised from the dead, he is set at the right hand of God. And therefore,
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God by miracles, wonders, and
signs, which God did by him, this Jesus, the son of Mary, the Jews with
their wicked hands did take, crucify, and slay. But it was God who
loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible that he should be
held of it; and though the Jews did crucify Jesus and slew him, and
hanged him on a tree, yet God has raised him up the third day, and
God has exalted him at his right hand, to be a prince and a saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. So Christ's apostles
were witnesses, how God raised him from the dead. So you may see
here, it was not God that was crucified and died, for he raised Christ
from the dead on the third day, and showed him openly to his apostles;
and they did eat and drink with Jesus Christ after that God had raised
him up from the dead. And he commanded his apostles to preach to the
people, and testify, that it was he that was ordained of God to be judge
of the quick and dead, and to him gave all the prophets (and apostles)
of God witness, that through the name of Jesus, whosoever believed in
him should receive remission of sins, neither is there salvation in any
other; for there is no other name under heaven given amongst men
whereby we must be saved, but by Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jews
crucified, whom God has raised from the dead. For God said to David,
‘That of the fruit of his loins, (according to the flesh,) God would
raise up Christ to sit on his throne. And David, he seeing this before,
spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell,
neither did his flesh see corruption.’ So, though the Jews crucified
him, and a soldier thrust a spear into his side; and though he was crucified
and hanged on a tree, and slain, dead, and buried, him did God
raise up the third day, and he appeared to his apostles and disciples,
and did eat and drink with them after he was risen; who were the
faithful witnesses, that God raised him up from the dead, who is ascended
up into heaven at the right hand of God, who being the brightness of
God's glory, and the express image of his substance, and upholding all
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our
sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, whom the
heavens must receive until the time of the restitution of all things,
which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the
world began; and he that descended, is the same also that ascended far
above all heavens, that he might fill all things, who led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men, etc. And we have redemption through
Christ's blood, even forgiveness of our sins, who has delivered us from
the devil, (the power of darkness,) who is the seed of the woman, which
bruises the old serpent's head, which deceived Adam and Eve; which
God promised to Adam, ‘that the seed of the woman should bruise the
serpent's head;’ in which seed, namely Christ, all nations are blest, ‘who is
the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature; for by
him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in the
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,
principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him,
and he was before all things, and by him all things consist.’ And Christ
said in his prayer to his Father, ‘This is eternal life, that they might
know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you hast sent.’ And Jesus desired of God his Father, saying, ‘That those whom God had
given him, might be with him where he was, that they might behold
his glory which God has given him;’ for he loved him before the foundation
of the world; therefore, said Christ, ‘Now, O Father, glorify
you me, with thy own self, with the glory which I had with you before
the world was.’ And Christ said to his disciples after he was risen
from the dead, ‘All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me;’
and he bid his disciples, go into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature.... And then after the Lord Jesus Christ had spoken
to his disciples, he was received up into heaven, and sat down at the
right hand of God. And now, we who are the believers in Christ Jesus,
and true christians, we do live unto him; and if we die, we die unto
the Lord, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. ‘For this end
Christ both died, revived, and rose, that he might be the Lord both of
the dead and of the living.’ And he is judge both of quick and dead,
who is the only one mediator between God and man, even the man
Christ Jesus, who makes intercession to God for his people, and is able
to save to the utmost all that come to God by him; who ever lives to
make intercession for them, who is sat down at the right hand of God
in heaven; who is the prince of the kings of the earth, who said to
John, ‘I am the first and the last, I am he that lives, and was dead,
and behold, I am alive for evermore.’
And therefore Sultan Muhammad, emperor of the Muslims, who said,
I will pursue your crucified God: wherein he is mistaken, it was not
the eternal incomprehensible God, but Christ that was crucified, and
died for his, and all men's sins, if the emperor of the Muslims will believe
it; if not he will die in his sins. And if he thinks to pursue Christ that
was crucified, he is like unto the Jews that did crucify him. But Christ
is risen from the dead, and is alive, and dies no more, death has no
more dominion over him, nor has Muhammad neither; and so is alive
again, and lives for evermore, and is sat down in heaven at the right
hand of God, out of the Jews' and Turks' reach to pursue, so is far above
their vain imagination and reach. And he that has all power in heaven
and earth given to him, who is the prince of the kings of the earth,
and King of kings, and Lord of lords, and rules all nations with a rod
of iron, he is able to dash them to pieces, like a potter's vessel, and to
abate the pride of haughty men, and to save and deliver his people
out of the hands of the destroyers; for he gives unto his believers and
followers eternal life. And Christ who laid down his life for his sheep,
said to the Jews, ‘He had power to lay down his life, and he had power
to take it up again: this commandment I have received of my
Father,’ said he; so it was not God his Father that died. And Jesus said, ‘his sheep heard his voice, and followed him;’ and said he, ‘I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand;’ and said Christ, ‘My Father
that gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand.’
