¹ Who gave himself as a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. As John also wrote: "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2. Notice! John has said Christ is the atoning sacrifice not only for ours, (the early Christians), but he is the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. From the Word of the Lord within: "If one man's sin can curse the whole human race, then how much more just is it for one man's righteousness to pay for the sins of the whole world?" Sounds logical doesn't it? HE IS LOGICAL.

From George Fox's Letter 345 (355 in printing): "Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death, for every man and gave himself as ransom for all men to be testified in due time,  and is the propitiation not for the sins of christians only,  but for the sins of the whole world;"

In all the early Quaker writings I have seen, Fox's writing above is the only mention of Christ being the propitiation not just for Christians only. Fox lived in a time of great intolerance of dissenting views of the majority, and what he did preach led to his imprisonment for 6 1/2 years, the imprisonment of tens of thousands of others, the death of almost a thousand, and the loss of property to tens of thousands. If they had preached all men to be eventually saved, those persecutions would have been ten-fold worse because most all of the sects depended on tales of eternal torture to frighten people into their sect. Whereas today, what I have written here, (written at the Lord's firm insistence), is a yawn for most everyone because people are far more tolerant in this age.

² men everywhere pray, lifting up holy hands, It is the "in thing" in many denominations to lift up hands when singing or praying; ministers encourage it to show how "spirit-filled" their services are. Yet, notice it is only "holy hands" that are to be lifted; and no one is holy, unless their hearts have been purified, purged of the evil, the body of sin being put off, and hearts circumcised. So the lifting up of hands by the unpurified is for show — the hypocrites that Jesus spoke about.

³ women adorn themselves in proper, moderate apparel [not extravagant, flashy, or brassy], with modesty and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or expensive clothing; from the Word of the Lord within: "women should dress as though they are planning to attend a women-only meeting."

⁴ I do not allow a woman to teach or to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. In 1 Cor 11:13, Paul says: But every woman who prays or prophesies. To prophesy is not just to predict the future; it is to speak for edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 1 Cor 14:3. Here Paul shows that women who prophesy, that is who speak from the Holy Spirit's promptings and teachings to them, are speaking in the church. To prophesy is to speak out in the presence of listeners who are interested in what is said — women speaking in the church, but speaking under control of the Spirit. This proves Paul's restriction of women to teach or to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence — were women who were newly initiated in the church, whose tongues were not yet under control of the Spirit of God, which Spirit was poured out on all men and women at Pentecost: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, said God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all men; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. No one is supposed to speak in a worship meeting, unless they are prompted by the Holy Spirit. And if women or men are prompted to prophesy, then they are to speak. Per Gal: 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

In 1 Cor 14:34, Paul gives further understanding of his restriction applying to women not yet ruled by the Spirit of Life, but still under the law of sin and death:

Let your women keep silence in the churches. For it is not permitted for them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as the law also said.

Notice, this applies to women not yet led by the Sprit, and still under the law: But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Gal 5:18. A woman led by the Spirit, following the commands she hears spoken to her, is free from the law of sin and death, freed by the law of Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:2.

There are hundreds of records in the Bible of women prophesying. Paul was speaking in regard to unruly Greek women, not yet under control of the Holy Sprit. For extensive discussion on this point, see Margaret Fell's writing and George Fox's letter. I might add, I have personally been very strongly commanded by the Lord to accept women who are ruled by him, (who listen, hear, and obey), as unequivocal equals.

In all ages, the Lord will give commands for gospel order within the assemblies of believers in the true hope, gospel, and faith. These commands can differ from age to age. For example, George Fox and the early Quakers were given several commands including: 1) to address all individuals as thee and thou, and not you; for at the time, you was demanded by important people who were insulted if addressed as thee or thou, which was how the commoners were addressed, and 2) to never address anyone as Mr, because it was a contraction of the word Master, only given again to important people. Both were terms (in that age) that expressed honor to men. The commands made sense at the time, but today they clearly don't because the words do not demonstrate a respect to only important men, so the Lord no longer desires these commands to be observed. The same can be said about some of Paul's commands of his time, particularly relating to the need of the woman's head to be covered when prophesying. To retain elements of gospel order from centuries past, results in a form being created; the form being external observations, rituals, or practices that supposedly grant godliness, but in fact betray faith, grace, and obedience to the word heard from within.

These commands are different than the outward law and moral law that is written on everyone's hearts: do not steal, do not lie, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not covet, etc.; those laws never change with the time, and extend through the entire New and Old Testaments.

⁵ Nevertheless she will be saved through childbearing, if she continues in faith and love and holiness with self control. This is one of the most difficult verses in the Bible to translate. The clue of what Paul was really saying is the tense shift from singular to plural in the two references to the word she, see footnote 2 in the Net Bible.

The first she is singular, referring to Eve, the first woman, who was the subject of the immediately preceding two verses. Eve represents all women. Eve's progeny, (Mary), gives birth to Jesus Christ, thus canceling for all women, including Eve, the shame of a woman deceiving the first man, Adam. Therefore Eve's seed, Jesus, made it possible for any and all women to be saved. This fulfilled God's promise that her seed, (Jesus), would bruise the head of the serpent (Satan): And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Gen 3:15.

The plural second use of "she," (if "she" continues in faith and love and holiness with self control), refers, not to the representative of all women, but to any individual woman, who will be saved, if she continues in faith and love and holiness with self control; as any man will also be saved too, if he continues in faith and love and holiness with self control.

The net of this verse: Eve was saved through childbearing, which eventually resulted in her seed, Jesus, being born, by whom Eve and all are saved.

This interpretation has been discounted by Babylon's scholars because of the future tense: that Eve will be saved. Yet, Babylon's scholars don't understand what being saved is: to be freed from all sin, to be perfected, to be renewed into the spiritual image of God as man and woman were originally created. Eve was Old Testament, and the Hebrews tells us that the perfection of Old Testament persons takes place in conjunction with the perfection of the New Testament saints, which definitely supports the future tense for Eve's salvation.

And all these, (Old Testament giants of faith), having obtained God's approval through faith, did not receive the promise, God having planned something better for us, so that without us they would not be made perfect. Heb 11:39-40

Jesus died so that all men would be saved, and He is the savior of all men, especially those who believe. 1 Tim 4:10. Certainly that applies to those who lived in the Old Testament times as well as those who lived in the New Testament times. What happened to those Old Testament people as they were waiting for the salvation of the saints to pull them through? We don't know much about after-life, but we have references to time being irrelevant there and a holding place interim to judgment, for which 4 Esdras has the most thorough explanation available, bearing in mind that a day there could be a thousand years here and vice versa.

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