Here the emperor of the Muslims may see, that neither he nor the
Jews, nor any man upon the earth, is able to pluck Christ's sheep out
of his hands, Jesus Christ said so, who has all power in heaven and
earth given to him, and is the prince of the kings of the earth, and
King of kings, and Lord of lords. And your own Qur'an said, ‘that
Jesus will be a witness in the day of judgment against them that obey
not his law, and do not believe in him;’ and here the emperor may see,
that Christ is able to defend his sheep and save them; and none is able
to pluck them out of his hands; who said, ‘All power in heaven and
earth is given unto me;’ who is sat down in heaven at the right hand
of God, and is revealed by his spirit in his people, who know his heavenly
voice, distinct from the voice of the devil and all his angels, and
all the natural men's voices upon the earth; Christ Jesus' heavenly
voice is known, distinct from them all, who is above them all. And God
and Christ may suffer or permit you to destroy hypocrites, but
Jesus Christ said, you, nor any man is able to pluck his sheep out of
his hands; yes, out of his hand that was crucified, and is risen, and ascended
into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God; you have no
power to pluck his sheep out of his hand, and therefore you are not
able, nor any man. And therefore take heed of striving against him
that is too mighty for you.
And Sultan Muhammad, emperor of the Muslims, you say, 'you
do not fear the wrath of their crucified God, namely, the Christians.
As is said before, God cannot be crucified, but Christ Jesus was crucified
according to the flesh, who is risen and ascended, and sits at the
right hand of God. But hear, O Muslim! what his apostle said of him,
‘When the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from heaven, with his
mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not
God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of his power, when he shall be glorified in his saints,
and be admired by all them that believe; who shall consume the wicked
with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy them with the brightness
of his coming.’ Hallelujah. And therefore let every one that names
the name of Jesus, depart from iniquity, for he has borne the iniquities
of us all, and makes an end of sin, and redeems us from iniquity, and
finishes transgression; who through his death destroys death that sin
brought, and the devil the power of death; and so there is no other name amongst men, given under the whole heaven, whereby we must be saved, but by the name of Jesus, which signifies a saviour. And
according to the prophet, ‘A virgin shall be with child conceived by
the holy ghost, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which by interpretation is God with us;’ so by his son Jesus
Christ, God is with us, that God who was speaker unto, and teacher of
Adam and Eve in paradise: and as long as they kept under his teaching,
they were happy; but when they forsook God's teaching and
speaking, and hearkened unto the serpent's speaking and teaching, and
followed it, they came into misery, and his posterity. But according to
the promise of God to Adam, ‘the seed of the woman is come, to bruise
the serpent's head,’ the destroyer; and he, namely, Christ the son of
God, is the saviour; and now in these last days, God teaches us, and
speaks to us by his son Christ Jesus, whom God has appointed to be
heir of all things, by whom he made the world, the heavens, and the
earth, and the seas, and all things therein; and so all the children of
the Lord are taught of the Lord, and in righteousness are they established.
And there are three which bear witness or record in heaven, the
Father, the word, and the holy ghost; and these are one: and there
are three which bear record in earth, the spirit, the water, and the
blood, (namely) the blood of Christ which cleanses from all sin, and the
water which washes from all filthiness, and the spirit to lead into all
truth, and baptizes and plunges down sin and evil, and to circumcise,
to put off the body of death, and sins of the flesh, which are come into
man and woman by transgression. And you must feel this spirit in your
hearts, which is a witness for God who gives it you, which will be a
witness for you, or a witness against you. And you must feel the blood
of Christ sprinkle your consciences from your dead works, that you
may serve the living God; which blood will be a witness for you, or a
witness against you. And you must feel the water of the word to wash
you and cleanse you, which will be a witness for you, or a witness
against you. So the spirit of God, the blood of Jesus, the water of the
word, are three that agree in one, that bear witness or record in the
earth; and there are three which bear witness or record in heaven,
the Father, the word, and the holy ghost, and these three are one. He
that has an ear to hear, let him hear.
‘By the offence of one, (namely, Adam,) judgment came upon all men
to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, (namely, Christ
Jesus,) the free gift of God came upon all men unto justification of life.’
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son Jesus
Christ, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. And they that do believe in him have everlasting life.
John 3:16, Rom5:18. Now concerning God's son, Jesus Christ our Lord, he was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared
to be the son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:3-4.
George Fox
This web site's purpose is to show how to become
free from sin
by benefiting from the changing power of God through the cross,
which leads to union with God in his Kingdom.
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